Example Of Essay On Studentprofessorcoursedate

Tap Dancing: Video Response

1) The roots of tap are found within a number of different cultures. Early laws forbid slaves to
beat drums on plantations so slaves began to use their body for percussion to make music (foot tapping, hand slapping and clapping, etc). In the early 1800’s, freed slaves and poor Irish immigrants living in slums in the Five Points district of New York lead to the combination of this percussion with jigs and hornpipes from the Anglo-Irish musical traditions.
2) The Cakewalk got its name from the fact that, during its heyday, there were many contests held to determine who had the best ‘strut,’ and the prize for winning these contests was a cake. The Sand Dance got its name from tap dancers in traveling shows who would spread sand on the stage before they danced a “hoofing classic” to make a distinct scratching noise while dancing.
3) I enjoyed the section on minstrel shows the most. Minstrel shows were a fascinating part of our history that do not seem to have any modern equivalent. It was interesting to watch dances and routines that would have been in a minstrel show, such as the soft shoe, which was slower and more ‘quaint’ than modern tap, and to picture these dances being performed in traveling shows that were enjoyed by so many. I also really enjoyed the Sand Dance; it really illustrated the point that tap dancers used their bodies to not just follow the music, but to create it as well.
4) Three of the steps shown in the video include the double time step, the triple time step, and the Cake Walk (which I greatly enjoyed seeing the old footage of).