When is National Tap Dance Day in 2024? That is the question, which can be answered immediately only by a few amount of people all around the world. But this is really in vain, because this bright, colorful and very amazing kind of celebration seems to be terrific and shouldn’t be missed for any reason.
So annually on May 25 in the US local people and numerous guests celebrate the very special holiday, which is dedicated to the birth anniversary of legendary tap dance artist Bill ยซBojanglesยป Robinson.
According to the set tradition, this day all fans of tap dance think about the famous tap dancers and their first steps in this genre. By the way we should mention from the very beginning that modern tap dance differs in many respects from the style of 100 years ago.
History
Before answering the question “When is Tap Dance Day 2024?” in a proper way we would like to talk about the historical background of this event. Frankly speaking, not everybody knows that the dancing direction called tap was born thanks to the mixing of African-American and Irish styles, which were once popular at the same time.
Especial popularity it got in the United States. At the turn of the 19-20th centuries tap was already taken as a new independent dance.
In the 30-40-ies of the last century people began to appreciate musical Hollywood films and the movement became even more popular. Such famous artists like Paul Draper, Fred Aster and Rey Bolger added some important elements of the modern trends into it. After that the movements of classical ballet also enriched the dance aesthetics. Jazz naturally contributed many things to the dance spreading as well as added melodic and complex rhythmic foundation.
70s of the last century brought tap the so-called new birth. We can’t but mention that it was done through old US musicals who began to open various dance schools all around the country.
Meaning
What does Tap Dance Day mean? Unfortunately it is impossible to reply this question in a few words.
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At the very beginning we have to tell you that tap is considered to be a very complicated dance, in which the emphasis is done mostly on footwork. The history of this direction can be traced back to the moment when the black African slaves were delivered to the American continent. Their amount was really huge, that is why it is not a surprise that tap became part of early American culture very quickly and from the very beginning.
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However, we should admit that it is a really amazing fact and a big success, that tap hasn’t died for so long period of time and is still being danced not only in the USA but all around the world. All in all some contemporary specialists are sure that it is impossible to understand the American culture and history in general without understanding this dance. It is simply impossible.
Definition
Nowadays when is Tap Dance Day in 2024, calendar will remind you without any problems. But would you like to know how everything began many years ago and how the dance was defined?
After the slaves had been brought to America, they were prohibited to communicate in their native language and to preserve their home customs. Nowadays it is difficult to explain why it was done. But the slaveholders of that period of time were sure that if they let the slaves to maintain their culture and customs, it would prevent “the control and management of their worker.”
As a result, the slaves developed their own new culture, a significant part of which was given to tap dance. By the way, have you ever heard that during the severe slavery period tap was an important method of communication around people and it was used to send the urgent messages as well as to share news.
Traditions
During the Second World War, many African-American soldiers danced tap while they were resting. All in all, this dance became an essential and entertaining way to support morale and good mood. The specialists explain that the Second World War turned the tap as a communication method into tap as a way to entertain themselves. And that moment is considered to be a very important change for the dance future development.
The movement from secret communication to pleasant entertainment was gradual. As the need for hidden communication disappeared completely, this dance obtained a so-called new life as a source of relax. In the course of time it was added by the terrific rhythms of bright motown and quick hip-hop. After this the dance became even more sporty and sophisticated than earlier.
Are you aware who know the answer to the question what day National Tap Dance Day in 2024 is for sure? – Of course, those who are in this area.
As a rule, tap dance is commonly practiced by black fraternities. Nowadays this direction plays an important role in campuses set of colleges, where historically a great amount of African-Americans studied. We should also mention that sometimes tap dance training is used as an initiation of entering into some fraternities.
It is of common knowledge that this dance direction has its future as well as dance style related to it.
It continues to change other dance directions and is likely to continue to influence the development and improvement of the entire American dancing culture all around the planet. For example, Irish step, which has already gained popularity due to the famous Riverdance show, is considered to be a ancestor of the American tap dance. There are some other dance styles that are associated with tap, they are represented by klogging and hip-hop. But tap was considered to be one of the first dances, which were “brought” to the United States, and perhaps that it the reason why it’s had a great influence on the development of American dance traditions and culture in general.
National Tap Dance Day Facts
The people who are in are able to tell much about the contemporary technique of tap-dance teaching.
It is said that there is no weather becomes a hindrance to dance. Especially it is true for the places, where true feelings are dominating, backed by professionalism and a pair of shoes with a resounding taps. And, of course, the festive atmosphere should be provided. And even the dull autumn in megalopolises with its constant and so sad rains will not spoil the mood of a person who is always ready to dance in the rain. The only things you need for happiness are a pair of shoes, Jazz melodies and tap dancing. There are no any frameworks for creativity, because this direction welcomes live improvisation, fantasy of the dancer and good humor, of course!
But like any other kinds, tap dance has some certain requirements and specific methods of its performance.
By the way we shouldn’t forget that English is considered to be the international language of this direction. There is one very interesting detail. All the terminology (names bumps and taps) sounds in English. On the contrary to the classical dance, which is provided in French, and France is considered to be its birthplace. Tap dance was born in the USA and this fact explains much. And that is the main reason why you can receive the answer to the question “What is the date of National Tap Dance Day 2024?” quicker and more likely in the USA than in anywhere else.
There are some types of tap dance. But we shouldn’t confuse them with the styles, because each one or another form may be inherent in any style. For example, acrobatic tap dance was very popular in the 30s of the twentieth century. It is represented by mixture of two quite different forms dancing: tapping and acrobatics. But at the same time we can’t see any mixing. Tapping combinations and rhythms are used between the acrobatic tricks or during their performance. Nowadays they are often used in dance schools and during student competitions, if students are good in both forms. The most outstanding representatives of acro-tap are Fajardo brothers and Harold Nicholas as well as the ensemble Four Step Brothers.
The classic tap dance was founded in 40-50 years of the previous XX century. It combines the sophisticated ballet technique of classical dance and amazing tap dance rhythms. Classical music, as a possible accompaniment, was used American dancers Paul Draper, Danny Daniels and Michael Dominico, Lane Alexander and Sam Weber.
