| Saskatchewan Lifestyles | Dance, Societies, and Cultures |
Tap Dance
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Tap Dance is a style of
American theatrical dance, distinguished by percussive footwork,
which marks out precise rhythmic patterns on the floor. It is
about expressing yourself musically with your feet and body.
The sources of tap dancing include the Irish solo step dance,
the English clog dance, and African dance movements. Among the
slaves in the southern United States, these merged by the early
19th century into folk styles. Some modern descendants of this
dance style include buck-and-wing dancing and southern United
States clogging (both done in leather-sole shoes). The slave dances
were adapted theatrically in 1828 in the first black face minstrel
show, in the dancing of Thomas "Daddy" Rice.
During the late 19th-century minstrel shows and showboat routines,
two techniques were popularized: a fast style in wooden-sole shoes,
also called buck-and-wing, exemplified by the duo of Jimmy Doyle
and Harland Dixon; and soft-shoe, a smooth, leather-sole style
made famous by George Primrose. These styles gradually coalesced,
and by the 1920s metal plates, or taps, had been added to leather-soled
shoes.
In the 1920s and 1930s black dancers contributed to the development
of new styles of tap dance, and black dance teams became popular
for their acrobatic, often satirical acts. John Bubbles popularized
a slower, more syncopated style of tap dance. Jazz provided further
rhythmic complexity, and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson became
America's most famous tap dancer.
The style was further expanded in the 1930s and 1940s, when dancers
such as Fred Astaire, Paul Draper, Ray Bolger, and, in the late
1950s, Gene Kelly added movements from ballet and modern dance.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s interest in tap dance underwent
resurgence. There is even an official Tap Dance Day on May 25th,
which is Bill Robinson's birthday. Current shows like River Dance,
Stomp, and Tap Dogs are making a worldwide impact. Tap Dancing
symbolizes a drum beating out rhythms and music. Tap dancing such
as Riverdance is becoming more popular again, because of the upbeat
music and energy that comes with it and doing it together with
different people and having fun.
