Sunday, December 12, 2010

Bring Back the Tap Dancers



Whatever happened to tap dancing? People love watching “Dancing with the Stars”
Now it’s “Skating with the Stars”. I love the rhythm of music and watching the foot work of the Dancer or Skater keeping time with the music.
Count Basie once said,."If you play a tune and a person don't tap their feet, don't play the tune."

It seems to be a natural feeling in all of us to feel the urge to move with the sound. I sometimes like to watch something a little more soothing and calming on TV than the wild antics of some of the skaters and dancers. You can’t totally relax to the music if you’re constantly worried about the dancer throwing their partner out into the audience. Give us a break and tone it down a little. I mean why should they risk their lives just to entertain us.

Tap dancing is much safer for the viewer and the dancer. Not to mention how much more relaxing it is. I think it’s a fantastic skill. Does anybody remember Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly. Do you know that Tony Curtis could also cut a rug. That must be an expression from my former life.

Did you know in the early days the slave trade in America caused a lot of panic when it was discovered that Africans could communicate with each other from a far distance with the use of drums. The article I read said the Africans were not allowed to use drums in their religious ceremonies. That makes me stop and ponder a bit. How would that go over today? What right wing or left wing decided it was okay to step on their religious toes and interfere with how they worshiped. We came a long way, Baby.

Anyway all this beating rhythm has created a multitude of different dances.
The British clogging steps combined their footwork with the Irish and created a style called “buck and wing, which became tap dancing. I never see any of it on TV. Maybe it’s there and I haven’t found it yet.
Little kids used to take tap dancing lessons and they loved it. Now it seems to be that Ballet is all that I ever hear about. Am I the only one that likes tap dancing?

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