Tap dancing is a style of dance that can be credited to the United States though it is currently popular around the world. One reason that this style of dancing is so popular among dancers is that it allows the dancer not only to dance but also to contribute to the music via metal taps that are attached to the shoes and the way they interact with the floor.
Though American in nature, tap dancing is greatly influenced by traditional dances of England that include clogging and Irish and Scottish jigs and reels. Tap dancing was widely popular during the 1920’s as it was used in various minstrel shows, variety shows, and musicals thought it is believed to have originated in the Five Points area of New York City as a mixture of sorts of Irish and African dances.
There would be competitions that included dancers from different cultures competing with one another and showing off their best moves. As a result bits and pieces of the many different styles were incorporated in order to create an entirely new dance that included the best of many different cultural and traditional dances. Master Juba is credited in a large part as one of the pioneers of this new dancing style and one of the first prominent black performers in America.
From the 1900’s to the 1950’s tap dancing reigned supreme in Vaudeville and on Broadway and large cities throughout the country had regular performances of tap dance shows as well as a bevy of street performers that were continuously putting on shows for the passers by. These Vaudeville and Broadway performers would eventually make their way into the wonderful world of film and bring a new era to the world of tap dancing.
Prominent movie stars that used tap dancing as part of their routines were the likes of Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Sammy Davis Jr., Ginger Rogers, and Ann Miller. Tap dancing had reached a new golden age in the years between 1930 and 1950 until Rock ‘n’ Roll entered the music scene and pushed tap dancing aside to some degree. Though not nearly as popular today as it has been in the past, tap dancing is still often taught to young dancers as an introduction into more complicated dance manoeuvres and as a fun way of allowing young dancers to really experience the effect of music, rhythm, and beat on their own dancing or to feel the music in a very personal manner.
Recent films such as “Happy Feet” have also brought tap dancing back into the spotlight to some degree and made it popular with younger children and even street performers. This resurgence of popularity just might lead to popular television shows such as Dancing with the Stars introducing tap dancing routines to some of their competitive formats.
One of the most interesting things about tap dancing is that it can be different things to different people as indicated by some of the greats in the industry. The styles of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelley were vastly different though both were believed to be among the greatest names in tap dancing. Other great names in the world of tap dancing include famous hoofers like Gregory Hines and Savion Glover.
Be sure to watch the videos and see for yourself whether or not you believe you have what it takes to learn this infinitely interesting style of dance that is filled with options. If you enjoy the appeal of making music with your moves then you just might be the perfect candidate to learn tap dancing. You certainly have nothing to lose by learning to tap dance and so much to gain.
