Tap dance
Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music.[1] Tap dancing can also be a cappella, with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its own music.
It is an African-American artform that evolved alongside the advent of jazz music.[2][3] A type of step dance, tap began with the combination of Southern American and Irish dance traditions: British soft-shoe and hard-shoe step dances, and a variety of both slave and freeman step dances. The fusion of African rhythms and performance styles with European techniques of footwork led to the creation of tap dance.[4] This fusion began in the mid-17th century but did not become popular until the mid-19th century.[5]
There are two major versions of tap dance: 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. Different shoes may differ in their sound.