JUBA: Tap History

Broadcast Schedule

Gene Kelly

Fred and Paulette

Fred Astaire & Paulette Goodard

Gregory Hines

Savon Glover

Savion Glover

1935-1970: Shuffling off to Hollywood

Some of the finest tap dancing could also be seen on film through the talents of Hal Leroy, Ann Miller, Buddy Ebsen, Ray Bolger, Eleanor Powell, Donald O'Connor, Vera-Ellen, Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly. Smooth and athletic, Kelly incorporated movements from modern dance and ballet into his dances. Fred Astaire, America's most famous tap dancer, undoubtedly extended the life of tap dancing through the popularity of his films. Otherwise, tap all but disappeared from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s in the United States.

1970-1985: Tap's Rebirth

Fortunately, tap experienced a revival on Broadway in the 1970s and '80s, with shows like The Wiz (1975), Sugar Babies (1979), 42nd Street (1980), Sophisticated Ladies (1981) and The Tap Dance Kid (1982). Tap was also being performed in modern-dance concert halls, gaining new audiences and new respectability in the dance world. Tap had always been treated as entertainment, but now it was being considered as art.

From the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, many tap choreographers were white women with modern dance backgrounds who were taught by older African American tap masters. They choreographed by fusing traditional jazz-tap material with a modern dance aesthetic.

1985 to Present: The Hip-Hop Influence

At the end of the 1980s, inspired by the Broadway success of Black and Blue (1989) and the tremendous talents of Gregory Hines, who starred in Sophisticated Ladies (1983) and in Jelly's Last Jam with Savion Glover, as well as in the movies White Nights (1985) and Tap (1989), many young African American male dancers became interested in tap again. The most famous and influential young hoofer is Savion Glover, who has become the leader of a new generation of rhythm tappers. His hip-hop-funk tap has caused a stylistic revolution within the field and brought tap in line with modern music. Sometimes called "power tapping," this style is distinguished by dense, hard-hitting rhythms. Eye contact is rarely made with the audience, as the focus is on "finding the groove." This masculine, heavy and fast style was seen in the wildly popular Broadway dance drama Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk: A Hip Hop Discourse on the Staying Power of the Beat (1996) by Glover and George Wolfe.

Today, tap continues to evolve into a varied cultural tradition that is both intergenerational and multiracial. No longer considered mere entertainment, tap is finally receiving its due as a dynamic art form that encompasses a range of eclectic and individual styles.

Source:
International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc., founding editor, Selma Jeanne Cohen; area editors, George Dorris...[et.al.] (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).