The zapateado is a group of
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
styles of Mexico,
characterized by a lively rhythm punctuated by the striking of the dancer's
shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...
s, akin to
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 perfo ...
. The name derives from the Spanish word ''
zapato'' for "
shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...
": ''zapatear'' means to strike with a shoe. It is widely used in
sones
The sone () is a unit of loudness, the subjective perception of sound pressure. The study of perceived loudness is included in the topic of psychoacoustics and employs methods of psychophysics. Doubling the perceived loudness doubles the sone v ...
,
huapangos and
chilenas.
The term is also used to refer to percussive
footwork in some Spanish/Latin dances that involve elaborate shoe clicking and tapping and to the
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
music produced by shoe striking.
See also
*
Zapateado (Spain)
Zapateado is a style of dance and traditional music of Andalusian origins in metre , with lively movement, marked on two beats, the second being very stressed. The dance shows a gracious tapping. Humanists of 16th century affirmed that zapateado de ...
References
*David Ewen, ''Encyclopedia of Concert Music''. New York: Hill and Wang, 1959.
Dance in Mexico
Uses of shoes
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