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Marshall and Jean Stearns, Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance (1968) p. 272; Larry Billman, Film Choreographers and Stage Directors: an Illustrated Biographic Encyclopedia, 1893–1995 (1995) pp. 66, 146, 389, 508-509; Rusty Frank, TAP! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and Their Stories 1900-1955 (1995), pp. 65, 229, 295, films: 303-315
Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. [1] Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its own music. It is an African-American artform that evolved alongside the advent of jazz music.
The Original Copasetics were an ensemble of star tap dancers formed in 1949 on the death of Bill Bojangles Robinson that helped to revive the art of tap. The first group included composer/arranger Billy Strayhorn and the choreographer Cholly Atkins, as well as Honi Coles, Charles “Cookie” Cook and his dance partner Ernest “Brownie” Brown. [1]
Terry Criner was a fourth-grade elementary student when he was picked to share the stage with some of the greatest dancers in tap history. Although a novice in the art of tap dancing, his acrobatic-dance skills combined landed him into a unique place in history. Criner was the protégé of Maceo E. Anderson, one of the original members.
The Shim Sham goes best with swing songs whose melody lines start on beat eight, as does the choreography. An obvious choice is The Shim Sham Song (Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra), which was written specifically for this dance and has musical effects (e.g., breaks) in all the right places.
Portrait of Boz's Juba from an 1848 London playbill. Master Juba (ca. 1825 – ca. 1852 or 1853) was an African-American dancer active in the 1840s. He was one of the first black performers in the United States to play onstage for white audiences and the only one of the era to tour with a white minstrel group.
Brown was renowned for his distinctive style of tap dancing, often referred to as 'scientific tap.' During the era when he honed his craft, swing music dominated the dance scene in Omaha. Brown's deep understanding of rhythm became a fundamental aspect of his performances.
tap: tap the ball or pad of the foot against the floor, use your ankle not your whole leg. heel tap: strike the heel of the foot on the floor and release it immediately. step: place the ball of the foot on the floor with a change of weight. touch: place the ball of the foot on the floor without change of weight.