Tap

Tap dancing is a style of American theatrical dance. It was developed in the 19^th century. It originally appeared in black minstrel shows but during the 1920’s it became popular with blacks and whites. Today Tap is a very popular style of dance. It is very easy to find a dance school that offers Tap dancing classes. The International Tap Association (ITA) was seen as what made tap like it is today. ITA was first started in 1987 at the Colorado Dance Festival by legendary tap performers, teachers, historians, presenters, students, and fans. They mission was “to serve the needs of the tap community and to promote the understanding, preservation, and development of tap as an art form”. The ITA did a lot of work and made tap to what it is today in the dance industry. They did programs and special projects to teach dancers and the public about tap.   

Tap dancers wear shoes with metal plates on the soles. As the dancer moves their feet the metal plates click against the floor making the tapping noise.

Tappers can create lots of different percussive rhythms with their feet by tapping, sliding, and clicking the metal plates. People watching can enjoy both the movements and the sound of the tapping. Tap dancers can dance with either music or unaccompanied.

The roots of Tap dancing are still a bit unclear. A number of different cultures have styles of dance very similar to Tap dance, such as clogging in the British Isles. The movements they do are very similar to Tap dancing movements. In Africa they have a style of dance called Juba this is a very quick and competitive dance using a lot of foot work. It also includes stomping, hand clapping and slapping and patting parts of the body. Early English tappers used to nail coins or pennies to the bottom of their shoes to create the clicking sound. This is what inspired the ‘three screw’ tap shoes sold in dance stores today. 

I once saw a hip hop dancer do a tap routine with a twist. He used wellington boots as tap shoes. Not only would he tap with them he also would slap and pat them. This links back to the Juba style of dance. I thought this piece was amazing and it really inspired me. Walking in wellington boots is hard enough but actually tap dancing in them must have taken a lot of energy.

When tap dancing you have to really think about your performance. If you’re just simply doing the steps nothing really comes out of it but if you’re performing it and putting your everything into it, it can look amazing. Tap was very popular in the 1930’s and 1940’s with the big Hollywood musicals. If you watched the dancers in the films they were always putting everything into it and making every move perfect.

Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse in Anchors Aweigh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kaNiAQyxf4&feature=related

I watched this video of Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse on youtube and I really enjoyed it. I like the contrast between cartoon and real life. I can be enjoyable for all ages. Some of the steps were really simple but still really effective.  The film was made in 1945 and the other main star was Frank Sinatra. They are two sailors on leave looking for a good time. They end up trying to impress and a lady with a young boy and put of the plan is dancing with Jerry. 

Gene Kelly was born in 1912 he was one of the major Hollywood stars of the 1940’s. Not only was he choreographer but he was also a dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer. Probably his most famous routine is Singin’ in the Rain in 1952.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmCpOKtN8ME

Gene Kelly developed his own style of dance from ballet, modern, tap and American Folk dance. At first he was an athlete and this certainly showed in his dance. Gene Kelly moved away from the more formal style of dance in the earlier movies where the dancers would often wear evening dresses and top hats and tails. His style of dress and style of dance were more informal and in touch with the people that would be viewing the movies. Having said all that Gene Kelly said that Fred Astaire was one of his major influences. 

Fred Astaire was born in 1899, he was originally a stage dancer and his film career lasted 76 years. His most famous dancing partner was Ginger Rogers.

Some of his most famous tap routines were with Eleanor Powell.

He started dancing as a children’s act with his sister. He refused to have dancing lessons he just copied his sisters moves. It soon became clear that he had a very natural talent. In the early 1930’s it was often said that he was the greatest tapper in the world. Fred Astaire shows the power of dance because he actually wasn’t a very good actor. Although he still got many film roles. When he first danced with Ginger Rogers she had never danced with a partner before and they developed their style but she wasn’t a very good tap dancer so Fred Astaire teamed up with Eleanor Powell who was also seen as the world’s greatest female tap dancer of their time.

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire were brought together and tap danced together in a piece called The Babbitt and the Bromide. When you watch this you can see the different styles of the different men. Even though they are doing the exactly same moves you can see Gene Kelly is more informal than Fred Astaire. Gene Kelly’s legs are more lose and he relaxes more into it where as Fred Astaire is more up right and stiff. Both of these styles look right but it’s just the way each individual has interrupted it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMKbGRCbsaw

I chose these dancers because you don’t tend to get so many famous tappers around these days. When I think of tap dancing I think as it as old fashioned and in all the black and white movies. When I think of tap dancers these are the people that come into my head. I think they made tap dancing what it is today.  
 
A modern dance tap dancer is Adam Garcia who is a judge on Got to Dance. This shows that the genre of tap is still as popular as ever as many people arrive to audition to impress Adam and the other judges with their tap routines. Adam is Australian and learnt to dance in Sydney Australia but still then has appeared in London in the West End such as
Hot Shoe Shuffle
On The Town
Tap Dogs
Saturday Night Fever

Grease 

Tap Dogs is an Australian dance troupe and Adam was one of the founding members. Originally he wanted to be a scientist so he went to university but left after a year because his passion for dance was so strong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFlO_3Zaz5M 

Now tap isn’t the most popular style of dance but you can still see its influences in other styles of dance. For instance George Sampson won Britain’s Got Talent with a hip hop dance but still he used Singing in the Rain which is the music to one of the most popular tap dances ever. If you watch the dance you can also tell that it is very influenced by Gene Kelly’s performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyDnYeUnT7w

I’ve been tap dancing since I was about 4 now. I’ve found tap the hardest style to pick up and I still find it very difficult. Getting all the steps in and making the right noise with your tap shoes can be very difficult but I do believe practise makes perfect.