Editing Tap dance (section)

== History ==
[[File:Jimmy Slyde.jpg|thumb|[[Jimmy Slyde]] tap dancing]]
[[File:04232012dae jpg semana de la cultura082.JPG|thumb|Students performing a tap dance in [[Mexico City]]]]
Tap dance is an American dance form with roots that go back 300 years to [[Music of Ireland|Irish]] and [[Music of West Africa|West African]] musical and [[step dance]] traditions, which themselves have [[medieval dance|medieval]] and [[History of dance#Early dance|ancient roots]]. During the 17th – 19th centuries, it was primarily developed from European step dance forms, such as [[jig]]s and [[Clog dancing|clogs]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blume |first=Julie |date=2023-03-20 |title=A Brief Overview of the Origins and Evolution of Tap Dance |url=https://livethedance.com/history-tap-dance/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=LiveTheDance is a dance blog – Guides, Reviews, Tips for Dancers |language=en-US}}</ref> These dances were brought to the American continent by immigrants and eventually grew to incorporate [[African-American dance|African rhythms and styles]]. These fused and evolved into a form of dance called "jigging", which was taken up by [[minstrel show]] dancers in the 1800s. Tap dance then became a popular stage entertainment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tap Dance in America: A Short History |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200217630/ |access-date=2022-10-20 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref>

As minstrel shows began to decline in popularity, tap dance moved to the increasingly popular [[Vaudeville]] stage. Due to Vaudeville's unspoken "two-colored rule", which forbade blacks to perform solo, many Vaudeville tap acts were duets.<ref name="gates"/> One such duo was "Buck and Bubbles," which consisted of [[John W. Bubbles|John "Bubbles" Sublett]] tap dancing and Ford "Buck" Washington playing a piano. The duo performed a "Class Act", a routine in which the performers wore tuxedos, effectively distinguishing them from the older minstrel show concept of tap dancers as "grinning-and-dancing clowns."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://atdf.org/awards/ClassAct.html|title=The Class Act – Pete, Peaches & Duke – Coles & Atkins|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616021648/http://atdf.org/awards/ClassAct.html|archive-date=2010-06-16|website=American Tap Dance Foundation}}</ref>

Another notable figure during this period is [[Bill Robinson|Bill "Bojangles" Robinson]], a protégé of [[Alice Whitman]] of [[The Whitman Sisters]] around 1904 (then known as "Willie Robinson").<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HlqP6p_N6a0C&q=alice+whitman+bojangles |title=Dancing Many Drums: Excavations In African American Dance | author=Thomas F DeFrantz | date= April 1, 2002 |publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=9780299173135 }}</ref> Well versed in both [[Buck-and-wing|Buck and Wing]] dancing and Irish Step dancing, Robinson joined the Vaudeville circuit in 1902 in a duo with George W. Cooper. The act quickly became famous, headlining events across the country, and touring England as well. In 1908, the partnership ended and Robinson began dancing solo, which was extremely rare for a black man at that time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/mr-robinson-article-1.915778 | title=HERE'S TO YOU, MR. ROBINSON | author=David Hinkley, Gregory Hines | date=February 4, 2001 | publisher=The Daily News}}</ref> Despite this, he had tremendous success and soon became a world-famous celebrity.<ref name=gates>Gates, Henry Louis. "Harlem Renaissance lives from the African American national biography." Oxford University Press, 2009, pg. 429.</ref> He went on to have a leading role in many films, notably in the [[Shirley Temple]] franchise.

Shortly thereafter, the [[Nicholas Brothers]] came on the scene. Consisting of real life brothers Fayard and Harold, this team wowed audiences with their acrobatic feats incorporated into their classy style of dancing. A notable scene in the movie "Stormy Weather" features the pair dancing up a staircase and then descending the staircase in a series of leapfrogs over each other into a full split from which they rise with no hands.<ref name=":5">{{YouTube|id=IoMbeDhG9fU}}</ref> "Stormy Weather" was a six-minute performance performed in one go with no retakes. The [[Nicholas Brothers]] danced on pianos and many other structures during this performance.<ref name=":5" />

During the 1930s, tap dance mixed with [[Lindy Hop]]. "Flying swing outs" and "flying circles" are Lindy Hop moves with tap footwork. In the mid-to-late 1950s, the style of entertainment changed. Jazz music and tap dance declined, while rock and roll and the new [[jazz dance]] emerged. What is now called ''jazz dance'' evolved out of ''tap dance'', so both dances have many moves in common. But jazz evolved separately from tap dance to become a new form in its own right. Well known dancers during the 1960s and 1970s included [[Arthur Duncan]] and [[Tommy Tune]].{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

''[[No Maps on My Taps]]'', the Emmy award winning PBS documentary of 1979, helped begin the recent revival of tap dance. The outstanding success of the [[animated film]], ''[[Happy Feet]]'', has further reinforced the popular appeal.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/15/AR2006121500372.html |title=Tapping a Gold Mine of Motion |author=Sarah Kaufman |date=December 17, 2006 |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |accessdate=December 16, 2007}}</ref> [[National Tap Dance Day]] in the United States, now celebrated May 25, was signed into law by President George Bush on November 7, 1989. (May 25 was chosen because it is the birthday of famous tapper [[Bill Robinson|Bill "Bojangles" Robinson]].) Prominent modern tap dancers have included [[Sarah Reich]], [[Brenda Bufalino]], [[Melinda Sullivan]], [[The Clark Brothers]], [[James "Buster" Brown (tap dancer)|James "Buster" Brown]], [[Savion Glover]], [[Gregory Hines|Gregory]] and [[Maurice Hines]], [[LaVaughn Robinson]], [[Jason Samuels Smith]], [[Chloe Arnold]], [[Michelle Dorrance]], [[Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards]], and [[Dianne Walker|Dianne "Lady Di" Walker]]. [[Indie-pop]] band [[Tilly and the Wall]] also features a tap dancer, Jamie Pressnall, tapping as percussion, Sammie Davis Jr.

One recent innovation in the world of tap dance is the development of the long form "tap opera," which tells an entire story during single performance, similar to a [[Narrative ballet|story ballet]].  This format was initially developed by Mark Yonally, founder and artistic director of dance company Chicago Tap Theatre<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home - Chicago Tap Theatre |url=https://chicagotaptheatre.com/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250102010321/https://chicagotaptheatre.com/ |archive-date=2025-01-02 |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Chicago Tap Theatre |language=en-US}}</ref> in the early 2000s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tap opera juggles big themes, daffy plot, Bowie, lasers - Near Northwest |url=https://digitaledition.chicagotribune.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=cd082704-eae2-4113-9f23-695183420c2c |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=digitaledition.chicagotribune.com}}</ref>