Music Analysis: Tap Dance

Tap Dance is one of the oldest forms of dance that is still making wave till date. Tap dance is characterized by using sounds that come from shoes by striking them against the floor. It is a very special form of dance in the sense that the shoes can even make melodious sounds that would make the audience want to dance to.

In the three tap dance videos that I watched, all the professional tap dancers had lots of similarities as regards foot work. One very noticeable similarity in the way their shoes make sound is that the dancers sometimes use their shoes to dictate the tone of the rhythm. I observe that they use their feet not only to make sounds but to actually sing along with the orchestra.

Firstly, in terms of rhythm and style the Nicholas Brothers tend to use less of footwork but leap a lot across the orchestra music stands and even danced at the top of the big piano. There seems to be a lot more of the rhythm than the percussion that was coming from their shoes; there were also lots of body movement, especially the upper body. In addition to that they both moved in such a synchronized and perfect manner the whole time. In terms of Style they like to move a lot on stage while going to a split or rising from a split without using their hands- this was nicely done. I think the

It is evident from his performance that one could clearly hear the percussion that comes from tapping his shoes. He was able to control the rhythm thereby giving the audience the opportunity to pay utmost attention to his footwork, rather than allow the musicality overshadow the taps. Something different about Glover in comparison to Nicholas brothers, is that that he uses lot footwork. One could practically hear and follow every sound from the stomp and stamp and what each represents from the beginning till the end. Glover dances closely to the floor with his well calculated footwork but less of body