As holiday shoppers filled the streets of Providence recently, a familiar sound filled the air: the shrill whistle of one of the most celebrated traffic cops in dancing-traffic-cop history. Sixty-four-year-old Tony Lepore, the “Dancing Cop,” has been directing traffic with skillful pirouettes and the wiggle of his hips since 1984 and shows few signs of slowing down. Every year, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, he makes his stage appearance downtown at the intersection of Dorrance and Westminster – and gives a performance both entertaining and functional: safely guiding traffic while giving onlookers a show.