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Tap Dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely performed in musical theater. Rhythm tap focuses on musicality, and practitioners consider themselves to be a part of the jazz tradition. The sound is made by shoes that have a metal "tap" on the heel and toe. There are different brands of shoes which sometimes differ in the way they sound. Ok History The fusion of several ethnic percussive dances, such as West African step dances and Welsh, Irish, and Scottish clog dancing, hornpipes, and jigs, tap dance is believed to have begun in the mid-1800s during the rise of minstrel shows. As minstrel shows began to decline in popularity, tap dance moved to the increasingly popular Vaudeville stage. Due to Vaudeville's unspoken "two-colored rule", which forbade blacks to perform solo, many Va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the Black communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based on jazz, tap, breakaway, and Charleston. It is frequently described as a jazz dance and is a member of the swing dance family. In its development, the Lindy Hop combined elements of both partnered and solo dancing by using the movements and improvisation of African-American dances along with the formal eight-count structure of European partner dances – most clearly illustrated in the Lindy's basic step, the swingout. In this step's open position, each dancer is generally connected hand-to-hand; in its closed position, leads and follows are connected as though in an embrace on one side and holding hands on the other. There was renewed interest in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Savion Glover
Savion Glover (born November 19, 1973) is an American tap dancer, actor, and choreographer. Early life The youngest of three sons, Glover was born to a white father, who left the family before he was born, and a black mother. Glover's great grandfather on his mother's side, Dick Lundy, was a shortstop in the Negro leagues. He managed eleven Negro league baseball teams, including the Newark Eagles.Lahr, 270. His grandfather, Bill Lewis, was a big band pianist and vocalist. His grandmother, Anna Lundy Lewis, was the minister of music at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. She played for Whitney Houston when she was singing in the gospel choir, and was the one who first noticed Savion's musical talent. She once held him and hummed some rhythms to him, and he smiled and joined along. Glover graduated from Newark Arts High School in 1991. Career Glover stated that his style is "young and funk." When asked to describe what funk is, he says it is the bass line. "Funk is an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Clark Brothers
The Clark Brothers, consisting of Steve (1924 – February 2017) and James ("Jimmy") (23 July 1922 – 30 October 2009), were an American double act, who achieved success in Britain in the postwar period. They were thought to be the last of the "brothers" acts of tap-dancing's golden age. During their career, they appeared alongside Frank Sinatra and The Beatles, and opened The Sands in Las Vegas. The Clark Brothers also played at Madison Square Gardens and the Apollo Theatre in New York. Early lives Born to parents Cornelius and Octavia, the Clark Brothers grew up in poverty in Philadelphia with sisters Fredretha, Lorraine,l and Evelyn, and a brother, Cornelius. The brothers were cousins of Sammy Davis Jr. By the age of 12, Steve, the youngest, was a seasoned soloist, singing and dancing. The two brothers' first engagement was at the Cotton Club in Harlem, when they were 15 and 17. In 1948, Frank Sinatra suggested they go to Britain with a show, and the country became t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melinda Sullivan
Melinda Sullivan (born September 30, 1987) is an American dancer, choreographer and actress. She is known for her work on the U.S. version of ''So You Think You Can Dance'', where she was a finalist in the television series' seventh season, and as the 2012 winner of the Capezio A.C.E. Award. That entry, "Gone", debuted in expanded form in New York in August 2013. Background, career Born in East Meadow, New York, and raised in Thousand Oaks, California, Sullivan began tap dancing at a studio at age four, turning professional at age 14. "As a young girl, I found the freedom to be loud. To be brash. To be different than my family. Tap dancing allows me to express my artistic side, my creative side, my funny side, my rebellious side." Her mentors included Jason Samuels Smith and Chloe Arnold. As a high school senior, she won a role in the ''Cats'' 25th anniversary touring company, followed by the inaugural national tour of ''High School Musical on Stage!''. In 2009, she played Zo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brenda Bufalino
Brenda Bufalino (born September 7, 1937) is an American tap dancer and writer. She co-founded, choreographed and directed the American Tap Dance Foundation, known at the time as the American Tap Dance Orchestra. Bufalino wrote a memoir entitled, ''Tapping the Source...Tap dance, Stories, Theory and Practice'' and a book of poems ''Circular Migrations'', both of which have been published by Codhill Press, and the novella ''Song of the Split Elm'', published by Outskirts Press. She has been awarded The Flobert Award, The Tapestry Award, The Tap City Hall of Fame Award, The Dance Magazine, and the Bessie Award, all for outstanding achievement and contributions to the field of tap dance. Early life Bufalino was born September 7, 1937 in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Bufalino came from a family of performers, and started dancing seriously by age five at Professor O’Brien’s Normal School of Dancing six days out of the week. She trained in numerous styles, but tap was deeply instil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarah Reich
Sarah Reich (born May 24, 1989) is a tap dance instructor, choreographer and performer. She is best known as a featured artist for Postmodern Jukebox, touring the U.S. and Europe in both 2015 and 2016. In addition to performing tap-percussion solos with numerous featured vocalists, her rendition of a ''Star Wars'' medley was featured in ''Slate'' and ''People'' magazines. She appears alongside vocalist Sara Niemietz in London, for an MTV, Postmodern Jukebox feature shoot, covering " Ex's & Oh's" in 2016. Featured in ''Dance Spirit Magazine's'', “20 Hot Tappers Under 20” in 2009, Reich is widely recognized in professional dance circles. She has been on So You Think You Can Dance as a member of Chloe Arnold's Syncopated Ladies, they won the eleventh season's dance crew battle, and she performed in the eighth season with Jason Samuels Smith Tap Co. In 2015, ''The New York Times'', Gia Kourlas, praised Reich's presentation at Tony Waag's "Tap Forward" at the Tap City festiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Tap Dance Day
National Tap Dance Day falls on May 25 every year, and is a celebration of tap dance as an American art form. The idea of National Tap Dance Day was first presented to U.S. Congress on February 7, 1989, and was signed into US American Law by President George H. W. Bush, on November 8, 1989. House Bill Text The one-time official observance was on May 25, 1989. Senate Bill Text Tap Dance Day is also celebrated in other countries, particularly Japan, Australia, India and Iceland. Tap Dance Day is celebrated online, with 27,518,521 mentions on social media in 2016. Some may also celebrate it individually, due to geographical dispersion, or lack of access to the wider tap community. National Tap Dance Day is celebrated in many different ways. For example, a studio may send people out onto the streets to teach the Shim Sham Shimmy The Shim Sham Shimmy, Shim Sham or just Sham originally is a particular tap dance routine and is regarded as tap dance's national anthem. For today's swi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large national audience. Daily broadsheet editions are printed for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The ''Post'' was founded in 1877. In its early years, it went through several owners and struggled both financially and editorially. Financier Eugene Meyer purchased it out of bankruptcy in 1933 and revived its health and reputation, work continued by his successors Katharine and Phil Graham (Meyer's daughter and son-in-law), who bought out several rival publications. The ''Post'' 1971 printing of the Pentagon Papers helped spur opposition to the Vietnam War. Subsequently, in the best-known episode in the newspaper's history, reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein led the American press's investigation into what became known as the Watergat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Happy Feet
''Happy Feet'' is a 2006 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, and E.G. Daily. An international co-production between the United States and Australia, the film was produced at Sydney-based visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, and Kingdom Feature Productions, and was released in North American theaters on November 17, 2006, and in Australian theaters on December 26, 2006. It is the first animated film produced by Kennedy Miller and Animal Logic. Set in the cold land of Antarctica, the film follows Mumble, an emperor penguin who, despite his lacking the ability to sing the heartsong to attract a soul mate, is able to tap dance brilliantly. After being continuously ridiculed and rejected by peers and his own father, Mumble departs on a journ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animated Film
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most animations are made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Computer animation can be very detailed 3D animation, while 2D computer animation (which may have the look of traditional animation) can be used for stylistic reasons, low bandwidth, or faster real-time renderings. Other common animation methods apply a stop motion technique to two- and three-dimensional objects like paper cutouts, puppets, or clay figures. A cartoon is an animated film, usually a short film, featuring an exaggerated visual style. The style takes inspiration from comic strips, often featuring anthropomorphic animals, superheroes, or the adventures of human protagonists. Especially with animals that form a natural predator/prey relationship (e.g. cats and mice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
No Maps On My Taps
''No Maps on My Taps'' is a 1979 American documentary film directed by George Nierenberg. The film recounts the history of tap dancing in America through the lives of three influential tap dancers, Chuck Green, Howard Sims, and Bunny Briggs, and showcases their dancing skills in a historic live performance at Smalls Paradise nightclub in Harlem. The film is a wistful tribute to the careers of the performers and to an art form that at the time of filming seemed to be waning. According to a review in ''The New Yorker'', "Ironically, “No Maps on My Taps,” whose participants regarded it as an elegy, helped to start a tap revival in the eighties. The film was shown in festival after festival. Its stars travelled with it and danced, live, after the screenings." The film won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Direction in News and Documentary. Structure The dancers all recount their biographies and influences while rehearsing for a gala performance at a nightclub. Scenes of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
