Tap Dance

Tap dancing is comprised of traditional African tribal dances, Scottish, Irish and English clog dances. This style of dance started with a mix of cultures in the United States. “Cutting contests,” in the 1800s were tap dancing competitions. These competitions were an excellent foundation to come up with new talent. Dancers learned from each other’s techniques and rhythmic patterns and matured as dancers from doing so.1

Tap dancing evolved and merged just like any other type of dance in the following decades. Woven between tap dancing were styles like buck dancing, soft-shoe dancing and buck-and-wing dancing. All these styles were much like tap, using the feet to make sounds1.

Up until the last few decades of the 20th century, it was said that African slaves and Irish indentured servants had danced on Southern plantations and that is how tap dancing arrived1.

In the late 20th century, researchers suggested that tap was not from the Southern plantations but from urban environments where a variety of ethnic groups lived. These groups lived in close quarters and were in constant contact with the urban rhythms.

Tap dancing really evolved in the 1920’s when dancers started nailing or screwing metal plates to their shoes to make louder sounds. These shoes with a metal tap on the toe and heel, is what we know today as being “tap shoes”1.

Tap shoes are like fingerprints, no two tap shoes are the same; each tap is very unique. Taps made by popular companies are distinctive from one another2. As a dance instructor, I use Capezio Teletone taps for our dancers. They are lightweight and have a modest tone for the other classes in the studio and on stage we use sound boards to make them louder. Soundboards are strictly to make your tones louder and heard by the audience.

Along with tap shoes, dancers will wear clothes that will move when they tap. Mainly wearing pants that are snug to the ankle to allow the audience to see the intricate movements and a shirt that is going to flow with their body for an eye catching costume.

Tap dance is a dynamic art form and it is constantly changing throughout the decades.

References:

1Frank, R. (n.d.). Tap Dance. Retrieved October 13, 2016, from https://www.britannica.com/art/tap-dance

2Bruns, T. (n.d.). Customizing Your Tap Shoes: The Taps. Retrieved October 13, 2016, from http://www.danceadvantage.net/the-taps/

Andrews, K. (n.d.). Tap Dance at KaliAndrews Dance Co | Ottawa. Retrieved October 30, 2016, from http://kaliandrews.com/dance-programs/recreational-classes/tap-dance/