Tap dance

Tap dance is a type of dance characterised by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. The sound is made by shoes that have a metal "tap" on the heel and toe. There are several major variations on tap dance including: rhythm tap (jazz) tap, classical tap, Broadway tap, and post-modern tap. Broadway tap often focuses on formations, choreography and generally less complex rhythms; it is widely performed in musical theatre. Rhythm tap focuses on musicality, and practitioners consider themselves to be a part of the jazz tradition and as such, Improvisation is essential to their work. Many of the most influential rhythm tap dancers were members of the Hoofers Club or Original Copacetics. Classical tap has a similarly long tradition which marries European "classical" music with American foot drumming with a wide variation in full-body expression. Post-modern or contemporary tap has emerged over the last three decades to incorporate abstract expression, thematic narrative and technology.

There are different brands of shoes which sometimes differ in the way they sound. Soft-shoe is a rhythm form of tap dancing that does not require special shoes, and though rhythm is generated by tapping of the feet, it also uses sliding of the feet (even sometimes using scattered sand on the stage to enhance the sound of sliding feet) more often than modern rhythm tap. It produced what is currently considered to be modern tap, but has since declined in popularity.

National Tap Dance Day in the United States, now celebrated May 25, was signed into law by President George Bush on November 7, 1989. (May 25 was chosen because it is the birthday of famous tapper Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.) Prominent modern tap dancers have included Sarah Reich, Brenda Bufalino, Melinda Sullivan, The Clark Brothers, Savion Glover, Gregory and Maurice Hines, LaVaughn Robinson, Jason Samuels Smith, Roxanne Butterfly, Chloe Arnold, Mel Winkler, Michelle Dorrance, Dulé Hill and Dianne "Lady Di" Walker. Indie-pop band Tilly and the Wall also features a tap dancer, Jamie Pressnall, tapping as percussion.

Tap shoes
In the earliest years of tap dancing, tap shoes often had wooden soles,[12] but most tap shoes since have had leather soles. Today, it is common for manufacturers of tap shoes to also produce and fix taps. There are a variety of styles of shoe: the Oxford is very common in jazz dance and the Mary Jane is common for younger girls in tap classes.

Taps
Metallic taps were added to tap shoes in 1910. Before that tap shoes used wood to produce a distinct tapping sound. Castanets were commonly used for larger shows with full orchestration. Depending on manufacturer and model, tap characteristics can vary considerably. For example, some taps have relatively low weight and small footprint, whereas others may be thicker and fill out the edge of the shoe more, making them heavier as a result. A tap's "tone" is influenced by its weight as well as its surface shape, which may be concave or convex. The tonal quality of a tap can also be influenced by the material it is made from, and the presence of a soundboard (though there is some debate whether this affects the sound).

Taps are mounted to the sole of the shoe with screws, and sometimes adhesive as well. The screws are driven into a soundboard – a thin fiberboard integrated into the sole that can be firmly "gripped" by the screws – to reliably attach the tap to the shoe. When no adhesive is used, the screws can be loosened or tightened to produce different sounds, whereas tonal quality is fixed when adhesive is used.