Hubbry Logo
Tap danceTap danceMain
Open search
Tap dance
Community hub
Tap dance
logo
8 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Tap dance
Tap dance
Tap dance
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia
Tap dancing class at Iowa State College, 1942

Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music.[1] Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its own music.

It is an American artform that evolved alongside the advent of jazz music.[2][3] Tap is a type of step dance that began with the combination of Southern American and Irish dance traditions, such as Irish soft-shoe and hard-shoe step dances,[4] and a variety of both slave and freeman step dances. The fusion of African rhythms and performance styles with European techniques of footwork led to the creation of tap dance.[5] This fusion began in the mid-17th century but did not become popular until the mid-19th century.[6]

There are two major versions of tap dance: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely performed in musical theater. Rhythm tap focuses on musicality, and practitioners consider themselves to be a part of the jazz tradition.

The sound is made by shoes that have a metal "tap" on the heel and toe. Different shoes may differ in their sound.[7]

History

[edit]
Jimmy Slyde tap dancing
Students performing a tap dance in Mexico City

Tap dance is an American dance form with roots that go back 300 years to Irish and West African musical and step dance traditions, which themselves have medieval and ancient roots. During the 17th – 19th centuries, it was primarily developed from European step dance forms, such as jigs and clogs.[8] These dances were brought to the American continent by immigrants and eventually grew to incorporate African rhythms and styles. These fused and evolved into a form of dance called "jigging", which was taken up by minstrel show dancers in the 1800s. Tap dance then became a popular stage entertainment.[9]

As minstrel shows began to decline in popularity, tap dance moved to the increasingly popular Vaudeville stage. Due to Vaudeville's unspoken "two-colored rule", which forbade blacks to perform solo, many Vaudeville tap acts were duets.[10] One such duo was "Buck and Bubbles," which consisted of John "Bubbles" Sublett tap dancing and Ford "Buck" Washington playing a piano. The duo performed a "Class Act", a routine in which the performers wore tuxedos, effectively distinguishing them from the older minstrel show concept of tap dancers as "grinning-and-dancing clowns."[11]

Another notable figure during this period is Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, a protégé of Alice Whitman of The Whitman Sisters around 1904 (then known as "Willie Robinson").[12] Well versed in both Buck and Wing dancing and Irish Step dancing, Robinson joined the Vaudeville circuit in 1902 in a duo with George W. Cooper. The act quickly became famous, headlining events across the country, and touring England as well. In 1908, the partnership ended and Robinson began dancing solo, which was extremely rare for a black man at that time.[13] Despite this, he had tremendous success and soon became a world-famous celebrity.[10] He went on to have a leading role in many films, notably in the Shirley Temple franchise.

Shortly thereafter, the Nicholas Brothers came on the scene. Consisting of real life brothers Fayard and Harold, this team wowed audiences with their acrobatic feats incorporated into their classy style of dancing. A notable scene in the movie "Stormy Weather" features the pair dancing up a staircase and then descending the staircase in a series of leapfrogs over each other into a full split from which they rise with no hands.[14] "Stormy Weather" was a six-minute performance performed in one go with no retakes. The Nicholas Brothers danced on pianos and many other structures during this performance.[14]

During the 1930s, tap dance mixed with Lindy Hop. "Flying swing outs" and "flying circles" are Lindy Hop moves with tap footwork. In the mid-to-late 1950s, the style of entertainment changed. Jazz music and tap dance declined, while rock and roll and the new jazz dance emerged. What is called jazz dance evolved out of tap dance, so both dances have many moves in common. But jazz evolved separately from tap dance to become a new form in its own right. Well known dancers during the 1960s and 1970s included Arthur Duncan and Tommy Tune.[15]

No Maps on My Taps, the Emmy award winning PBS documentary of 1979, helped begin the recent revival of tap dance. The outstanding success of the animated film, Happy Feet, has further reinforced the popular appeal.[16] National Tap Dance Day in the United States, celebrated May 25, was signed into law by President George Bush on November 7, 1989. (May 25 was chosen because it is the birthday of famous tapper Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.) Prominent modern tap dancers have included Sarah Reich, Brenda Bufalino, Melinda Sullivan, The Clark Brothers, James "Buster" Brown, Savion Glover, Gregory and Maurice Hines, LaVaughn Robinson, Jason Samuels Smith, Chloe Arnold, Michelle Dorrance, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, and Dianne "Lady Di" Walker. Indie-pop band Tilly and the Wall also features a tap dancer, Jamie Pressnall, tapping as percussion, Sammie Davis Jr.

One recent innovation in the world of tap dance is the development of the long form "tap opera," which tells an entire story during single performance, similar to a story ballet. This format was initially developed by Mark Yonally, founder and artistic director of dance company Chicago Tap Theatre[17] in the early 2000s.[18]

Segregation's impact

[edit]

During the 1930s and the 1940s, Americans were able to watch tap dancers perform on film.[19] However, black tap dancers found it difficult to be a part of white films because segregation was prominent in America.[19] This led to the creation of two different styles of tap dance: white tap dancers formed a Broadway style and black dancers continued to evolve with the traditional rhythm based style.[19] Broadway tap dance was performed in mainly Broadway musicals and film, and it did not emphasize classic jazz rhythms.[19] Rhythm tap integrated more of the classic African roots of tap dance, and it emphasized jazz rhythms, musicality, and improvisation.[19] Musicality is the dancer's understanding of the music they are performing to. Improvisation is where a dancer makes up the movement as they perform, and the choreography is not prepared beforehand.

There was also the "two-color rule," which made sure that black tap dancers were not able to perform solos onstage.[20] This led to some tap dancers performing comedic tap duets. There were stereotypes placed on black Americans such as the "Uncle Tom" stereotype, and many tap dancers were forced to wear "black-face" onstage to perform.[20] One of the first black tap dancers to be acknowledged by America was Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who performed duets with Shirley Temple.[20] However, Bill Robinson's career was reduced to "minstrelsy," which can be defined as white performers using makeup to mock black culture or using black stereotypes in a performance.[21] Black Americans joined these minstrel performances, where they would be forced to act on black stereotypes in their performances.[21] James "Buster" Brown, got his start in the segregated clubs of the 1930s, but eventually earned international mainstream recognition and mentored younger more modern tap dancers in the 1990s.[22]

Characteristics

[edit]
Main article: Tap dance technique
(video) A man practices tap dancing in front of a station in Japan.
A teen tap dancer is performing a tap step known as a "toe stand" onstage.

Tap dancers make frequent use of syncopation. Choreography typically starts on the eighth or first beat count. Another aspect of tap dancing is improvisation. Tap dancing can either be done with music following the beats provided, or without musical accompaniment; the latter is known as "a cappella" tap dancing.

Hoofers are tap dancers who dance primarily "closer to the floor", using mostly footwork and not showing very much arm or body movement.[23] This kind of tap dancing, also called rhythm tap, was employed by slaves in America.[24]

Steve Condos developed an innovative rhythmic tap style that influenced the work of later tap dancers such as Gregory Hines and Savion Glover. The majority of early hoofers, such as Sammy Davis Jr., Glover, Hines, and LaVaughn Robinson were African American men.[24] Savion Glover helped bring tap dance into mainstream media by choreographing Happy Feet, a film about a tap dancing penguin. Another well-known tap film is 1989's Tap, starring Gregory Hines and many old-time hoofers.

Early tappers like Fred Astaire provided a more ballroom look to tap dancing, while Gene Kelly introduced ballet elements and style into tap. This style of tap led to what is today known as Broadway style, which is popular in American culture. It often involves high heeled tap shoes and show music, and is usually the type of tap first taught to beginners. Examples of this style are found in Broadway musicals such as Anything Goes and 42nd Street.

"Soft-Shoe" is a rhythm form of tap dancing that does not require special shoes, and though 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 sliding feet) more often than modern rhythm tap. It preceded what is currently considered to be modern tap, but has since declined in popularity.[25]

Tap Steps

[edit]

Basic tap steps are known as "one-sound steps" and are either weight shifting or non-weight-shifting steps. Common basic tap steps include heel drops, toe drops, heel digs, toe taps, a brush, scuff, chug, pull, hop, leap and step.[1]

In advanced tap dancing, basic steps are often combined together to create new steps. Many steps also have single, double, and triple variations, or can have a variation with a pickup, which is essentially adding an additional brush sound. Popular steps with many variations include pullbacks, timesteps, riffs,[26] and drawbacks.

Time steps is an umbrella term that is widely used in tap for any combination of steps that follows a specific rhythm or pattern. These consist of a rhythm that is changed to make new time steps by adding or removing steps. There are many variations of the basic time step, including the single, double, and triple time steps. Time steps consist of single- and multi-sound step combinations.[1]

In tap, various types of turns can be done, including step heel turns, Maxi Ford turns, cramp-roll turns, and drag turns. All tap turns can be practiced in both directions.[1]

Other common tap steps include the shuffle, shuffle ball change, double shuffle, leap shuffle, flap, flap ball change, running flaps, flap heel, cramp-roll, buffalo, Maxi Ford, Maxi Ford with a pullback, pullbacks, wings, Cincinnati, the shim sham shimmy (also called the Lindy), Irish, Waltz Clog, the paddle roll, the paradiddle, stomp, brushes, scuffs, spanks, single and double toe punches, hot steps, heel clicks toe stands, over-the-tops, military time step, back to broadway, toe stand turns, New Yorkers, and Shiggy Bops.

Tap shoes

[edit]
Tap shoes

In the earliest years of tap dancing, tap shoes often had wooden soles.[27] The soles of modern tap shoes are either full-sole or split-sole. A full-sole tap shoe has a continuous base material along the underside of the shoes; a split-sole tap shoe has a gap in the base material under the arch of the foot, making them more flexible. Modern tap shoes have soles with heels of varying height (one inch or more) and are commonly made of wood or stacked leather.[28] Some beginner tap shoes have heels made of plastic.[29] The toe box of the tap shoe is located on the front of the shoe for the purpose of reinforcing the shoe; however there are tap shoes that use a soft leather instead.[29] A single tap shoe has two taps: one under the heel, and another under the toes.[28]

Popular tap shoe makers include Bloch and Capezio.

Styles

[edit]

There are several styles of tap shoes:[30]

  • Mary Jane
  • Character Heel
  • Oxford

Taps

[edit]

Depending on manufacturer and model, tap characteristics can vary considerably. For example, some taps have relatively low weight and small footprint whereas others may be thicker and fill out the edge of the shoe more, making them heavier as a result. A tap's "tone" is influenced by its weight as well as its surface shape, which may be concave or convex.[31] The tonal quality of a tap can also be influenced by the material it is made from, and the presence of a soundboard.

  • Side view of tap shoe, showing taps mounted to bottoms of heel and toe
    Side view of tap shoe, showing taps mounted to bottoms of heel and toe
  • Metal tap on bottom of heel
    Metal tap on bottom of heel
  • Metal tap on bottom of toe
    Metal tap on bottom of toe

Taps are mounted to the sole of the shoe with screws, and sometimes adhesive as well. The screws are driven into a soundboard – a thin fiberboard integrated into the sole that can be firmly "gripped" by the screws – to reliably attach the tap to the shoe. When no adhesive is used, the screws can be loosened or tightened to produce different sounds, whereas tonal quality is fixed when adhesive is used.[citation needed]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Tap dance

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Tap dance is a percussive American dance form that originated in the early through the fusion of West African rhythmic stepping dances, such as the gioube and , with Irish and British traditions brought by immigrants and performed by enslaved Africans and laborers in urban settings like New York and .

This synthesis produced intricate footwork emphasizing polyrhythms, improvisation, and call-and-response patterns, initially executed in soft-soled shoes before metal taps were affixed to heels and toes around the to amplify sounds against hardwood floors, transforming it into a percussive instrument akin to drums or percussion ensembles.
Tap evolved through minstrel shows, circuits, and clubs in the early , where innovators like William Henry Lane () blended enslaved African techniques with European steps to challenge racial stereotypes via virtuosic display, though the form often faced appropriation by white performers amid segregation.
Its defining characteristics include rapid heel-toe strikes, shuffles, flaps, and wings executed solo or in ensembles, influencing Broadway musicals, Hollywood films, and modern tap, with peaks in popularity during the before declining post-World War II due to shifting entertainment trends, only to revive through figures like in the late .
Despite academic emphases on its roots in oppression—often drawing from institutionally biased narratives that underplay individual agency and innovation—tap's causal development stems from pragmatic cultural exchange in competitive performance contexts, yielding a resilient art form that prioritizes technical precision and musicality over narrative symbolism.

Origins and Early History

African and European Roots

The percussive foundations of tap dance derive from West African dance forms, including the gioube or djouba, which encompassed sacred and secular stepping traditions featuring rhythmic foot shuffling, stamping, hand-clapping, and body patting to generate complex polyrhythms. These elements emphasized and communal circle formations, as preserved in ethnographic descriptions of rituals among ethnic groups in regions like and the , from which many enslaved Africans originated after 1619. European contributions stemmed from British and Irish vernacular dances, notably hard-shoe jigs and step dances that prioritized rapid, articulated footwork on resilient soles to produce audible rhythms against floors or stages. Irish step dancing, formalized by itinerant dance masters in the 17th and 18th centuries, involved upright postures with intricate heel-and-toe patterns, often in or hobnailed shoes, as detailed in early modern accounts of competitive céilí gatherings. Similarly, clog styles in incorporated percussive strikes with wooden-soled , emerging amid 18th-century industrial communities where miners and mill workers adapted folk steps for rhythmic expression. In 17th- and 18th-century colonial America, these traditions began intersecting on plantations and in port cities, where enslaved Africans adapted West African shuffles into forms like the —counterclockwise processions with and stamping tolerated as "frolics" by owners—while observing and incorporating European partnering and upright carriage from events like harvest balls. Irish and British indentured laborers, comprising a significant portion of early settlers (e.g., over 100,000 Irish migrants by 1775), performed jigs in taverns and markets, fostering exchange through shared labor contexts and informal competitions that blended polyrhythmic improvisation with structured steps. Restrictions on African drumming, enacted in laws like Virginia's 1740s prohibitions, accelerated reliance on foot-generated sounds, setting preconditions for hybrid percussive idioms without yet yielding formalized tap.

Emergence in 19th-Century America

William Henry Lane, performing under the stage name , stands as a central innovator in the early synthesis of percussive dance forms during the 1840s in New York City's minstrel shows. Born around 1825 in , Lane integrated syncopated rhythms derived from African American vernacular traditions—such as the patting involving —with structured steps from European folk dances, including the Irish jig and English , to create fluid, rhythmically complex footwork that emphasized audible beats produced by shoe soles or bare feet against wooden stages. Eyewitness accounts, notably ' 1842 observation in American Notes for General Circulation, describe Lane's performance in Manhattan's Five Points district as featuring unparalleled agility and rhythmic innovation: a "slender-made, boy, who is the greatest dancer known... [with] heel and toe, double-shuffle, and cutting up in the air." Illustrations from period playbills, such as the 1849 portrait of with Pell's Serenaders, capture his low-center-of-gravity style and improvisational flair, which challenged white minstrels' caricatured imitations by introducing authentic polyrhythmic layering. Lane's integration of these elements occurred amid the rise of formalized minstrelsy, following the 1843 debut of the , whose structured shows consolidated African-derived improvisation with European precision in urban venues like New York's Bowery Theatre. By the 1850s, Lane's approach propelled the spread of hybrid percussive dances through itinerant troupes, which toured extensively across American cities, performing in theaters from to and reaching audiences in the thousands per season as documented in contemporary promotional records. This dissemination persisted into the , with troupes adapting rhythmic footwork to suit larger, noisier halls, where the inherent percussive quality—amplified by wooden-soled or flexible shoes—enhanced auditory impact without relying on additional , thereby boosting commercial viability amid competition for working-class patronage. These developments laid groundwork for soft-shoe precursors, a quieter variant using pliable leather soles for nuanced without overt clatter, as performers shifted emphasis from clog-derived hardness to subtler heel-toe articulations to accommodate varied acoustics and ensemble dynamics in evolving theatrical formats. The economic pressures of sustaining troupe profitability in an expanding market favored such versatile, crowd-engaging elements, prioritizing dances that merged visual spectacle with self-generated percussion for broad appeal.

20th-Century Development

Minstrelsy and Vaudeville

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, minstrel shows functioned as key venues for percussive dances that evolved into modern tap, featuring steps like the buck-and-wing—a lively flat-footed routine blending Irish clog and African-derived rhythms—performed amid the era's standard convention by both white and Black artists. These productions, which peaked in popularity from the 1840s but persisted into the 1890s and 1910s with touring troupes, emphasized rhythmic footwork in skits and challenges, as documented in playbills and accounts of competitive "buck dances" at theaters like Brooklyn's Bijou. Figures such as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who began performing around 1885 in local venues tied to traditions, adapted these formats by introducing solo precision tapping, often without , to highlight technical finesse over caricature. Vaudeville circuits from the 1900s to the 1920s expanded tap's reach, shifting from minstrelsy's structured ensembles to concise, competitive acts on nationwide stages, where dancers vied for 10- to 15-minute slots amid variety bills. Duos like Buck and Bubbles—Ford L. "Buck" Washington on piano and vocals, paired with on rhythm tap—debuted around 1910 and by 1922 headlined both Black circuits like the Theatre Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.) and white tours, performing routines that fused , , and innovative heel drops at off-beats to create syncopated polyrhythms. Bubbles' style, which slowed tempos from the quick "flash steps" of prior eras to emphasize grounded accents, marked a technical pivot, verifiable in preserved footage from 1937 shows like . The era's touring demands—spanning circuits such as Keith-Albee and Orpheum, with acts logging hundreds of performances annually across U.S. cities—fostered refinement through direct rivalry, as dancers like Robinson escalated speed and clarity in solos to secure bookings, evidenced by their sustained headliner status into the . This competitive pressure, unhindered by formal segregation in performance innovation, enabled cross-influence, such as Robinson's challenges against white dancers, advancing tap's rhythmic complexity nationwide.

Broadway and Hollywood Eras

The Broadway era of tap dance, particularly in the and , saw significant commercialization through revues that showcased performers and innovative rhythms. A landmark production was , which opened on May 9, 1928, at the Liberty Theatre and ran for 518 performances, establishing it as the longest-running all-Black show on Broadway for decades. Featuring Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in his signature stair dance routine, the revue highlighted tap's syncopated precision and propelled Robinson to national fame among predominantly white audiences, despite the era's in theater productions. This success underscored tap's appeal as a rhythmic innovation blending African American percussive traditions with theatrical spectacle, drawing large crowds and influencing subsequent musicals through its emphasis on individual dancer virtuosity over ensemble numbers. Tap's integration into Hollywood during the of and amplified its global reach, with films serving as vehicles for technical display and narrative enhancement. , in their ten collaborative musicals from (1933) to (1949), incorporated tap sequences that emphasized clean, synchronized footwork and musical phrasing, as seen in Swing Time (1936)'s "Bojangles of " homage to Robinson, which showcased Astaire's rapid-fire rhythms and influenced perceptions of tap as elegant rather than solely percussive. These films, produced under , grossed millions at the and exported American tap aesthetics worldwide, causal to its adoption in international dance training by prioritizing visual clarity in choreography over improvised flair. Contemporary critics noted how such pairings elevated tap's status, with Astaire's innovations in heel-toe drops and off-beat accents refining the form for cinematic close-ups. All-Black cast films like Stormy Weather (1943) further demonstrated tap's versatility amid Hollywood's segregated production norms, featuring Robinson alongside the Nicholas Brothers' acrobatic leaps in an unrehearsed "Jumpin' Jive" sequence that critics hailed for its explosive syncopation and athleticism. Directed by Andrew L. Stone for 20th Century Fox, the film focused on nightclub-style routines that preserved tap's improvisational roots while adapting to studio constraints, contributing to its commercial viability despite limited distribution to Black theaters initially. This era's outputs, balancing technical achievements with racial barriers—such as white producers controlling Black talent narratives—cemented tap's role in musical invention, where dancers like Robinson and Astaire causal advanced polyrhythmic complexity, as evidenced by period reviews praising their films' rhythmic innovations over plotlines.

Mid-Century Challenges and Decline

Following , tap dance entered a period of decline as the era waned, exacerbated by a federal excise tax on admissions implemented in the mid-1940s, which sharply reduced the number of live music venues that had sustained tap performances alongside orchestras. The rise of commercial television further eroded demand for live stage acts, shifting audiences toward screen-based entertainment and diminishing opportunities in and variety shows. On Broadway, tap features in productions became less prominent by the early , reflecting a broader shift away from rhythm-driven spectacles toward narrative-driven , as evidenced by the reduced integration of tap sequences in musicals post-1940s. Additional challenges included persistent venue segregation, which limited tap dancers—many of whom drove the form's innovations—to restricted or secondary performance spaces through the , though performers adapted by seeking out informal networks and smaller circuits. Union-related disruptions, such as the 1942 musicians' strike that curtailed recordings and live accompaniments, compounded these issues by isolating dancers from musical collaborations essential to tap's percussive style. Individual resilience marked this era; for instance, "Honi" Coles, recognizing the "lull" in opportunities, co-founded the Craft Studio in during the to teach rhythm tap techniques, sustaining the art through instruction amid dwindling professional gigs. Despite mainstream contraction, tap endured in underground contexts like jazz clubs, where dancers maintained traditions through improvisational exchanges with musicians, as documented in performance logs from Harlem venues showing sporadic but consistent appearances into the late 1950s. This persistence in niche jazz environments preserved core elements of syncopation and speed, preventing total extinction while broader theater closures—such as the shuttering of many vaudeville houses—limited visibility.

Revival and Contemporary Era

1980s Renaissance

The Broadway musical 42nd Street, which premiered on August 25, 1980, and achieved 3,486 performances through 1989, played a central role in revitalizing tap dance by showcasing high-energy ensemble routines choreographed by , thereby restoring its commercial appeal amid prior decline. The production's success, evidenced by its extended run and in 1981, drew broad audiences to tap's rhythmic spectacle, fostering renewed interest in live performances. Complementing this, the 1979 documentary No Maps on My Taps, directed by George Nierenberg and broadcast on television, featured performances by veteran tap artists Bunny Briggs, Chuck Green, and Howard "Sandman" Sims alongside Lionel Hampton's music, which inspired thousands of young dancers and elevated tap's visibility as an authentic African American art form. This exposure, timed just before the decade's theatrical boom, contributed to grassroots enthusiasm by highlighting improvisational mastery and historical depth, prompting wider emulation of the style. Gregory Hines advanced the momentum through his lead role in the 1989 film Tap, where he performed alongside Sammy Davis Jr. and Savion Glover, directly linking cinematic portrayal to practical growth in tap training; the movie's emphasis on rhythmic innovation correlated with expanded academy enrollments as students pursued Hines' fluid, percussive techniques. Concurrently, the U.S. designated May 25 as National Tap Dance Day via legislation signed by President on November 7, 1989—honoring Bill "Bojangles" Robinson's birthdate—which spurred nationwide events and underscored institutional support for tap's expanding community. These developments collectively evidenced a structured resurgence, with tap's participant base growing rapidly through the decade.

Innovations from the 1990s to 2025

In 1995, Savion Glover choreographed and starred in Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, a production that premiered at the Public Theater and moved to Broadway in 1996, blending tap dance's percussive rhythms with hip-hop beats and spoken-word narratives chronicling African American history from slavery to modern times. This innovation earned Glover the 1996 Tony Award for Best Choreography and reshaped tap pedagogy by prioritizing raw, grounded footwork and musical fusion over stylized performance, influencing a generation of dancers to explore interdisciplinary rhythms. The 2000s and 2010s extended these fusions, with tap artists incorporating hip-hop's and into routines, as evidenced in workshops and performances emphasizing hybrid movement over isolated traditions. By the 2020s, youth-driven innovations proliferated, including Chicago-based Bril Barrett's "tap-activism" through M.A.D.D. Rhythms, which has instructed hundreds of at-risk youth since the early 2000s and received the 2024 Heritage Fellowship for advancing tap's communal and expressive potential. Emerging talents like 20-year-old Bella Boye from exemplified this vitality in 2023, gaining recognition via competitive circuits and for precise, energetic solos that attracted younger audiences to tap's technical demands. Global expansions marked further evolution, with Brazilian tap dancer Felipe Galganni, based in since the 2010s, integrating samba's and phrasing into American tap, as demonstrated in his 2025 "Samba Meets Tap Dance Program" and regular classes at institutions like Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway. Digital platforms amplified these developments, enabling viral dissemination of hybrid routines through festivals and online tutorials, fostering international while preserving tap's core rhythmic integrity.

Technical Elements

Fundamental Steps and Techniques

Fundamental tap dance steps rely on precise weight transfer between the feet, where the dancer shifts body mass from one leg to the other to produce distinct percussive sounds through controlled impacts of metal taps against the floor. The shuffle, a foundational movement, entails brushing the ball of the foot forward or backward across the floor surface with minimal knee bend and relaxed ankle, generating a soft "shh" scraping tone via friction before full weight placement clarifies the rhythm. In contrast, the flap combines a forward shuffle with an immediate step, yielding two sequential sounds: the initial brush followed by a heel-toe strike that transfers full body weight downward, emphasizing forward propulsion and tonal sharpness. The cramp roll extends these mechanics into a rolling sequence of alternating toe and heel drops, typically executed as four rapid strikes—right toe, left heel, right heel, left toe—mimicking a drum roll through successive weight shifts that distribute force across both feet. Acoustically, these steps convert kinetic energy from the dancer's descending mass into vibrational sound waves upon metal tap contact with the floor; toe impacts yield higher-frequency pitches due to smaller contact area and faster vibration decay, while heel strikes produce lower tones from broader surface resonance and sustained energy transfer. This physics-based sound generation demands anatomical coordination, including plantar flexion for toe brushes and dorsiflexion for heel emphasis, to isolate vibrations and prevent muddled harmonics. Training progresses from isolated step drills to integrated routines, beginning with slow-motion repetitions to ingrain proprioceptive feedback and via cerebellar adaptation to repetitive motor patterns. Empirical studies on percussive instruction demonstrate that precision teaching methods, involving frequent practice with immediate error correction, enhance retention of step sequences in novices, with probes showing sustained accuracy after initial phases. Unlike ballet's barre-centric pliés for alignment, tap emphasizes floor-based exercises to build auditory-motor , progressing to full-body coordination without reliance on external supports. Tap's improvisational core manifests in its dialogic interplay with music, where dancers generate spontaneous rhythms that echo or counter instrumental phrases, distinct from ballet's pre-codified positions by prioritizing real-time auditory response over spatial form. This interactive element fosters adaptive phrasing, as dancers attune to musical cues through heightened kinesthetic awareness, enabling variations in and dynamics that sustain percussive conversation.

Rhythm, Musicality, and Improvisation

Tap dance prioritizes auditory elements over visual spectacle, with rhythms produced by metal taps striking the floor functioning as percussive instrumentation, amenable to transcription and analysis akin to musical notation. Polyrhythmic structures, involving simultaneous layers such as 3:2 ratios where one rhythm overlays another within the same time frame, originate from African rhythmic traditions preserved in the footwork of enslaved performers fused with European step dances. These complexities enable dancers to create interlocking patterns that challenge linear pulse perception, as demonstrated in transcriptions revealing multiple independent beats converging over cycles. Call-and-response dynamics further underscore this sonic interplay, where an initiating prompts a reactive from another dancer or ensemble, mirroring African communal forms and analyzable via to isolate responsive motifs. , through off-beat accents that displace emphasis from strong pulses to weaker subdivisions, generates tap's propulsive energy by introducing rhythmic tension that resolves on anticipated downbeats, a mechanism paralleled in where such displacements foster swing and momentum. Examples include steps like syncopated pullbacks, where taps on the "and" of beats create irregular phrasing, causally heightening listener through violated expectations. Live amplifies , allowing dancers to deviate spontaneously from established patterns in response to or partners, as evidenced in recordings of "trading fours"—four-bar exchanges akin to solos—where variations emerge unpredictably, prioritizing real-time auditory . This practice underscores tap's causal reliance on sonic feedback, with performers adjusting phrasing based on emergent polyrhythms and syncopations rather than fixed , fostering a that evolves through performance.

Equipment and Performance Tools

Construction of Tap Shoes

Tap shoes feature a base structure derived from Oxford-style footwear for men, characterized by low-top lacing over the instep and minimal height, or character shoes for women with elevated heels typically one inch or more for enhanced projection. These bases employ full-grain or leather uppers for flexibility and resilience, with split options providing a textured surface that aids grip while preserving acoustic integrity. Leather soles, often hand-stitched, form the foundation, where thickness directly influences volume and tonal weight—heavier builds amplify resonance compared to lighter variants. Taps affix to the reinforced toe box and heel via screws or rivets, with screws—often accompanied by nails—permitting adjustment to counteract loosening from repetitive impact, thus maintaining precise sound articulation. Riveted attachments prioritize permanence, reducing vibration for consistent heel strikes but necessitating professional reattachment for replacements. This method evolved from earlier metal plate integrations in the 1930s, favoring secure fastening over prior loose fittings to optimize durability under dynamic loads. Heel contrasts stacked or cores, which yield deep, rich tones through efficient energy transfer, against or plastic composites that dampen output for a lighter, less projective sound—differences verifiable through direct auditory comparisons during trials. Recessed heel designs further modulate pitch, elevating it for brighter articulation in empirical assessments of material resonance.

Variations in Tap Plates

Tap plates, the metal components affixed to the toe and heel of tap shoes, emerged in the early , replacing earlier reliance on hard soles or wooden for percussive production. These plates, typically composed of aluminum, , or composite alloys, enable precise control over tonal due to their high elasticity and sound conduction properties, which amplify vibrations upon floor impact. Synthetic alternatives, such as plastic or rubber, exist but produce muted tones less suited to traditional amplification needs. Standard configurations feature distinct toe and heel plates, with the toe plate covering the and forward sole for forward strikes, and the heel plate positioned under the rear for drops and accents. Plates may be riveted for permanence, offering and consistent for beginners, or secured via for adjustability, allowing dancers to fine-tune tension. Looser screw settings permit greater plate , yielding deeper, resonant tones ideal for intimate venues, while tighter fastenings restrict movement for brighter, crisper clarity and higher volume in larger spaces. plates, in particular, generate a "tinny" hollow quality when loosely fixed, contrasting with formulations designed for richer harmonics. Customization involves selecting plate alloys for desired —aluminum for lightweight projection, steel for edge—and positioning them to maximize edge contact with the , as forward placement enhances attack sharpness. Dancers often replace worn plates to maintain acoustic integrity, with empirical adjustments based on venue acoustics; for instance, harder metals sustain clarity over repeated impacts without . Maintenance practices include periodic screw tightening to prevent loosening from , surface cleaning to avoid residue buildup that dulls resonance, and professional reattachment to ensure even wear distribution. These variations allow causal tailoring of sound output, where and fixation directly influence wave and decay, optimizing performance across environments from studios to theaters.

Styles and Subgenres

Show Tap and Classical Forms

Show tap, a theatrical variant of tap dance, prioritizes precision in footwork alongside full-body expressiveness, including choreographed arm movements, upright posture, and engaging facial expressions to enhance presence. This style emerged prominently in Broadway productions, where tap routines serve as high-energy ensemble numbers integrated into musical narratives, demanding synchronized timing among performers to align with orchestral cues and scenic elements. Unlike more percussive-focused forms, show tap metrics emphasize clean execution and visual appeal, with dancers maintaining an extended line through the torso to project movements clearly to theater audiences seated at varying distances. Classical tap, often termed swing or flash tap, incorporates upper-body isolations and extensions drawn from and aesthetics with syncopated tap rhythms, enabling acrobatic flourishes and dynamic leaps. Pioneered in early 20th-century films, this form highlights feats like mid-air splits and rapid directional changes, as demonstrated by the in sequences that blend percussive clarity with balletic elevation for dramatic effect. syllabi at institutions such as Broadway Dance Center structure progression around foundational shuffles, flaps, and cramprolls, advancing to ensemble combinations that stress uniformity in phrasing and spatial patterns for theatrical cohesion. These programs allocate sessions to center-floor warm-ups and across-the-floor progressions, fostering the metric precision required for show contexts where deviations could disrupt narrative flow. Fred Astaire exemplified show tap's narrative integration in routines like the "Let's Say It with Firecrackers" sequence from (1942), where precise taps synchronized with pyrotechnic props advanced the film's plot while showcasing effortless complexity through repeated takes yielding near-identical execution. Such performances underscore show tap's strengths in audience accessibility, as the incorporation of gestural storytelling and visible effortlessness broadens appeal beyond rhythm specialists, evidenced by its dominance in commercial theater metrics of ticket sales and repeat viewings during the 1930s-1940s . However, this emphasis on choreographed polish can attenuate improvisational spontaneity, prioritizing replicable precision over the variable phrasing inherent in less structured variants, potentially limiting rhythmic innovation in live settings.

Rhythm Tap and Hoofing

Hoofing developed in the 1930s and 1940s within African American clubs, characterized by heavier stomps and grounded, percussive footwork that prioritized raw over visual flash. This style, often performed in informal settings like Harlem's Hoofers Club, emphasized powerful heel drops and syncopated beats to engage directly with live ensembles. , born in 1902, pioneered adaptations of hoofing into what became known as tap during the , introducing complex heel stamps and breaking from standard phrasing to infuse greater musical depth. Rhythm tap refined hoofing's percussive foundation into a form focused on improvisational dialogue with music, featuring lower-body emphasis, cramp rolls, and time steps initiated with heel drops for intricate polyrhythms. Unlike the polished precision of show tap, rhythm tap maintains a hunkered-down stance with extemporized accents, allowing dancers to "converse" dynamically with drummers or bands through layered, off-beat strikes. , emerging in the 1990s, advanced this subgenre with hard-hitting, tradition-rooted innovations under his "Hooferz Club" banner, drawing from predecessors like to push boundaries in speed and intensity. Practitioners achieved notable complexity in rhythmic transcription, replicating solos via foot percussion and fostering that mirrored instrumental phrasing, as analyzed in studies of Bubbles' heel-centric techniques. However, rhythm tap and hoofing faced limitations in mainstream appeal due to their niche demand for auditory focus over spectacle, often confining performances to specialized venues rather than broad theatrical stages. This emphasis on percussive subtlety, while enabling profound musical integration, contributed to slower dissemination beyond circles compared to more visually oriented styles.

Postmodern and Fusion Variants

Tap Dogs, choreographed by Dein Perry and premiered on January 30, 1995, at the , exemplifies a fusion variant by integrating tap with industrial percussion, rock-infused soundtracks, and rugged metal scaffolding sets that amplify foot strikes into heavy, machinery-like rhythms. This production, drawing from Australian steel-town heritage, eschewed traditional top hats and tails for hard hats and work boots, emphasizing raw, masculine energy over classical elegance, and garnered the Award for Best New Dance Production in 1996. It has sustained international tours exceeding 25 years, with over 700 dancers trained in its methodology by 2001, broadening tap's demographic beyond theater enthusiasts to rock concert audiences. Experimental fusions with genres like emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, leveraging shared zapateado-style footwork; performers adapted tap shoes for flamenco rhythms, creating hybrid solos that blend metallic taps with heel drags and on Andalusian-inspired stages. Hip-hop influences appeared in percussive battles incorporating syncing and freestyle elements, though less formalized than tap's hoofing roots. In the , Brazilian variants prioritize creative synthesis, as seen in Leonardo 's work, which merges U.S. tap precision with Afro-Brazilian grooves such as , , , and passinho since founding Cia. Carioca de Sapateado in the early ; , recipient of the 2022 Vilcek for Creative Promise in , performs these on global stages, embedding urban energies into tap's polyrhythms. Such innovations elicit divided responses within the tap community. Proponents, including , assert that fusing tap with contemporary media and global traditions sustains its relevance, countering decline by attracting diverse performers and viewers uninterested in vaudeville-era purity. Critics, however, including regional historians, contend that prioritizing spectacle—via amplified effects or non-jazz accompaniments—erodes tap's foundational musician-dancer , fostering disconnection from live and risking that favors visual over sonic depth. This tension mirrors broader evolutions, where via shows like Tap Dogs expands access but prompts traditionalists to advocate preserving unadulterated percussive authenticity against hybrid dilutions.

Cultural Significance and Legacy

Tap dance has permeated cinema through iconic depictions that popularized its rhythmic appeal, as seen in the 1952 musical , which featured elaborate tap sequences amid its transition-to-sound narrative and achieved widespread acclaim for advancing . More recently, (2016) incorporated tap training for lead actors and , contributing to the film's global of $471.5 million and a subsequent surge in tap class enrollments, with studios reporting queues of aspiring dancers inspired by its choreography. These examples illustrate tap's role in sustaining genres, where its percussive elements enhanced visual storytelling and commercial viability. In television and digital platforms, tap dance maintains visibility through competition formats and short-form content, such as appearances on reality shows like So You Think You Can Dance, which routinely showcase tap routines to broad audiences. Viral videos, including those by ensembles like the Syncopated Ladies, have amassed millions of views since the late 2010s, fostering algorithmic promotion on sites like and that exposes the form to younger demographics. While precise viewership metrics for tap-specific trends vary, such content correlates with episodic revivals, as platforms amplify percussive challenges blending tap with contemporary beats, extending its reach beyond traditional stages. Tap's influence extends to musical fusions, particularly in , where it functioned as embodied percussion in 1920s-1940s club scenes, syncing footwork with to define the era's sound-dance interplay. This rhythmic foundation permeated hip-hop, with tap's syncopated stomps and polyrhythms informing breaking and uprock variants, traceable to shared African diasporic roots like slapping that predated formalized tap. Such integrations highlight tap's causal role in evolving percussive genres without overshadowing non-Western antecedents, including Kongo-derived movements that shaped its hybrid .

Notable Practitioners and Achievements

William Henry Lane, known as (c. 1825–1852), is regarded as a foundational figure in American tap dance, developing a unique style that fused African rhythmic traditions with Irish step dancing elements during the 1840s in minstrel shows. He frequently outperformed prominent white dancers, including John Diamond, in competitive challenges, establishing tap's percussive foundations through innovative footwork and imitation of multiple dance styles. Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (c. 1878–1949) elevated tap to mainstream prominence in the early , introducing the "stair dance" routine—performed descending stairs with precise, upright footwork—and pioneering wooden taps that produced a distinctive resonant sound differing from metal-plated norms. As the highest-paid African American entertainer of his era, Robinson's elegant, swinging style influenced Broadway and , collaborating with figures like in 1935's The Little Colonel, the first interracial tap duo on screen. Fred Astaire (1899–1987), though primarily a ballroom and jazz dancer, adapted and popularized tap in Hollywood musicals from the 1930s onward, choreographing routines that integrated tap rhythms with cinematic precision, as in Top Hat (1935) where his light, improvisational steps masked technical complexity. His collaborations with Black tap artists, including Bill Robinson in Stormy Weather (1943), helped disseminate authentic tap techniques to wider audiences, countering perceptions of tap as solely ethnic by embedding it in versatile, cross-genre performances. John Bubbles (1902–1986) transformed tap's rhythmic structure in the 1920s–1930s by emphasizing offbeat heel drops and toe accents, shifting focus from visual flash to syncopated musicality, which became a cornerstone of jazz-influenced "rhythm tap." (1946–2003) advanced tap's visibility in the late , earning a Primetime Emmy Award in 1989 for Gregory Hines: Tap Dance in America, a special showcasing historical masters, and a Tony Award in 1996 for choreography in Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, which fused tap with hip-hop and narrative history. Savion Glover (b. 1973) revitalized tap in the 1990s with his "hitting" style—intense, grounded stomps evoking drum-like percussion—co-creating and choreographing the Tony-winning Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk (1996), which earned him a Best Choreography Tony and introduced tap to younger demographics through Broadway innovation. (b. 1979), active into the 2020s, received the 2015 MacArthur Fellowship—the first for a tap dancer—for choreographies like ETET (2014) that blend traditional hoofing with and live music, expanding tap's ensemble and improvisational scope in contemporary venues. Her work, performed globally through Dorrance Dance, has secured Bessie Awards, including for Outstanding Production in 2015, underscoring tap's evolution beyond solo virtuosity.

Criticisms, Controversies, and Debates

Tap dance's early association with 19th-century American minstrel shows, which emerged in the and primarily featured white performers in enacting exaggerated stereotypes of African American dances, has prompted ongoing criticisms of racial insensitivity and cultural appropriation. These shows facilitated the form's initial popularization and dissemination across audiences, yet black performers such as William Henry Lane (), active from the 1830s, participated—often in themselves—to gain access to stages otherwise barred to them, innovating rhythmic techniques that directly influenced tap's percussive foundation. Empirical records indicate white acts dominated early commercialization, with black innovators like Lane contributing foundational virtuosity but receiving limited credit or compensation amid segregation; for instance, post-Civil War minstrel troupes included both white and black dancers in , yet black performers typically faced restricted solo opportunities and lower earnings compared to white counterparts. The mid-20th-century decline of tap, accelerating in the , has sparked debates over causal factors, with some attributing it to external cultural shifts—such as the demise of and Hollywood musicals, the rise of , electronic music, and television's narrative focus—versus internal stagnation from failure to innovate amid evolving audience preferences. A federal excise tax on venues further exacerbated economic pressures, reducing live opportunities and contributing to what dancers like Honi Coles termed "the lull." Gender dynamics have also entered analyses, as tap's early featured male-dominated hoofing competitions with limited female participation, potentially limiting stylistic diversity; historical accounts note women's underrepresentation in jigging origins and , though they contributed significantly, raising questions about whether rigid roles hindered adaptation. Critics debate whether such internal factors, compounded by broader social changes, outweighed industry disruptions. Contemporary controversies center on commercialization's impact, with detractors arguing that Broadway revivals and media adaptations—exemplified by simplified spectacle in productions echoing Disney-style theming—dilute tap's authentic rhythmic depth and percussive grit for mass appeal. Proponents of fusion variants, incorporating hip-hop or global percussive elements since the , counter that such evolutions sustain the form through competitive innovation and merit-driven adaptation, rather than rigid adherence to historical that risks . Authenticity debates extend to origin narratives, where claims emphasizing Irish influences over African American soundwork have faced pushback as minimizing black contributions, framing tap's hybridity as antiracist praxis rather than cultural dilution. These tensions highlight causal realism in tap's persistence: empirical success in revivals correlates with adaptive fusions, yet purists cite data from competition-driven teaching shifts toward commercial aesthetics as evidence of eroded technical rigor.

References

  1. https://www.withwingsandroots.org/en/timelines/tap-dancing-an-afro-irish-fusion
  2. https://westharlem.art/2021/09/26/history-of-tap-dance/
  3. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1866&context=stu_hon_theses
  4. https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1193&context=honorscollege_theses
  5. https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/TAPENCY2002cites.pdf
  6. https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1791&context=honors
  7. https://libjournals.unca.edu/ncur/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Van-Frank-Kyle-FINAL.pdf
  8. https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=1&article=1503&context=etd&type=additional
  9. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5228&context=gc_etds
  10. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=ouhonors1275769569&disposition=inline
  11. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1657&context=stu_hon_theses
  12. https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1206&context=pvamu-theses
  13. https://soar.suny.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.12648/4804/dns_theses/22/fulltext%2520%25281%2529.pdf?sequence=1
  14. https://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/academics/colleges/hclas/geog/geog_honors_moorea10.pdf
  15. https://www.appwomen.org/irish-step-dancing/
  16. https://www.artsfifthavenue.org/tap-history-1.html
  17. https://commonplace.online/article/partners-in-time/
  18. https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/lane-william-henry-master-juba-1825-c-1852/
  19. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/675/675-h/675-h.htm
  20. https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/jamescook/wp-content/uploads/sites/181/2014/11/cook_discourses_in_dance_article.pdf
  21. https://www.folkstreams.net/contexts/tap-dance-in-america-a-short-history-by-constance-valis-hill
  22. https://www.otrcat.com/history-of-minstrel-shows
  23. https://www.bklynlibrary.org/blog/2009/01/09/minstrel-history-brooklyn
  24. https://www.bonedrymusic.com/v/bdm/blank/minstrel-faqs.htm
  25. https://academic.oup.com/book/32849/chapter/275638547
  26. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bill-robinson-king-of-tap-180963332/
  27. https://www.brec.ca/the-minstrel-show-to-vaudeville
  28. https://www.uniquecoloring.com/articles/john-bubbles
  29. https://masterworksbroadway.com/music/blackbirds-of-1928-shuffle-along-1921/
  30. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/bill-bojangles-robinson/
  31. https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/artists/robinson-bill/
  32. https://collider.com/fred-astaire-ginger-rogers-movies-ranked/
  33. http://www.tapdancingresources.com/movies/by-tap-dancer/fred-astaire-films.htm
  34. https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/91511/stormy-weather
  35. https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/690
  36. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/images/15_63.4krayenbuhl.pdf
  37. https://www.reflector.com/duplin/opinion/editorial_columnists/john-hood-decline-of-tap-dancing-partly-due-to-taxes/article_91a2c088-a9dd-11ef-be45-e76e7006cb42.html
  38. https://blog.oup.com/2016/02/missing-scholarship-of-american-tap-dance/
  39. https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/celebrate-national-tap-dance-day/
  40. https://www.britannica.com/art/tap-dance
  41. https://lifelongdancestudent.com/2020/01/24/quick-bio-honi-coles/
  42. https://www.dancetutors.co.uk/thehistoryoftapdancing.html
  43. https://www.musicals101.com/1980bway.htm
  44. https://www.adanceplace.com/history-of-tap-dance/
  45. https://milestonefilms.com/products/no-maps-on-my-taps
  46. https://montclairfilm.org/event-archive/no-maps-on-my-taps/
  47. https://www.clistudios.com/dance-blog/dance-industry/9-famous-tap-dancers-and-their-iconic-tap-moves/
  48. https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-tap-dance-day-may-25
  49. https://dancespirit.com/taps-renaissance/
  50. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bring-in-Da-Noise-Bring-in-Da-Funk
  51. https://masterworksbroadway.com/music/bring-in-da-noise-bring-in-da-funk-1996/
  52. https://taplifecompany.com/blog/f/evolution-of-tap-dance-from-a-different-perspective
  53. https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/chicagos-tap-activist-transforms-young-lives-through-dance/
  54. https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/bril-barrett
  55. https://dancespirit.com/generation-tap-rising-stars/
  56. https://broadwaydancecenter.com/faculty/felipe-galganni
  57. https://www.youtube.com/user/felipegalganni
  58. https://www.theative.co.uk/post/a-look-at-the-modern-era-of-tap-dance-how-tap-has-evolved-and-thrivedtapdanceclassesinstreatham
  59. https://www2.arpel.org/Download_PDFS/s26KC8/243266/Tap%2520Dance%2520Fundamentals.pdf
  60. http://www.mchip.net/browse/u5G4EC/246285/Tap%2520Dance%2520Fundamentals.pdf
  61. https://prezi.com/bstkr9empfgd/the-physics-of-tap-dancing/
  62. https://intunedance.co.uk/5-essential-basic-tap-steps-every-dancer-should-know/
  63. https://www.citraining.com/pdfs/Motor-Learning-for-Dance-Teachers-and-Performers.pdf
  64. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8458524/
  65. https://www.danceinforma.com/2015/11/03/sound-wisdom-a-guide-to-tap-dance-from-tony-coppola/
  66. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327329432_Release_Relax_Ready_A_Rhythm-First_Holistic_Approach_to_Teaching_Tap_Dance
  67. https://lifestyle.tearfund.org/libweb/MKfBgj/1OK021/african-american__dance__history.pdf
  68. https://encompass.eku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=2&article=1000&context=ekuopen&type=additional
  69. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2060&context=stu_hon_theses
  70. https://www.92ny.org/92StreetY/media/DOCUMENTS/School-Initiatives/Dance-Guide.pdf
  71. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/tap-dance-guide
  72. https://www.skoove.com/blog/what-is-syncopation-in-music/
  73. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y16QWHMTpSA
  74. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTuCP5tijDE
  75. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQchNkt4Id0
  76. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=bb_etds
  77. https://www.danceadvantage.net/tap-shoe-construction/
  78. https://us.blochworld.com/blogs/advice-and-education/tap-shoe-guide
  79. https://allin1panel.com/12-best-tap-shoes-dance-creators-endorse/
  80. https://www.dancedirect.com/cz625-capezio-jr-tyette-tap-shoes-pink
  81. https://junebugbayer.blog/2020/06/03/tap-shoes-and-practice-surfaces/
  82. https://latindanceshoes.com.au/the-ultimate-guide-to-tap-shoes-types-features-and-brands/
  83. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKF6QDTALOs
  84. https://www.dancewearcentral.co.uk/blogs/blog/tap-shoes-a-buying-guide
  85. https://adoredanceshoes.com/blogs/dance-shoes/what-do-dance-shoes-look-like-a-visual-guide
  86. http://www.cmsim.eu/papers_pdf/october_2012_papers/12_CMSIM_2012_Law_Donegan_Creaven_4_663-670.pdf
  87. https://us.blochworld.com/products/jss-tap-toe-steel
  88. https://ashleyellendance.com/blogs/news/teletone-taps-vs-other-tap-plates
  89. https://www.quickcobbler.com/tap-shoes
  90. https://www.danceadvantage.net/the-taps/
  91. https://dancespirit.com/show_tap_a_spectacular_style/
  92. https://www2.arpel.org/Download_PDFS/u4A4EH/245395/TapDancingAtAGlance.pdf
  93. https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/learn-the-styles-and-aesthetics-of-tap-dance
  94. https://www.alleykatstapcompany.com/blog/styles-of-tap
  95. https://broadwaydancecenter.com/faculty/tap
  96. https://broadwaydancecenter.com/workshop/absolute-beginner-workshops
  97. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cayvdDNoP9A
  98. https://www.theative.co.uk/post/the-golden-age-of-tap-danceclassesinstreatham
  99. https://www2.arpel.org/book-search/u4A4EH/245395/Tap%2520Dancing%2520At%2520A%2520Glance.pdf
  100. https://academic.oup.com/book/43106/chapter/361591766
  101. https://www.sadlerswells.com/discover-dance/more-about-dance/tap/
  102. https://www.chicagotap.org/post/celebrating-master-pioneers-of-tap-dance-in-their-birth-month
  103. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/jun/01/dance
  104. https://brooklynrail.org/2009/03/dance/savion-glover-a-rhythmic-musician/
  105. https://www.dancetutors.co.uk/rhythmtap.html
  106. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803102101140
  107. https://www.tapdogs.com/awards/
  108. https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2001/feb/11/features.review27
  109. https://vimeo.com/419953187
  110. https://vilcek.org/prizes/prize-recipients/leonardo-sandoval
  111. https://www.stepsnyc.com/faculty/leonardo-sandoval/
  112. https://www.thewonderfulworldofdance.com/tap-dogs-awestriking-energy-ongoing-innovation
  113. https://www.broadstreetreview.com/essays/has-philly-lost-touch-with-the-true-musical-roots-of-tap-dance
  114. https://www.deepfocusreview.com/definitives/singin-in-the-rain/
  115. https://louis.pressbooks.pub/danceappreciation/chapter/tap-jazz-musical-theater-television-and-film/
  116. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/La-La-Land
  117. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/feb/17/dance-studios-tap-into-the-la-la-land-phenomenon
  118. https://www.superprof.com/blog/pop-culture-tap-dance/
  119. https://www.npr.org/2019/04/13/713097764/viral-stars-the-syncopated-ladies-shake-up-tap-dancing
  120. https://www.clistudios.com/dance-blog/dance-industry/the-history-of-tap-dance/
  121. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/%25E2%2580%259Ctap-dance-is-timeless%25E2%2580%259D-dancer-kenji-igus-on-how-tap-has-adapted-over-the-years/dAWh62nmpiwMJA?hl=en
  122. https://www.quora.com/What-do-jazz-dance-and-hip-hop-dancing-have-in-common
  123. https://www.masterjuba.com/
  124. https://www.theskanner.com/entertainment/people/33972-here-are-4-ways-bill-bojangles-robinson-transformed-tap-dance
  125. https://www.atdf.org/hall-of-fame-bios
  126. https://blogs.umb.edu/cinemastudies/2018/02/01/fred-astaire-the-man-the-myth-the-legend/
  127. https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/gregory-hines
  128. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323174/
  129. https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2015/michelle-dorrance
  130. https://www.dorrancedance.com/
  131. https://ums.org/2019/06/21/from-margins-to-mainstream-tap-dance-history/
  132. https://medium.com/luminasticity/the-black-performer-in-blackface-cb4786d85f3c
  133. https://eaglenationonline.com/25606/opinion/column-tap-dance-honors-black-history-traditions/
  134. https://www.fouetteacademy.com/the-history-of-tap-dance-a-rhythmic-evolution/
  135. https://www.ncspin.com/when-taxes-almost-killed-tap-dancing
  136. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-23-ca-31769-story.html
  137. https://www.musicingotham.org/song_stage_screen_xi/abstracts.php
  138. https://online.ucpress.edu/res/article/1/4/412/116091/Black-Soundwork-Knowledge-Production-and-the
  139. https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1172&context=education_dissertations
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.