Where did tap (dance) come from?
Tap dancing started with relatives of the African slaves which were brought to the Americas to harvest and work. The slaves on the plantations had ways of dancing originated from the African tribal dances which included lots of stomping and jumps and was very rhythmic. These people then wanted to make sounds with their stomping and so they would add stuff to the bottom of their shoes to make louder sounds, this was the birth of tap shoes. The Africans in the early 20th century then used to perform in big groups the ‘white’ men then also decided to do this with modifications, this is known as tap dancing
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1005121900400
Tap dancing has very many influences such as the Irish Jig, and the English clog. The word English Clog comes from the word English (for obvious reasons) and log, which means to be weighty or heavy. Contests would be held to see who could keep the steadiest rhythm in clogs. This a primary source of tap moves. In the 1880’s the wooden clogs started to be replaced with leather ones which later had metal added to the bottom of it not exactly the modern tap show, but pretty close to it. Another source of tap dancing in the early ages was Egg dancing: this was where eggs where placed on the ground and dancers had to dance around them as fast as they could without stepping on them Morris Dancing also influenced tap with its amazing stomps, leaps, and claps, which are still done today.
Tap Roots the Early History of Tap Dance by Mark Knowles
Tap dancing started with relatives of the African slaves which were brought to the Americas to harvest and work. The slaves on the plantations had ways of dancing originated from the African tribal dances which included lots of stomping and jumps and was very rhythmic. These people then wanted to make sounds with their stomping and so they would add stuff to the bottom of their shoes to make louder sounds, this was the birth of tap shoes. The Africans in the early 20th century then used to perform in big groups the ‘white’ men then also decided to do this with modifications, this is known as tap dancing
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1005121900400
Tap dancing has very many influences such as the Irish Jig, and the English clog. The word English Clog comes from the word English (for obvious reasons) and log, which means to be weighty or heavy. Contests would be held to see who could keep the steadiest rhythm in clogs. This a primary source of tap moves. In the 1880’s the wooden clogs started to be replaced with leather ones which later had metal added to the bottom of it not exactly the modern tap show, but pretty close to it. Another source of tap dancing in the early ages was Egg dancing: this was where eggs where placed on the ground and dancers had to dance around them as fast as they could without stepping on them Morris Dancing also influenced tap with its amazing stomps, leaps, and claps, which are still done today.
Tap Roots the Early History of Tap Dance by Mark Knowles