"Obermeyer chronicles -- with humor and some suspense -- the planning and execution of this feat, which did set a Guinness world record. Along the way, the book documents the era's local dance scene and arts community as well as civic hopes for a vibrant new downtown."

Review of "The Biggest Dance; A Miracle on Concrete" by Mary Beth Obermeyer

    It was 1979 and the transformation of an old Masonic temple in downtown Minneapolis into the Hennepin Center for the Arts was almost complete. The city had high hopes that the renovated building would be an anchor for the refurbished thoroughfare, Hennepin Avenue. And how might one soon-to-be tenant, the Minnesota Dance Theatre, contribute to opening-day festivities? Tap dancer and teacher Beth Obermeyer knew: a huge parade of tap dancers from all walks of life, clad in red, white, and blue, dancing down the avenue to "Yankee Doodle Dandy." In The Biggest Dance; A Miracle on Concrete (St. Cloud: North Star Press, 2011, 320p., paper, $14.95) Obermeyer chronicles-with humor and some suspense-the planning and execution of the feat, which idd set a Guinness world record. Along the way, the book documents the era's local dance scene and arts community as well as civic hopes for a vibrant new downtown.