Tap Dance Guide: Understanding the Origins of Tap Dance

Tap dance is a dance style characterized by tapping sounds made with the feet, which are made possible by attaching metal taps to the toes and heels of wooden-soled tap shoes. Though tap dance has its origins in the seventeenth century, it became well-established in America by the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Tap dance is known for its syncopated, catchy beats and improvisational choreography, which links it to jazz music.

Tap dance is an art form that has been around since the seventeenth century but did not emerge as a well-known form of dance until the nineteenth century. In the United States, the dance emerged as an amalgamation of different ethnic dances, such as Irish jigs, African American Juba dance, Scottish step dancing, and English clog dancing. Originally, early tap shoes had pennies or nails attached to them to make the signature tapping sound.

Tap dancing became a signature of traveling minstrel shows post-Civil War, and by the twentieth century, was a prominent staple in Vaudeville acts. In the 1930s, tap dancers would gather at the Hoofer’s Club in Harlem, practicing steps and competing in dance competitions. Though tap dance declined in popularity by the 1950s, it influenced a new style of movement known as jazz dance. Today, many dance studios teach tap classes to young dancers.

There are a few main characteristics of tap dance that distinguish it from many other styles of dance:

1. 1. Syncopation: Tap dance numbers typically punctuate the first or eighth beat count, which creates a syncopated beat. Tap steps often follow the irregular rhythm or harmony of a song, using the tapping of the footwork to create an added layer of percussion.
2. 2. Improvisation: Tap dance’s relationship with improv-heavy jazz makes improvisation an important aspect of the dance form. Tappers also use improvisation as an exercise to improve their skills, at auditions, or at tap festivals.
3. 3. Upper body movements: Depending on the style of tap, the upper body may play a big part in the visual expression of the dance. Some tap dancers combine graceful movements of their arms and torso with complex footwork.

There have been many notable tap dancers since its emergence in the United States in the nineteenth century:

1. 1. Fred Astaire: Singer, actor, and dancer Fred Astaire was a virtuoso dancer with a strong sense of rhythm and technical control. Featured in many of the Classical Hollywood musicals of the 1930s—most notably Top Hat and Swing Time— Astaire’s style combined ballroom dance with tap to create an elegant yet precise style of dance.
2. 2. Michelle Dorrance: Michelle Dorrance is the world-renowned choreographer and director of the Dorrance Dance company located in New York City. She is a recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant, and appeared in the 2007 production of STOMP, for which she toured nationally and internationally.
3. 3. Savion Glover: American tap dancer and choreographer Savion Glover has been teaching tap since he was 14 years old. He has choreographed a number of broadcast performances and Broadway performances, like Shuffle Along, or The Making of a Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, which earned him a Tony Award for Best Choreography, and a Drama Desk Award.
4. 4. Gregory Hines: Gregory Hines was a choreographer, actor, and dancer who appeared on Broadway and starred in a number of films, his debut being Mel Brooks's History of the World, Part I (1981). In 1988, Gregory Hines helped in the effort to establish National Tap Dance Day—originally the brainchild of Linda Christiensen, Nicola Daval, and Carol Vaughn—by lobbying and petitioning Congress.
5. 5. Gene Kelly: Actor and dancer Gene Kelly was known for his energetic and athletic dance style, which landed him starring roles in a number of musical dance films, most notably Singing in the Rain. Kelly is credited with evolving the Hollywood musical scene, borrowing elements from other styles such as ballet, modern dance, and classical dance.
6. 6. William Henry Lane: William Henry Lane was a tap performer who was one of the first to combine elements of African American dance, clogging, and Irish jigs. Lane was also one of the first Black performers to dance in front of white audiences.
7. 7. The Nicholas Brothers: Brothers Fayard and Harold Nicholas had an innovative and acrobatic style—known as “flash dancing”—that was influenced by the Vaudeville era, and came to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance. Fayard taught himself to dance by watching other performers on stage. He eventually taught his younger siblings, including his brother who would become his formal partner on the jazz circuit.
8. 8. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson: Bill Robinson was one of the highest-paid Black dancers of the early twentieth century. He appeared with Shirley Temple in four movies, and was the first black performer to appear in an interracial film, as well as one of the first to perform solo.
9. 9. John “Bubbles” Sublett: Known by his stage name, John W. Bubbles, Sublett was considered the “father of rhythm tap,” and was one of the first Black performers to appear on television with his piano-playing partner, Ford L.“Buck” Washington (forming duo “Buck and Bubbles”). Sublett gave tap lessons to Fred Astaire, and starred in the 1935 Gershwin opera, Porgy and Bess.
10. 10. Shirley Temple: Shirley Temple made her tap dancing debut on screen at the age of six and went on to star in many Hollywood films, four of which she co-starred with legendary dancer Bill Robinson.

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