Essay On Tap Dancing

It is surprising that tap began as a necessity for survival before it was an art form. It began during the slave trade when slave-holders found out that Africans were communicating coded messages through their traditional instruments and drums. The slave-holders had the use of these rhythm instruments banned to try and stop communication (Holmes par. 3).The Africans, desperate to make contact with other slaves, transferred the rhythms to their feet and tap dancing was born (Holmes par. 4).

The tribal dances and music that were brought over to America with the slaves gradually blended into American culture (Ploski 1116). They blended with other dances that were brought from other countries also. There were four main forms of dance that were blended into or may have had some influence on modern tap dancing.

One form of dance that influenced modern tap is the English Lancshire clog. This is a dance that uses percussive shoes. The earliest forms of these shoes had copper pennies nailed or tacked to the bottom to create a sound that was light and clicking. The way that the pennies were applied in a triangular pattern on their shoes is still used in tap shoes today for the positioning of the screws on the taps (“Tap Dance” par. 3).

Another form that influenced modern tap dancing is the African Juba dance. This style of dancing was very quick and full of competition with stomping, clapping, and intricate foot work. This form of dance was the result of the slave trade and there seems to be no historical evidence of percussive foot wear as bare feet were traditionally used (“Tap Dance” par. 2).

Another influential form of dancing is Irish step dancing. Irish step or clog dancers use wooden soled shoes and very little upper body mov...

... middle of paper ...

...hree thousand women have been in the rockettes since 1932 (“Hit the Stage in Our Discount Dancewear!” par. 17).

After all these years, the strict requirements of being a Rockette have never lessened (“Hit the Stage in Our Discount Dancewear!” par. 16). If you are shorter than five foot six or taller than five foot ten then you cannot even audition (“Hit the Stage in Our Discount Dancewear!” par. 17). You also should be proficient in jazz dance and tap (“Hit the Stage in Our Discount Dancewear!” par. 16).

All of these strict requirements pay off when you watch them in a show. They steal the show with their long legs, and their sparkling and furred velvet skirted costumes. They are perfectly matched in every way. They are absolute perfection from their head wear to their tap shoes that not only look the same but also sound the same. They are synchronized to the max