Many different things may come to mind when you envision tap dancing. You might think of names such as Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, or Savion Glover. You might think of Broadway numbers such as “Audition” from 42nd Street, “Anything Goes” from Anything Goes, or “King of New York” from Newsies. You may see it on popular reality dancing shows such as Dancing with the Stars, World of Dance, or Dance Moms. Popularized through its standing cultural significance and ever-evolving nature, tap dance has touched the hearts of many since its origin in the 1700’s.
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Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple, The Little Colonel, 1935
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Starting at the Beginning
While we see evidence of tap all throughout our culture, many dancers and fans don’t know how tap dancing became the art it is today. Tap dancing originated in America, but it brings its cultural roots in Ireland and West Africa. It began in the south when the Irish jig and the West African “gioube” combined to make a dance that would be known as “jigging”. Jigging was formed as an entertainment form on many plantations, and infused the storytelling and music of the Irish indentured servants, and the percussiveness and dancing of the African slaves. As jigging became more popular on plantations, there were often jigging competitions held by slave masters. Later on in the 1750’s, tap dancing became popularized in minstrel shows where white performers began to use the material of the African-Americans. They would perform the jigs in blackface and by 1840 it was the most popular form of entertainment in America.
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Continuing the Journey
In the late 1800’s tap dancing became more about technical performances, and began to include black vaudeville troupes, traveling shows, and circuses. Up until the 1900’s performers would use hard-soled shoes, clogs, or hobnailed boots, and at the turn of the century metal plated “taps” became popular on shoes for Broadway dancers.
Jeni LeGon, one of the first black women to establish a solo tap career
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In the beginning of the twentieth century, jazz began to make its appearances in tap dance. The ragtime rhythms and syncopation found in them began to make their way to the tap dancing stage. Much of this was still being performed in blackface, and imitated the original African-American tap dance that could be found on the plantations.
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In the 1920’s jazz tap became even more popular and distinct. It was rhythmically intense, faster, and more technically challenging.
Many exciting things happened for tap dancing in the 30’s and 40’s such as improvisation and swing-style jazz. Beyond live performances, tap dancing went to the Hollywood big screen and featured actors such as Bill Robinson, Fred Astaire, Shirley Temples, and Ruby Keeler. Due to heavy segregation, black actors and dancers were not present within these movies, and it began a separation in styles between rhythm tap in black artists and a more lightweight style of tap in the white artists.
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The Slowdown
In the 1950’s there was a slow in the performance and growth of tap dancing. There was no longer vaudeville and variety acts to show the art, and even less shown on film. A cultural shift towards ballet and modern dance devalued the percussive and innovative art of tap dancing. This continued into the 1960’s and put many dancers out of jobs.
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The Nicholas Brothers in “Stormy Weather” 1943
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The Reawakening
In the 1960’s and 1970’s there became a renewed passion and nostalgia for the once prominent entertainment. There were show revivals that inspired New York dancers to relearn the art, many of whom were young white women. They began to find teachers in the black male dancers who had once been passionate about rhythm tap. The mix between the modern dance background at the time and the old style of rhythm tap created a new way to move in tap dance that revolutionized the dance once again. The 1980’s continued the growth of tap dance in new ways, and saw the opening of new Broadway musicals that featured tap dancing.
Gregory Hines tapping in the Broadway musical “Comin’ Uptown” in 1979.
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Since then, tap has rapidly grown and evolved with our society. There are many different styles still taught, including Broadway tap and rhythm tap, as well as many different blends of tap and hip-hop, ballet, contemporary, and modern. With the rise of media and social media, it became more readily available to the public to learn and enjoy. As well, dancewear companies began to cater more towards tap and developed more advanced tap shoes to enhance the performances.
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Dormeshia in After Midnight
Today
Tap dance is historical and is built upon the souls of many generations. It is a loved art by many because of its ability to tell stories with just the sound made from a pair of shoes and body language. We find our inspiration from the great tap masters, and continue to put our own flare into it. Tap is great because it celebrates the new and the old, something that we can all get behind.
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Sources:
Hill, Constance Valis. Tap Dance in America: A Short History. Online Text. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200217630/>
