Tap dancing makes joyful noise
Around for centuries, tap dancing is still making a joyful noise
Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, Fred Astaire, Gregory Hines, Savion Glover and the Syncopated Ladies – tap dancing has a long and diverse history in North America.
Tap dancing is thought to have originated before the American Civil War through a fusion of African tribal dances and Scots Irish clog dances or jigs (think Jack Dawson dancing in the movie Titanic). With its origins in the culture of African slaves and Irish indentured servants, tap continues to thrive as a popular form of dance today.
In fact, Saskatoon dance studio Dance Ink offered a Tap Intensive workshop in early July led by dance instructors Randi-lee Loshack and Chloe Ireland. This three-day workshop focused entirely on tap and welcomed 50 dancers of all ages; the workshop participants had all tap danced before.
Loshack grew up in Unity, Saskatchewan and is currently a high school math teacher. She has been a dance teacher for more than 20 years and has three children of her own (who also tap dance). Ireland is a fourth-year Kinesiology student at the University of Saskatchewan. A Saskatoon native, Ireland has been at Dance Ink since the studio opened seven years ago, as a student and now as an instructor.
“The Tap Intensive workshop was a great way for us to focus on pure tap and fill that void. Dance Ink also offers beginner tap lessons for children and adults. We always welcome new students,” says Loshack.
“Tap dancing is a real audience pleaser and it’s actually quite hard to do it well. Our tap classes have the same sort of growth in enrolment numbers as jazz – it is certainly not a dying art form,” says Ireland.
Dance Ink also offers beginner through advanced classes in ballet, hip hop, jazz and lyrical dance. The studio opened in 2011 in the Caswell Hill area of Saskatoon and has since expanded with an even-bigger studio next door.
An essential for any tap student is, of course, tap shoes. Loshack and Ireland compare tap shoes to hockey skates, with a range of prices depending on the level of competition. Although special shoes are essential for classes and workshops, a used pair of tap shoes can be fairly inexpensive. However, a brand new customized pair of tap shoes can cost up to $400.
The popularity of tap dancing has continued to rise and fall over the decades. Vaudeville shows during the early 20th century featured plenty of tap, as did Shirley Temple movies in the 1930s and, of course, the movie West Side Story in 1961 showcased a similar style of dance.
Yet another era of renewed interest in the art form took place around the time of the 1996 Broadway musical Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk. The musical told the story, through tap dancing, of African American history from slavery to the 1990s. It also brought the dancer and choreographer Savion Glover into the spotlight with a more pounding style of tap called hitting.
Most recently, Youtube videos of stars such as the Syncopated Ladies and television shows such as So You Think You Can Dance have increased tap’s popularity once again.
Open for two years, Bravo Dance Co. is located in Martensville and offers tap dancing lessons (as well as ballet, hip hop, jazz and Ukrainian dance). The studio’s owner and artistic director is Meagan Barabash and she strives for a supportive, pressure-free dance studio atmosphere.
“Tap dancing is unlike any other form of dance. Not only do you have the physicality of it, but each and every movement adds to the musicality of it. Our younger students gravitate to tap because it’s different and, of course, they make noise with their feet,” says Barabash.
“Where you see a shift in tap’s popularity is with our older dancers. Some bodies are not physically able to do an over-split and an incredible jaw-dropping switch split leap but, with practice, we can all tap. Our adult tap program is growing like crazy! Tap is a great social dance class and adults who have never danced – or have been away from it for years – are able to return to tap and pick it right back up.”
Finally, is tap dancing here to stay this time? If it’s any indication, the US government signed National Tap Dance Day into law in November 2004. National Tap Dance Day is a celebration of tap dancing as an art form and falls on May 25 each year.
Additional information about classes offered at Dance Ink can be found at danceink.ca or by emailing info@danceink.ca. For more information on Bravo Dance Co. in Martensville and classes available, go to bravodanceco. com or email bravodanceco@ gmail.com.