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For myself, tap is one of my weaker genres of dance. I started it later than other styles such as ‘street’ dance and contemporary, so even though I have a basic understanding of tap vocabulary and rhythm, I struggle to perform complex rhythms. The steps are being performed at such a rate that I struggle to relate which sound came from which part of the shoe and just coordination in general. I have been told that my ankles are quite stiff which makes me struggle to perform doubles and triple variations of steps. To help with this, I must try to remember to roll my ankles regularly in order to increase motion within them. In terms of musicality, not just with tap, but in all my classes, I am trying to identify rhythms within the song and move to those rhythms. With this, I try to take this into my tap classes, identify the rhythms and move accordingly to them. Because my technique can sometimes lack, I try to make up with that with my performance, as a non-dancer audience is more likely to take notice of the top half of the body in comparison to the bottom half of the body. Usually the mood of the dance is quite upbeat, so I try to show that in my body with lots of energy and performance. For me, practice and repetition is the best way to improve my tap technique, as well as listening to different pieces of music and making rhythms within them.

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Encyclopaedia Britannica. (ND). Bill Robinson. Available: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bill-Robinson. Last accessed 30th April 2019.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (ND). Fred Astaire. Available: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fred-Astaire. Last accessed 30th April 2019.

Frank, R. (ND). Tap Dance. Available: https://www.britannica.com/art/tap-dance#ref242812. Last accessed 30th April 2019.

Hill, C. V.. (ND). Tap Dance in America: A Short History. Available: https://www.brithttps://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200217630/annica.com/biography/Fred-Astaire. Last accessed 30th April 2019.

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Robinson’s ethnicity was a huge controversial topic during the early 20th century, and shows a real credit to his exceptional talent that he was allowed to perform solo during the Vaudeville era. Black acts were not allowed to perform solo in Vaudeville theatre, in which the era was mainly dominated by white acts. He became the first African-American for many things; becoming one of the first acts in minstrel shows or Vaudeville shows to perform without blackface makeup, as well as appearing in a Hollywood film and Broadway production. Robinson did come under scrutiny for playing stereotyped roles and took offence to that, being described as an ‘Uncle Tom’, someone who is subservient, especially if they are aware of their lower class due to race.

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Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson (1878-1949) was an American tap dancer, who starred in many productions in Broadway and Hollywood. Robinson starred in minstrel shows and later the Vaudeville circuit, breaking Vaudeville theatre’s two-colour rule and becoming one of the only black men to perform solo. His signature routine was the ‘Stair Dance’, going up and down a set of steps while making complex rhythms. He starred in 14 Hollywood movies, being most well known for his roles when played alongside child actress Shirley Temple. Robinson’s style of tap dance was described as very light on his feet, and that he had absolute control over them. The ‘Stair Dance’ that Robinson was extremely well known for involved each step having a different rhythm, and each one producing a different pitch. He was also known for his entertaining and comical performances, often talking to the audience while performing and being surprised as his feet moved. He would also wear hard-soled wooden shoes for his performances.

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Tap dance is a style of dance in which one strikes their feet on the ground, creating audible beats and rhythms. The origins of tap dance goes back a few centuries to the 1700s, emerging in the United States where influences were taken from African American, Irish and West African dance forms and fused together. These original influences focused on creating rhythms and first came about where enslaved Africans who were being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies were forced to ‘exercise’, prompting them to dance while bagpipes, harps and fiddles were being played, along with upturned buckets being used as percussion instruments. Steps from the Irish culture (the Irish jig) and the West African culture (the gloube) were also fused together, later forming the American jig and juba. In the 1800’s, the dance form ‘jigging’ was created, which was performed by black and white minstrel-show dancers, and so tap became a popular entertainment form in the 19th century. Minstrel shows were very popular from the early 1800's to the end of the 19th century. These shows featured blackface performers and African American (Negro) dialect, dance and music, making racial stereotypes comedic. During the 1800's, it was also common to have dance competitions, which is how many dancers earned the status to become professional and perform on a Broadway stage. Dancers would master their technique within these competitions and also attempt to imitate their opponent’s steps. The metal plates attached to tap shoes nowadays did not appear until the early years of the 20th century, appearing on the shoes of Broadway tap dancers. Before that, hard-soled shoes would be used.

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After minstrels shows decline in popularity in the early 1900’s, vaudeville theatre became the new popular entertainment, showcasing highly skilled dancers. For black dancers, they were forbidden to perform solo, so a lot of acts were duets. Notable acts to come out of this era were famous pair ‘Buck and Bubbles’, Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, and the Nicholas Brothers. The pair ‘Buck and Bubbles’, consisting of tap dancer John ‘Bubbles’ Sublett and piano player Ford ‘Buck’ Washington would wear tuxedos while performing, which has since become common in tap dance. Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson was one of the biggest African-American entertainers in the first half of the 20th century and broke Vaudeville’s two-coloured rule, while the Nicholas Brothers were considered to be some of the greatest tap dancers ever. During the Vaudeville era, tap (musical theatre/Broadway) was being taught at dance schools and therefore had to be codified. Tap dancing was becoming increasingly popular on Broadway, which were large stage productions as opposed to solo or duet acts in Vaudeville theatre.

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As well as becoming increasingly popular on Broadway, tap was making an appearance on the big screen as well. Silent films were the norm until the first motion picture originally presented as a talkie, The Jazz Singer, was released in 1927. Once sound-enabled films became more common, tap started to appear in Hollywood in the 1930’s/40’s, starring famous tap dancers such as Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson and Fred Astaire. Astaire was responsible for how tap was filmed in the latter years, insisting that the camera would follow him and not cutaway, as opposed to a straight shot with very little camera movement. Despite the events of the Great Depression and World War II, enrolment increased rapidly in tap dance schools in the United States. Films including musical numbers and dance served as a distraction from the events, with each major Hollywood studio having contracted tap dancers. These included MGM (Gene Kelly), Warner Bros. (Ruby Keeler/Gene Nelson), 20th Century Fox (Nicholas Brothers/Betty Grable), and Universal Studios (Peggy Ryan/Jivin’ Jacks and Jills).

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In the 1950’s, tap dance started to decline in popularity. This was due to many factors including the introduction of modern jazz and ballet appearing in Broadway, as well as rock and roll appearing in the music industry. Nightclub attendances started dropping and ballrooms started closing due to imposed taxes, and people focused on getting careers and raising families. Tap dancers were not required for work anymore and began working jobs as bartenders, bellhops, and carpenters. Tap’s popularity did not come back until the late 1960’s/early 1970’s, where tap began making reappearances in the media and at festivals. Dancers were eager to learn, coming together at tap jams where people would freestyle and learn new steps. Several tap dance companies were formed and travelled across the country in order to keep the genre alive. By the 1980’s, Broadway featured successful musicals featuring tap dance including 42nd Street (1980) and Black and Blue (1989). It was also featured back on the Hollywood screens, featuring in films such as Tap (1989) and White Knights (1985).

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Fred Astaire (1899-1987) was an American dancer, arguably considered one of the greatest dancers of all-time, and one of the biggest Hollywood stars of the 20th century. Astaire started dancing at the age of four, and formed a vaudeville attraction with his sister, and later appearing on many Broadway shows. In 1933, Astaire was paired with Ginger Rogers in the RKO Radio Pictures production Flying Down to Rio. The pair were a massive success, outshining stars Delores del Rio and Gene Raymond. Astaire and Rogers would later feature together in many future films, performing intricate tap routines and graceful ballroom numbers. Astaire’s relaxed and effortless look appealed to film audiences, where in truth worked tirelessly to perfect his routines. Despite being an extremely talented dancer, his charm on screen certainly helped boost his recognition. He was a pioneer in how dance was filmed on film screens, asking to be captured from head-to-toe with a single shot, following his movement. He also asked for his routines to be incorporated within the storyline, as opposed to being just a spectacle for the camera. Astaire’s influences include Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson and John ‘Bubbles’ Sublett.