Happy St. Patrick's Day, 2001!
It's another fine day to celebrate the Irish contributions in our lives!
Tap Dancing and the Irish!
Does anyone else enjoy, or at least appreciate, the skill and natural timing involved
in good tap dancing? The first time that I remember seeing it was in
an old Shirley Temple movie, and then, after that, many more old movies!
(I wasn't nearly as impressed when my sister took tap dancing at age 6! :)
So, naturally, I didn't question the origin of tap dancing. In my mind,
it was just something that was. I always thought that it was perfected
by African American's in the 1920's and 1930's, and that we were
fortunate that there were old movies for us to enjoy them in!
(How's that for a simplistic child's view? ;)
But, the "just was" part started to nag at me as I grew older.
I can't help it, I have a curious nature, and want to know "why" things are
as they are! Well, I found my answer, and it was in my very own blood!
As it turned out, that type of dancing was a combination of 2 cultures:
The West African's that were here, and the Irish immigrants coming in.
It began in the late 18th century. The Irish immigrants often traveled through
the South. I know that this is correct, as my own Irish ancestors, who
arrived here in the 1740's, took the Southern route.
Naturally, the Irish met up with the slaves, and the 2 had much more in
common at the time than many realize. And, one of the things
that they shared, was an irrepressable nature based in pride, sense
of history, and entertainment. So, they shared
their styles of dance, and began to meld their choreography.
The Irish jig was melded with the African shuffle
and slide ~ and what we know today as tap dancing, was born!
But, it really all came together with 2 of the greatest 19th century dancers.
One was a free-born African American, who is considered
the father of tap dancing, named William Henry Lane, aka Master Juba, born in 1825.
The other was an Irish clog dancer named, Jack Diamond. The 2 met in
competition in saloons, and developed a style that evolved, step by step, over time.
Irish dancing uses a lot fancy footwork and natural timing, but there
is no use of the arms, classically. Arms are kept to
the dancer's sides. The African American contribution to tap dancing,
in that department, was to add the upper body movement.
Thus, we have something that we all take for granted today.
And we can chalk up another contribution, buried in the murky depths of history,
but now uncovered, to the Irish, their irrepressable nature, and their friends!