threading taps
tap dancing america a cultural history
here is the vibrant colorful high stepping story of tap the first comprehensive fully documented history of a uniquely american art form exploring all aspects of the intricate musical and social exchange that evolved from afro irish percussive step dances like the jig gioube buck and wing and juba to the work of such contemporary tap luminaries as gregory hines brenda bufalino dianne walker and savion glover . br in tap dancing america constance valis hill herself an accomplished jazz tap dancer choreographer and performance scholar begins with a dramatic account of a buck dance challenge between bill bojangles robinson and harry swinton at brooklyns bijou theatre on march 30 1900 and proceeds decade by decade through the 20th century to the present day . she vividly describes taps musical styles and steps from buck and wing and ragtime stepping at the turn of the century ; jazz tapping to the rhythms of hot jazz swing and bebop in the 20s 30s and 40s ; to hip hop inflected hitting and hoofing in heels high and low from the 1990s right up to today . tap was long considered a mans game and hills is the first history to highlight such outstanding female dancers as ada overton walker kitty oneill and alice whitman at the turn of the 20th century as well as the pioneering women composers of the tap renaissance in the 70s and 80s and the hard hitting rhythm tapping women of the millennium such as chloe arnold ayodele casel michelle dorrance and dormeshia sumbry edwards . br written with all the verve and grace of tap itself drawing on eye witness accounts of early performances as well as interviews with todays greatest tappers and richly illustrated with over ninety images tap dancing america fills a major gap in american dance history and places tap firmly center stage .