Born into an artistic, socially prominent New York family, the nephew of Ruth Draper was an innovator in the arts.

[2] His live performances decreased during this period of teaching, but he did occasionally show up at American Dance Festival.

[2] This set him apart from other major dancers of the decades of the 1930s and 1940s, like Fred Astaire and Bill Robinson, when Draper's career was in its prime.

"[3] In his solo performances in this period, one signature piece is Sonata for Tap Dancer, danced without musical accompaniment.

[2] This stopped performances in the US, with a segment already taped, cut from the Ed Sullivan show, Toast of the Town.

[2] In 1955, Draper returned to the stage performing in Stravinsky's Histoire du Soldat at the Phoenix Theater.

[2] Draper also choreographed pieces for George Kleinsinger's Archy and Mehitabel at Goodspeed Opera House, and performed in the Broadway musical Come Summer during the sixties.

One thinks naturally of Astaire and Ray Bolger when Mr Draper is in full flight, but his style is so intense and serious that comparisons are not really to the point.

A routine of his was to appear on CBS's Toast of the Town in 1950, but was cut out of the segment due to protests the station received.

[2][3] During this period, Draper was forced to put a stop to his tour because many television programs and hotels felt they could not host such a controversial figure.

His parents divorced shortly after moving to the United States when Paul was four years old;[1] his father died in 1925 at age 35.

[2] His mother entertained renowned guests like Henry James, Pablo Picasso, Arthur Rubinstein, and Norman Douglas in the family salon in their London home.

Draper married Heidi Vosseler, a ballerina for George Balanchine's first American ballet company, on June 23, 1941, in Rio de Janeiro.