TAP DANCE

 TAP DANCE

Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by a tapping sound that is created from metal plates that are attached to both the ball and heel of the dancer’s shoe. Special shoes are made for dancing the tap. These metal plates, when tapped against a hard surface, create a percussive sound and as such the dancers are considered to be musicians. Tap dance has roots in African American dancing such as the Juba Dance, English Lancashire Clog dancing, and probably most notably Irish step dancing. It is believed to have begun in the mid-1800s during the rise of minstrel shows.

 

History of Tap Dance

Tap dance was developed in the United States during the nineteenth century, and is popular nowadays in many parts of the world. The name comes from the tapping sound made when the small metal plates on the dancer's shoes touch a hard surface. This lively, rhythmic tapping makes the performer not just a dancer, but also a percussive musician (and thus, for example, the American composer Morton Gould was able to compose a concerto for tap dancer and orchestra). 

The Encyclopedia Britannica definition for tap dance is: "A style of American theatrical dance using precise rhythmical patterns of foot movement and audible foot tapping. It is derived from the traditional clog dance of northern England, the jigs and reels of Ireland and Scotland, and possibly the rhythmic foot stamping of African dances. Popular in 19th-century minstrel shows, versions such as "buck-and-wing" (danced vigorously in wooden-soled shoes) and "soft-shoe" (shoes) developed as separate techniques; by 1925 they had merged, and metal taps were attached to shoe heels and toes to produce a more pronounced sound. The dance was also popular in variety shows and early musicals." 

Characteristics of Tap Dance 

Tap dancers make frequent use of syncopation. Choreography typically starts on the eighth or first beat-count. Another aspect of tap dancing is improvisation. This can either be done with music and follow the beats provided or without musical accompaniment, otherwise known as a capella dancing. 

Hoofers are tap dancers who dance primarily with their legs, making a louder, more grounded sound. This kind of tap dancing, also called "rhythm tap", came primarily from cities or poor areas. Today this is not the case, especially with such a wide variety of styles spreading throughout the world. Steve Condos rose out of his humble beginnings in Pittsburgh, PA to become a master in rhythmic tap. His innovative style influenced the work of Gregory Hines, Savion Glover and Marshall Davis, Jr. The majority of hoofers, such as Sammy Davis Jr., Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, and La-Vaughn Robinson are African American men, although today the art form transcends racial and gender stereotypes. Savion Glover is the best-known living hoofer, who helped bring tap dance into mainstream media by choreographing and dancing for the major motion picture Happy Feet. Another well-known tap film is 1989's Tap, starring the late Gregory Hines and many of the old-time hoofers. 

Early dancers like Fred Astaire provided a more ballroom look to tap dancing, while Gene Kelly used his extensive ballet training to make tap dancing incorporate all the parts of the ballet. This style of tap led to what is today known as "broad way style," which is more mainstream in American culture. It often involves high heeled tap shoes and show music, and is usually the type of tap first taught to beginners. The best examples of this style are found in Broadway musicals such as 42nd Street. 

Common tap steps include the shuffle, shuffle ball change, flap (pronounced "fuh-lap"), flap heel, cramp roll, buffalo, Maxi Ford, single and double pullbacks, wings, Cincinnati, the shim sham shimmy (also called the Lindy), Irish, Waltz Clog, shuffle hop step, running flaps, running shuffles, sugar, the paddle and roll, slap, stomp, brushes, scuffs, and single and double toe punches, hot steps, heel clicks, single, double and triple time steps, riffs, and chugs. In advanced tap dancing, basic steps are often combined together to create new steps. The flap heel toe heel step brush heel is one combination of basic tap steps that is usually practiced while spinning around in a circle. Higher levels of tap dancing may also consist of toe work, which are steps performed on the toes of the tap shoes. This may vary from simply jumping up onto the toe in a toe stand or doing steps mentioned above on the toe such as shuffles or wings. 

Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor (or other surfaces) as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. 

Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (Jazz) tap and Broadway tap. 

Broadway tap focuses more on the dance. It is widely performed as a part of musical theater. 

Rhythm tap focuses more on musicality, and practitioners consider themselves to be a part of the Jazz tradition.

The sound is made by shoes with a metal "tap" on the heel and toe. 

Tap shoes can be bought at most dance shops. There are different brands of shoes which sometimes differ in the way they sound.

"Soft-Shoe" is a rhythm form of tap dancing that does not require special shoes, and while rhythm is generated by tapping of the feet, it also uses sliding of the feet (even sometimes using scattered sand on the stage to enhance the sound of the performer's sliding feet) more often than modern rhythm tap. It preceded what is currently considered to be modern tap, but has since declined in popularity.