Tap Dance is often described as The American Dance.
With it’s roots dating back from early America through Vaudeville and into The Golden Age of movie musicals and beyond, Tap Dance saw a swift and relentless rise birthing some of the greatest entertainers of stage and screen that the world has ever known.
Whilst the exact beginnings of tap is still debated. Many believe that Tap Dance came out of dancers performing variations of the Buck and Wing style on plantations. This was a fusion of techniques from African (Buck) and Irish (Wing) dance styles.
Early dancers such as Master Juba laid the ground work for other tap dancers such as Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson and John Bubbles to come onto the scene, further challenging the racial barriers of the time. Bill Robinson was the first black soloist to feature on screen in Hollywood’s history.
From the 1930’s on, the Golden Age of movie musicals had started and tap dance was on the rise. Tap was the go to morale boost for citizens and the military during WW2. Tap Dancers often performed on Air Strips for the air force, in Theatres, Vaudeville, Clubs, Concert Venues and cinemagoers were rarely left without a tap number in the movies.
Whether it was Bojangles tapping up and down two stairsets pushed together, Bubbles dancing atop a piano, Astaire Spinning Ginger Rogers, or The Nicholas Brothers coming down a slide in the splits. The Golden Era left a powerful mark on the history of society and entertainment in the 1930’s through to the 1960’s.
Such a booming Tap scene saw the careers of Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Powell, The Nicholas Brothers, Donald O’Connor and more taking off to dizzying heights and legends were made. The Golden Age has been immortalised in popular culture through the power of social media and the internet at large.
Once the hype with tap died down in the 1960’s, it transitioned into a contemporary phase where certain dancers preserved and developed their techniques further. Members from groups like The Hoofers and The Copasetics remained prolific throughout this period, ready for a new day in the Sun. Honi Coles, Cholly Atkins, Chuck Green, Jimmy Slyde, Will Gaines and many more all assisted in providing stewardship for the dance throughout the down time ready for the next big show or film to set things off once more.
Whilst Sammy Davis Junior was known by many as a member of The Rat Pack and solo artist, he often danced and sang with his dad and uncle (The Will Mastin Trio) early on in his career. Throughout his time in showbusiness, he mentored the likes of Gregory Hines and helped him take Tap into a new era in the 1980’s and beyond. An era which birthed the movies, Tap, White Nights and The Cotton Club. Sammy always brought his peers out on stage with him when he could and used his influence to inform the public about the dance and it’s pioneers.
Tap had also started to pickup again in theatre through shows being made on Broadway and in London’s West End.
Such shows included, The Tap Dance Kid, Crazy For You, 42nd Street , Anything Goes, and Black and Blue. Tap Dance Classes started popping up again all over the place too!
With the rise of the internet. Tap Dance has now become a global community sharing steps and inspiration from all across the world.
Tap is here to stay. it’s practitioners are a family that share a common goal in rhythm. boasting a huge variety of different styles, voices and grooves around the universal language that is music.
Written By Benjamin ‘Bailey’ Simmons