Tap dance
The tap dance in the 19th century in the United States developed and is now known all over the world. With two metal plates each, which are more durable than the wooden soles that were initially used, attached to the front and back of the shoes, rhythmic sounds are generated when dancing that match the visual impression and the music. The dancer thus also becomes a percussion musician . The English expression for it is onomatopoeic tap dance and the French claquettes .
steps |
---|
|
Step combinations |
|
Spanish flamenco may have influenced tap dancing. The tips of the shoes are nailed so that they produce an easily audible sound when dancing.
history
Tap dancing goes back to the 1830s. It originated in the Five Points neighborhood of New York , where different ethnic groups came together and held competitions to showcase their best moves. The result was a fusion of African shuffle or rubber boot dance and Irish, Scottish and English step dance . Most influential was the Irish jig . So a new American style developed.
The tap dance experienced a heyday between 1900 and 1955. At that time tap was the main style in the shows on Broadway and in American variety theater (Vaudeville). The big bands , which were very popular at the time , often hired tap dancers. For a time, amateur steppers were seen and heard on most American streets. At that time, tap dancing was almost identical to jazz dance , as jazz was the music to which the step was performed.
In the 1930s to 1950s, the best tap dancers switched to film and television.
The step came to Germany through Egon Bier, who learned to step with Fred Astaire. He was the first to teach tap dancing in his dance school.
In the 1950s, the dance style changed in the entertainment industry. Rock 'n' roll and a new style of jazz dance developed. From then on, jazz dance and tap dance developed in parallel as separate styles.
The show and tap dance world championship, which has been held in Riesa since 1997 , is now held once a year .
At the end of the 1990s, X-Outing developed in Russia as the “street version” of tap dancing. The genre of music to which X-Outing is mainly danced is called Drum and Bass .
Famous tap dancers
- Fred Astaire (in some films with Ginger Rogers )
- Sammy Davis Jr.
- Vera-Ellen (for example in the film On The Town with Gene Kelly)
- Michael Flatley : best known for his dance shows with Riverdance , Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames
- Savion Glover
- Gregory Hines (actor in the American film Tap Dance 1989)
- Ruby Keeler
- Gene Kelly
- Evelyn Künneke
- Ann Miller
- The Nicholas Brothers
- Donald O'Connor (together with Gene Kelly some of the most famous tap scenes in Singin 'in the Rain )
- Eleanor Powell
- Bill Robinson : also known as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, the father of modern tap dance, with little Shirley Temple among others
- Ginger Rogers
- Marika Rökk
Notation
Spelling in German according to Duden: "Stepptanz" (because steppen is written with two P 's; however, German-speaking tapdancers prefer the English spelling and stick to "Stepdance" - as opposed to "Quilt")
Web links
- Information at the International Tap Association (English)
- Report on tap dancing in stern Gesund Leben , issue 6/2005: Klacks for the groove