Tag Archives: tap

Module Two Post Five (Dictionary With Counts)

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For my fifth post of module two, I have found a website that is a dictionary and if you press on a certain step, then it will show a few videos and the counts of that step.     For example, there is a step called a wing and when you press the word wing in the dictionary, it will show a video of how to do a wing and give the counts which is, &a1  and will explain how to do the step. For example it says, “tart on the balls of the feet with feet together, scrape both feet outwards and into the air, then spank both feet inwards at the same time and land on the balls of the feet with your feet together”. I think his website is good because if you need help on a steps you don’t know, then you could just go to this website and watch the video.

Module Two Post Four (Counts of Eight)

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For my fourth website, I have found a website that goes deeper into explaining the counts in music which is essential to all dancers when counting music. This website also has a few videos that explain how to count music which is counted in phrases of 8. for example when counting music, you count it as, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 and then repeat it over and over again. This is how most choreographers choreograph dances which is by counting the music and seeing which steps work best in the counts of 8. I think this website is very good because there are many dancers that don’t really know how to count music, so they end up doing steps at the wrong time.

Module Two Post Three (Instructional Videos)

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For my third website of module two, I have found a website that is more visual, so instead of text explaining steps, there are instructional videos. The steps that are explained in this website are all riffs. There are videos that explain riffs from 3 beat riffs to 9 beat riffs. I think these videos are very good because some people learn better through visuals and this is exactly what the videos demonstrate an even with the counting.

Module Two Post Two (Tap Step Dictionary)

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For my second post of module two, I found a website that is basically a dictionary of tap steps with counting and movement descriptions. In this website, it explains how to do different steps while stating what the steps are and how to do them.For example, there is one step called a toe stand and in order to do that step you have to jump up onto the tip of your toes and balance there. I think this website is very useful is because if during dance class, there is a step that you don’t know, then you can go to this website and see how do a certain step.

Module Two Post One (Counts of a Time Step)

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For my first post of module two, I decided to narrow down my topic to the counts in different steps. In this website, it talks about how a step called a time step starts on the count 8 and then continues on with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and then 8 again. The website also explains how when dancers first learn time steps, the steps are broken down into phrases. Another thing that this website said was that the footwork of these steps are usually more flat footed and swinging. I think this website is very helpful because if someone wants advice about how to figure out how to do a time step, then on this website it can give them some tips.

Module One Post Fifteen (Tap Styles)

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For my fifteenth and final post of module one, I have found a website that informs people about the different styles of tap dance as it grew and became more popular. First, there was clog dancing which was wooden soles that made the noises. Clog dancing came from Ireland. This website also talks about soft shoe and sand dancing. Soft shoes dancing is where tap dance is done with the same kinds of shoes as the tap shoes now except there are no metal plates on them. Tap dancing has been in many Broadway musicals in movie productions. Some of the people who helped bring tap dance to the stage was Fred Astaire, Paul Draper, and Gene Kelly. This website is great for those who just want to know the different styles of tap.

Module One Post Fourteen (Fun Facts)

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My fourteenth post will be a few fun facts about tap throughout the years. Before tap shoes were available African American slaves weren’t allowed to play their drums, so they beat out the rhythm using their feet. Tap shoes now and the different kinds of tap shoes then were similar in the way that they make sounds but not the materials that they used, for example they used wooden clogs on leather shoes.During the 1930-1940’s tap had gotten a bigger audience and people like Fred Astaire and Ray Bolger impressed many people and brought tap to Hollywood. I think this website is nice for people who just want to know a few facts about tap but not read five paragraphs about it.

Module One Post Thirteen (History of Tap shoes)

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For my thirteenth post I have found a website that explains how tap shoes were made before they had metal plates on them like they are now. Before metal taps in the 1900-1920’s, tap shoes were only shoes with either pennies or hobnails hammered into the balls and heels of a pair of shoes. Before 1910, tap shoes had wooden soles instead of having nails and pennies hammered into them, however after 1910, metal taps were applied to the bottom of the tap shoes. I think this website is nice for people so see if they just want to know what tap shoes are made of and how they were before.

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 Eleven (Background Information of Tap)

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For mt eleventh website, I found a website that is very encouraging for others to consider doing tap dance. The website mainly talks about how tap has helped people throughout the centuries and how it was there before break dancing. This website is very informative about how tap dancers got their gigs and how the dance style originated and how it has evolved. during the 1930’s tap dancers would go out onto the streets and meet with other dancers and teach each other the new steps that they made up and compete with each other with their own combinations. In the 1920’s there was a big tree in New York that the dancer’s would sit under in the shade of the tree. it was a well known spot so the producers always knew where to find the dancers for some shows that they want them in. Tap dancing is a very active sport and is great for entertainment and that is what people always needed in their free time if all they do is to just roam around the city during the day not knowing what to do. This website has mentioned many people who were very well known in this area of dance. A few of those people are Jimmy Slyde and Buster Brown. They also mention some very popular tap combinations that everyone knew, for example the Shim Sham and the BS Chorus. I think this website is great for people who want some background knowledge about tap dancing and how it grew.