TAP DANCE HISTORY

 

 Ziggedy bop! Tap dance is back on its feet. It's been a mainstay of stage and screen; now after years in revival, a truly American art form returns full force, with energy and innovation

 

 Tap dancing, a truly American art form, is once again rat-a-tatting into the nation's consciousness, in all its variations — from Fred Astaire grace to hip-hop antics. Savion Glover, the star and choreographer of Broadway's award-winning Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk, is the latest messiah of a form that's loose-limbed, individual and inspired by the syncopated beat of urban life.

 

 The origins of tap dance can be traced to the antebellum South when African-American slaves, adept at copying Irish jigs, Virginia reels and Lancashire clogging, improvised and embellished those dances with their own African-style rhythms and movements. Popular on the vaudeville circuit and even more so in 1920s and '30s movies and theater, tap dance entered a long dormancy in the '50s and '60s, partly as a result of the black pride movement.

 

 In the past two decades, a few Broadway shows and movies, devotees, such as Gregory Hines, and dedicated dance teachers have worked hard to revive the art form. Now, with the innovative Bring in 'Da Noise, tap dance is once again making itself heard loud and clear and enjoying a new level of popularity.

 

 The phrase "tap dance" first appeared in print around 1928.

Merriam-Webster defines it two ways, first: A step dance tapped out audibly by means of shoes with hard soles or soles and heels to which taps have been added. The second definition is more interesting: An action or discourse intended to rationalize or distract.

 

 The early slave trade in America resulted in a rhythmic collision of cultures. Slave-holders already fearful of revolt, began to panic when it was discovered that Africans could communicate with each other - over long distances and in code - through the use of drums. All over the South, slave-holders forbid the use of drums and other native instruments in African religious ceremonies.

 

But African-Americans held on to their traditional rhythms by transferring them to their feet. The tapping out of complex rhythmic passages was developed, and a subtle, intricate and vital physical code of  expression was born.

By the mid-nineteenth century, African-Americans had combined their footwork with Irish and British clogging steps to create a style called "buck and wing." which became Modern Tap Dance.

The purely American art form of Tap Dance was originally associated with the names Thomas Rice, Barney Fagan and Master Juba.

William Henry Lane was known as Master Juba and the "Juba dance" also known as "Pattin' Juba" was a mix of European Jig, Reel Steps, Clog and African Rhythms and became popular around 1845. This was, some say, the creation of Tap in America as a theatrical art form and American Jazz dance.

Tap dancing started with the Africans in early America who would beat out rhythms in their dances with brushing and shuffling movements of the feet.

These dancers came to be called Levee Dancers thru out the south. White performers copied many of these intricate steps and the Shuffle Dance style would eventually find fame within the minstrel shows around 1830.

Tap Dance and Irish Clogging share deep roots. The most difficult of the Irish clogs are the Irish Jigs and Hornpipes. In some of these the feet can tap the floor more than seventy times in fifteen seconds. In clog dancing, no thought is given to the upper body, almost rigid -- the shoulders and the arms are kept  motionless. This trait is evident in the early Black "Buck and Wing" style tap dancing. The Irish clog dance all but disappeared by the end of the 19th century because of the mixing of the Clog and the African-American tap dances. Modern tap dancing evolved though the years 1900 to 1920.

The Lancashire Clog, which is a complicated Irish dance associated with George H. Primrose who danced the clog without the wooden soles and invented the Soft-Shoe routine. Barney Williams in 1840, was the first professional clog dancer to come to the U.S . The first professional dancer troupe in the U.S. were the Irish Clog Dancers.

The Soft Shoe is a form of tap only done with soft soled shoes without metal taps attached. Performers originally wore all kinds of shoes to perform the Soft Shoe and as time went on the term soft shoe was applied to many eccentric styles of tap. The characteristics of the soft shoe however was the humor, wit, and delicate nature of the tapping performed with a very smooth and leisure cadence. Occasionally this is referred to as the Sand Dance.

The dancers that followed were called "Song and Dance Men" in the Minstrel-Vaudeville shows. Clog contests in the 19th century would have the judges sit behind a screen or under the dance floor, judging the sounds rather than the body movements of the dancers. This dance also is performed in wooden soled shoes. For several decades tap and clog would flourish successfully.

In 1866 "THE BLACK CROOK", considered to be the first musical, featured Minstrel and Clog dancers who danced very stiffly and gave rise to the term "Pedestal dancer". The Pedestal dancer would climb upon a marbled pedestal with a 24 inch base, and tap out a routine while posing as motionless as a statue.

In 1902, Ned Wayburn who created a show called "MINSTREL MISSES" coined the term "Tap and Step dance" in this musical play. This was the first time these names had been used professionally. Wayburn's dancers wore light clogs with split wooden soles. (Aluminum heel and toes taps did not appear until after 1910.)

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