Learn all about tap dance at a workshop conducted by New York-based tap dancer, choreographer, and Emmy award-winning director Jason Samuels Smith
Jason Samuel Smith
It's dance that is based on sound, the sound made by shoes. But tap dance has a history that is derived from several ethnic percussive dances, including African tribal dances and Irish jigs, and is believed to have begun in the mid-1800s. The sound is made by shoes that have a metal ‘tap’, which make a percussive sound when they hit the ground. Prior to metal taps, the dance was performed with wooden clogs on leather shoes.
ADVERTISEMENT
Today, you can learn all about tap dance at a workshop conducted by New York-based tap dancer, choreographer, and Emmy award-winning director Jason Samuels Smith (in pics). He won an Emmy for the opening number of the 2003 Jerry Lewis/MDA Telethon, which was a tribute to the late Gregory Hines.
Jason Samuel Smith
Tap that
- Tap dance comes from West African Dance. It has influenced Jazz and popular music from the 1920s to the present.
- Because of shows like Shuffle Along, tap dance is now a staple in musical theatre performance.
- Tap dancers like Sammy Davis Jr supported the civil rights movements with appearances and performances.
- African American tap dancers were the first to break racial barriers.
- Dancer Fred Astaire added a ballroom look and style to tap dancing; Gene Kelly on the other hand introduced ballet elements into it (called broadway-style).
- Hoofers are tap dancers who dance primarily with their legs, making a louder and more grounded sound; this dance style is called rhythm tap.