"Tap dancing began in Africa with religious dance rituals, where dancers moved in a circle and shuffled their feet, clapped their hands, and patted their bodies to the rhythm of drums."
- http://www.ehow.com/about_5132545_history-tap-dance.html
Tap began in the 1800's and came from the same roots as jazz music with African and European dance styles. Tap is all about moving your feet quickly and maintaining a rythm. You also need to know the terms for tap because if someone tells you to do a shuffle hop, your going to have to know what that means. You need to make sure when you tap that it goes along with the music. If your not tapping with music, then you need to make sure the tapping sounds like it is supposed to sound.
From 1840-1890 minstrel shows were the most popular form of American entertainment. These shows featured white tap dancers that painted their faces black. This type of performance was known as the "blackface comedy." Thomas Rice, Zip Coon, and Barney Fagan started the popularity of tap dance.
Tap dancing is a combination of clog dancing, Irish step dancing and also African drum rhythms and dance movements. Tap also contains the wild movements that the African dance moves had. It is also common to the Waltz and Foxtrot. In other words, tap is a mixture of lots of dances and traditions.
- http://www.ehow.com/about_5132545_history-tap-dance.html
Tap began in the 1800's and came from the same roots as jazz music with African and European dance styles. Tap is all about moving your feet quickly and maintaining a rythm. You also need to know the terms for tap because if someone tells you to do a shuffle hop, your going to have to know what that means. You need to make sure when you tap that it goes along with the music. If your not tapping with music, then you need to make sure the tapping sounds like it is supposed to sound.
From 1840-1890 minstrel shows were the most popular form of American entertainment. These shows featured white tap dancers that painted their faces black. This type of performance was known as the "blackface comedy." Thomas Rice, Zip Coon, and Barney Fagan started the popularity of tap dance.
Tap dancing is a combination of clog dancing, Irish step dancing and also African drum rhythms and dance movements. Tap also contains the wild movements that the African dance moves had. It is also common to the Waltz and Foxtrot. In other words, tap is a mixture of lots of dances and traditions.