Tag Archives: hoofers

Module One Post Twelve (How Tap Dance Moved Through the World)

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For my twelfth post I have found a website that has some more information about how tap dance started from the Scottish and the Irish, then they brought it to America during the mid 1600’s. This website also explains that tap shoes used to be either wooden-soled shoes or soft shoes, but during the 1920’s, the tap shoes then had metal plates on them with leather on the outside. The people who tap danced were thought of as musicians because when you hit a hard, flat surface, the metal will make a percussive sound. Steve Condos was a man that was considered as the “master in rhythmic tap” because he influenced many well known “hoofers” which were tap dancers that danced with more leg movement and making the sounds more grounded. There were many people that tap danced in many different styles, for example Fred Astaire gave a more ballroom look to the way he danced. This website is good for people that want to know a little bit more about how tap dance originated.

Module One Post Seven (Basic Tap Information)

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For my seventh website, I found a website that goes step by step about what to do if someone wants to learn how  to tap dance at a dance studio. First, they start with talking about what kind of tap dancing styles there were, for example there were hoofers. Hoofers would always aim to use all the parts of their foot to make sounds so that there is more variety of sounds. One of the more common styles of tap dancing is classical tap. The people who do classical tap, they use simpler tap steps but elaborate, they use their arms and upper body to add in some ballet and jazz into either their routine or combination. Throughout the website, it explains what to do if you are going to start tap dancing. To start off, you need to get a pair of tap shoes that will fit you which you can go to a dance store in a convenient location close to where you live and try on some sizes. In order to have a comfortable fit in your new tap shoes, it is recommended that you tie the laces tight so that they don’t slide off your feet. Classes to take to start tapping, go for about an hour and usually start off with warming up and then getting to know the basic and then build off of that to make more complicated combinations. I think this website will help many people who want to try something new and challenge themselves because at the beginning, tap is not easy, especially when you have to learn how to make proper sounds.