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DocuSign Envelope ID:06711178-0E3F-4541-A834-A91FC422F4D1 I4# <br /> ( <br /> B ri of History l <br /> A of Tap 1 <br /> 1 Born in America from the same roots as jazz music, tap dance emerged in t <br /> the mid-1800's from the fusion of African and European dance styles and 1 <br /> 1 rhythmic sensibilities. In minstrel shows, Caucasian performers darkened their j <br /> S faces with burnt cork and "acted black." By the 1890's, African-American 1 <br /> S performers were being advertised as "authentic Negroes," darkening up their 1 <br /> own faces and imitating the Caucasian performers who had been imitating 1 <br /> 5 African-Americans. j <br /> S 1 <br /> Vaudeville--or variety shows--came from the minstrel shows and provided 1 <br /> S an explosion of live theatre. The typical show had an orchestra and a t <br /> number of acts--singers, dancers, monologists, comics--and many led off 1 <br /> 1 with an animal act. The typical tap act was eight minutes long and often the j <br /> 5 performers played five shows a day. By the 1930s there were infinite j i <br /> S possibilities: elegant "class" acts, comic and eccentric dancers, acrobatic 1 <br /> 1 dancers who flipped upside down off of most anything, and any number of 1 <br /> S acts which combined other skills such as hat tricks, cane tricks, and spinning 1 <br /> 5 plates and trays. The greatest vaudeville star, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, j <br /> Sdanced in a style which was upright, clearly European, yet always swinging. 1 <br /> 1 Classic movies of the 1930s and '40s showcased the great Caucasian <br /> 1 dancers of the day, while African-Americans were mostly excluded. The 1 <br /> N Nicholas Brothers,whose daring exploits in flash and acrobatic tap were j <br /> 5 always delivered with elegance, succeeded in spite of their skin color and 1 <br /> 1 broke many color lines. Fred Astaire brought choreographic genius to tap 1 <br /> 1 and set standards for filming dance. At this time, tap dance came down 1 <br /> N from its toes into a syncopated, more sophisticated musical style know as 1 <br /> 5 rhythm, or jazz, tap. j <br /> S By the 1940s, tap dance 1 <br /> moved in two important <br /> > ' directions, onto the 1 <br /> , ' concert stage and into the 1 <br /> 1 y small music clubs where <br /> t <br /> 1 bebop was brewing. 1 <br /> Paul Draper fused ballet 1 <br /> 1 with tap, gave concerts for 1 <br /> 1 t tap, piano, and 1 <br /> �' harmonica, and was j <br /> '.a' America's top concert 1 <br /> S attraction for most of a j <br /> decade. Meanwhile in the <br /> jazz clubs, African- 1 <br /> l <br /> Z I <br /> S North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble-Guide for teachers 1 l <br />