The Evolution of American Tap Dance

According to Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, tap dance is an American theatrical dance style that involves percussive footwork. Dancers wear shoes with metal taps and use their feet to create rhythmic patterns and beats on the floor. The term "tap dancing" originates from the tapping sound produced when the metal plates on the dancer's shoes make contact with a hard surface. In her book 125 Years of Tap, Jane Goldberg points out that tap is unique because it combines music and dance, allowing dancers to "play their feet" while in motion.

Similarly, Amy Brinkman-Sustache describes a step in tap dancing as a word in her article titled The Art of Tap Dancing.

The process of creating a sentence involves combining steps and using rhythm to pose and answer questions. Tap dance, a uniquely American form of dance with a rich history, has no definitive written history. However, researchers at Virginia Tech are dedicated to uncovering its origins. Tap is recognized for its diversity, drawing influences from Irish and African-American cultures.

Get quality help now

Bella Hamilton

Verified writer

Proficient in: America

5 (234)

“ Very organized ,I enjoyed and Loved every bit of our professional interaction ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Over its 125-year existence, tap has experienced survival, revival, renaissance, and innovation. According to Constance Valis Hill of New York University, tap dance has evolved over three centuries by fusing British and West African musical and step-dance traditions in the southern United States during the 1700s.

The Irish jig and West African gioube evolved into the American jig and juba, which later merged to create a dance called "jigging". This style of dance was adopted by white and black minstrel-show dancers in the 1800s, who turned tap into a popular form of entertainment.

Originally, hard-soled shoes, clogs, or hobnailed boots were used for tapping, but in the early twentieth century, metal plates or taps were added to Broadway dancers' shoes. In the late twentieth century, tap dance transformed into a performance on musical and concert hall stages. The incorporation of Latin American and Afro-Caribbean rhythms in the 1940s increased tap's complexity. In the 1980s and 1990s, tap dancers absorbed hip-hop rhythms, attracting a diverse group of dancers who continue to push the boundaries of the dance form, making tap the most cutting-edge form of expression in America today.

According to theatredance.com, the origins of the phrase "tap dance" are unclear, with some suggesting it goes as far back as 1900 but it was not documented until around 1928. Unlike ballet, which has a formal technique, tap dance developed through people observing and imitating each other in various settings like the street, dance halls, and social clubs. Steps were shared, stolen, and reinvented in this rhythmic exchange between dancers and musicians. Hill emphasizes that "technique" is transmitted visually, aurally, and through the body, with mimicry being essential for mastering the form. This process of copying each other and creating something new is vital to the development of tap dance and is reflected in its key features like tap challenges. The history of tap dance is filled with challenge dances, from competitions on plantations staged by white masters for their slaves to showdowns in the streets, displays of one-upmanship in social clubs, and judged buck-and-wing contests on the vaudeville stage.

Indeed, according to Jane Goldberg, many tap legends started performing wherever they could, particularly on street corners, before tap became popular in vaudeville shows and later in movies. As performers tried to outdo each other, tap continued to evolve and became a form of self-expression and elaborate production numbers. For a long time, tap was seen as a male-dominated art form, particularly amongst black performers. Well-known male tap dancers throughout history include Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (1878-1949), John W. Bubbles (1902-1986), and Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990). However, female dancers were not given much recognition in history books. Jane Golden points out that in the mid-1970s, several young white women started getting involved in tap. These women studied and often performed with male mentors. Stacie Strong also mentioned in the article "History, Herstory, OUR STORY" that while male tap dancers were the headliners, female tappers filled the chorus lines.

Though the names of these women have been lost, they were incredibly versatile and talented. While headliners often repeated the same act week after week, the chorus had to learn a new routine every few weeks, often using props and wearing outlandish costumes. They performed as many as four shows a day. Professor Constance Valis Hill's inclusive history in Tap Dance in America: A Very Short History is the first to highlight the exceptional female dancers. In 1986, La Mama presented Sole Sisters, a tap dance show directed by Constance Valis Hill, which brought together women of different generations and tap styles. It featured both high-heeled steppers and low-heeled hoofers, including veteran grande dames of tap and younger prima taperinas. According to Professor Hill, this production was not the only one that paved the way for recognition of female jazz tap dancers. On the West Coast, Lynn Dally founded the Jazz Tap Ensemble in 1979, combining her experience in modern dance with jazz tap. The group of dancers insisted on performing and interacting with a live jazz ensemble.

On the East Coast, Brenda Bufalino, a singer, jazz and tap dancer who was formerly a partner of Honi Coles, established the American Tap Orchestra. She embarked on experiments involving the layering and orchestration of rhythmic groups of dancers on the concert stage.

Today, the style of tap that most closely resembles the one prevalent during Robinson's era is jazz or rhythm tap. These dancers focus on improvisation and choreography that incorporate the intricate rhythms of classic jazz music. They often appear hunched over, attentively listening to their feet—exactly what they are doing. Although some rhythm tappers have started creating choreography for their upper bodies, the priority remains on the dancers' ability to hear themselves. Jane Goldberg describes the mentors of today's leading rhythm tappers as "hoofers."

The Basic Characteristics of Tap Dancing highlights that tap dancers often incorporate syncopation into their routines. Their choreography typically begins on either the eighth or first beat count. Additionally, improvisation is a key aspect of tap dancing, which can be done with or without musical accompaniment (acappella dancing). Alongside rhythm tap, this article also mentions other significant variations of tap dance. For instance, Fred Astaire introduced a more ballroom-like approach to tap dancing, while Gene Kelly utilized his extensive ballet training to integrate ballet elements into tap dancing.

The tap style discussed in this article is now referred to as "Broadway style," which has become more mainstream in American culture. It also provides examples of common tap steps and explains how professional tap dancers innovate new steps. These common tap steps include the shuffle, shuffle ball change, flap, flap heel, cramp roll, buffalo, Maxi Ford, single and double pullbacks, wings, Cincinnati, the shim sham shimmy (also called the Lindy), Irish, Waltz Clog, the paddle and roll, the paradiddle, stomp, brushes, scuffs, and single and double toe punches, hot steps, heel clicks, single, double and triple time steps, riffs, over-the-tops, military time step, New Yorkers, and chugs. Advanced tap dancing often involves combining basic steps to create new ones.

Timesteps are extensively used in tap dance and can vary depending on the location. These timesteps involve a modified rhythm that creates new ones by adding or subtracting steps. The portrayal of tap dancers and their footwear has also evolved, particularly for female dancers. Darrah Carr, an MFA graduate from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, explains: "Boundaries have drastically shifted since the 1970s when high-heeled tap shoes were exclusively used in Broadway-style tap, while flat oxford-style shoes were associated with rhythm tap." Carr also highlights that "beginner high-heeled taps range from 1″ to 1½″ in height, while more advanced heels can be as high as 3″. Dancing in heels also necessitates a more upright posture, altering your stage presence. Wearing heels promotes integration of your hips and shoulders into your dancing, and wearing heels makes you conscious of extending the line of your leg." Conversely, Carr reveals that "many tap dancers find that nothing surpasses the comfort of flat shoes. Flat tap shoes are designed in the same oxford style for both men and women, and numerous dancers believe that these shoes look best when paired with pants or jeans."

Flats and heels have different size metal taps, resulting in different tones. Flats create a deeper, heavier bass tone while heels produce higher tones. According to Carr, flat tap shoes position a dancer's body between the toes and heels and make certain steps easier due to more even weight distribution. However, it is important to be comfortable with both shoe styles. North-Kelly suggests that tap shoes come in various styles, such as high heeled, low heeled, soft leather, hard leather, split soled, and full soled, each facilitating different styles of tap dancing. When choosing tap shoes, factors to consider include comfort, flexibility aesthetic shape ,and sound.

North-Kelly quotes Lynn Schwab, a tap teacher at Steps on Broadway in New York City, who explains that the choice of tap shoes is important for achieving the desired sound. According to Schwab, technique plays a role, but the material of the shoe also affects the sound. For rhythm tapping, a harder shoe with a wider heel produces the best sound. However, North-Kelly mentions that Broadway dancers have more flexibility in their choice of tap shoes for performances, classes, and auditions. Despite its brief but rich history, the tap tradition continues to grow and expand every year. Jason Samuels Smith, who became the first tapper since Hermes Pan in 1958 to win an Emmy award for choreography, emphasizes the importance of honoring and preserving the past in tap culture while also adding to its vocabulary over time.

"If we don't preserve our history, we lose what's valuable about tap," said a person who shares this sentiment with Donna-Marie Peters, a professor at Temple University. In her work Passing On: The Old Head/Younger Dancer Mentoring Relationship in the Cultural Sphere of Rhythm Tap, Peters emphasizes the importance of respecting the artistic tradition of tap. This value humbles even the most experienced performers and requires a commitment to the art form that takes a lifetime to master. By prioritizing the art above the individual, tap dancers become servants to their craft, striving to execute it to the best of their ability. The survival of this struggling art form in the long term relies on a community of individuals with a shared purpose, dedicated to preserving and advancing tap dance.

The article "Tap Dance" from Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, accessed on October 26, 2011 via the EBSCO website, provides information about tap dancing. Treva Bedinghaus authored "Tap for Beginners," which can be found on About.com and was accessed on the same date. Darrah Carr wrote an article titled "Heels vs.Flats" in Dance Spirit magazine from August 2010. The source for this article is MAS Ultra - School Edition, also accessed on October 26, 2011. Constance Hill's "Tap Dance in America: A Very Short History" was accessed on the New York Public Library's website on October 26, 2011. Vance Holmes penned an article called "All About Tap Dance," available on TheatreDance.com with the same access date. Jane Goldberg contributed an article titled "125 Years of tap," published in Dance Spirit magazine in May 2003 and accessed via the Academic Search Premier database on October 26, 2011. Elena North-Kelly authored "Tap Shoes Meet These Dancing Feet," featured in Dance Magazine from March 2005. The source for this article is MAS Ultra - School Edition and was also accessed on October 26, 2011. Donna-Marie Peters wrote an article called "Passing On: The Old Head/Younger Dancer Mentoring Relationship in the Cultural Sphere of Rhythm Tap." This article can be found in the Western Journal of Black Studies from December 2010.The article "The Art of Tap Dancing" by John Schneider was accessed on October 26, 2011 from Academic Search Premier.Another article titled "History, Herstory, OUR STORY" by Stacie Strong appeared in Dance Spirit magazine in October 2007The source accessed from MAS Ultra - School Edition on October 26, 2011 provides information about tap dancing. The Ballet Shoes website also offers information about the basic characteristics of tap dancing and was accessed on the same date.