How does tap dance act as a form of music-making?
The development of tap dance in the United States is inherently tied to music-making. According to the University of Michigan’s “A Brief Tap Dance History,” enslaved people in America “turned to percussive dancing to express themselves and retain their cultural identities” after being separated from their percussive instruments (“From Margins”). Over time, tap dance has continued evolving through the creative and musical cultural moment of the Harlem Renaissance, which is when “tap dancers began collaborating with jazz musicians, incorporating improvisation and complex syncopated rhythms into their movement,” while also becoming a source of entertainment on Broadway and in films (From Margins). Historically, tap dance has not only evolved from the percussive music-making practices of African people but has also grown to act as a percussive and rhythmic instrument that has participated in both jazz and entertainment musical practices.
In addition to the ways tap dance is historically integrated into musical practices, tap dance has proven an important resource for the development of a person’s ability to embody music as well as add to music through improvisational sounds and rhythms. West examines the benefits of adding improvisation tap dance to curriculums in her article “Introducing Improvisational Skills Through Rhythm Tap,” She heavily emphasizes the role of tap dance as an “outlet for self-expression, independence, and spontaneity” in addition to its focus on “the rhythms heard” rather than “what is seen” (West 38). While this article is meant to serve as a guide for teaching improvisational tap, including theory and exercises that support her suggested technique within research, West grounds the importance of “jazz” and “percussive” tap through its position as a music-making practice that allows students to listen to music and then create something interesting. In doing so, tap dance serves as a musical practice that requires dancers to physically embody and build upon music and rhythms through the instrument of tap shoes.
In addition to the ways tap dance is historically integrated into musical practices, tap dance has proven an important resource for the development of a person’s ability to embody music as well as add to music through improvisational sounds and rhythms. West examines the benefits of adding improvisation tap dance to curriculums in her article “Introducing Improvisational Skills Through Rhythm Tap,” She heavily emphasizes the role of tap dance as an “outlet for self-expression, independence, and spontaneity” in addition to its focus on “the rhythms heard” rather than “what is seen” (West 38). While this article is meant to serve as a guide for teaching improvisational tap, including theory and exercises that support her suggested technique within research, West grounds the importance of “jazz” and “percussive” tap through its position as a music-making practice that allows students to listen to music and then create something interesting. In doing so, tap dance serves as a musical practice that requires dancers to physically embody and build upon music and rhythms through the instrument of tap shoes.
What do music-making practices offer to people during times of isolation?
Written prior to the CoronaVirus pandemic, Timothy Rice’s article “Ethnomusicology In Times of Trouble” examines the role of music-making and dance during times of crisis, specifically during the HIV/AIDs pandemic. Rice provides scholarship discussing the musical interventions (and lack thereof) used in Uganda and Zimbabwe to teach individuals about HIV/AIDS as well as promote safe sexual practices (Rice 199). In doing so, Rice highlights not only the educational benefits of music, but also pinpoints the way music culturally shifts to become reflective of the pandemic that the globe was facing during the time.
Although the CoronaVirus pandemic has only recently afflicted our world, there are already noticeable shifts in the way people are experiencing music and dance. Kornhaber reports that “streaming services such as Spotify have seen modest declines in usage” and instead, people are drawn towards performances that foster “participation and inclusion”--such as live-streamed concerts and live-streamed DJ sets (Kornhaber). This type of music-making and viewing includes but is not limited to social media platforms like TikTok: where posts are essentially small clips of audio with users’ corresponding video footage. This platform has “skyrocketed because of social isolation” due to its ability to engage people “in acts of participation meant to inspire more participation” (Kornhaber). According to assistant professor Psyche Loui from Northeastern University’s Neuroscience department, “‘If you look at music around the world, every culture has music, and every culture makes music for each other...in a time of uncertainty and social isolation--people are really seeking out music as a way to still make that signal that we care about each other’” (Kornhaber). In Loui’s opinion, “the pandemic is bolstering her view that, in evolutionary terms, music’s role is for social connection and cohesion” (Kornhaber).
Although the CoronaVirus pandemic has only recently afflicted our world, there are already noticeable shifts in the way people are experiencing music and dance. Kornhaber reports that “streaming services such as Spotify have seen modest declines in usage” and instead, people are drawn towards performances that foster “participation and inclusion”--such as live-streamed concerts and live-streamed DJ sets (Kornhaber). This type of music-making and viewing includes but is not limited to social media platforms like TikTok: where posts are essentially small clips of audio with users’ corresponding video footage. This platform has “skyrocketed because of social isolation” due to its ability to engage people “in acts of participation meant to inspire more participation” (Kornhaber). According to assistant professor Psyche Loui from Northeastern University’s Neuroscience department, “‘If you look at music around the world, every culture has music, and every culture makes music for each other...in a time of uncertainty and social isolation--people are really seeking out music as a way to still make that signal that we care about each other’” (Kornhaber). In Loui’s opinion, “the pandemic is bolstering her view that, in evolutionary terms, music’s role is for social connection and cohesion” (Kornhaber).
How are music-making and dance practices impacted by the inability to physically collaborate during times of isolation? How have they adapted?
The ability for music and dance to serve as a form of community and connection is something that is not only shown statistically through music-streaming and social media services, but is also documented through the way music and dance organizations have adapted to the CoronaVirus pandemic. In a San Diego local news article called “Dance studios and gym teach online due to COVID-19” published by the San Diego Union Tribune, dance and gym teachers speak out about their experience teaching virtual classes and the way their studios or organizations have adapted to offer more flexibility and accessibility to individuals. Some of the benefits include the ability to focus on fundamental, basic techniques that are able to be practiced from the students’ own home as well as work with a diverse range of teachers who are unable to teach in the studio. Additionally, organizations like “gyminnykids” decided to offer their classes without cost to anyone who had access to a Zoom subscription increasing accessibility for students who would be unable to afford lessons at the facility.
For individual students, the inability to physically collaborate and learn in the studio has reframed the way we approach our participation in dance and music practices. In an article entitled “Dancers Must Reframe What It Means To Be Resilient,” Barry Kerollis redefines what it means for dancers to be resilient during a pandemic. For a long time, dancers learned that resilience means to push through injuries or other challenges rather than give up on their practice. She reflects on an advanced ballet class she held in New York right after Broadway halted all productions due to CoronaVirus. Kerollis regrets holding the class, however realizes that she did so due to her constructed mentality to push through challenges. She discusses how resilience, during the CoronaVirus pandemic, requires taking a step back and finding new ways to survive and thrive.
For individual students, the inability to physically collaborate and learn in the studio has reframed the way we approach our participation in dance and music practices. In an article entitled “Dancers Must Reframe What It Means To Be Resilient,” Barry Kerollis redefines what it means for dancers to be resilient during a pandemic. For a long time, dancers learned that resilience means to push through injuries or other challenges rather than give up on their practice. She reflects on an advanced ballet class she held in New York right after Broadway halted all productions due to CoronaVirus. Kerollis regrets holding the class, however realizes that she did so due to her constructed mentality to push through challenges. She discusses how resilience, during the CoronaVirus pandemic, requires taking a step back and finding new ways to survive and thrive.
Click here to see how our tap club, Dynamic Rhythm, survived through social isolation and other circumstances of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Works Cited
“From Margins to Mainstream: A Brief Tap Dance History.” University of Michigan,
https://ums.org/2019/06/21/from-margins-to-mainstream-tap-dance-history/, Accessed 7
June 2020.
Himchak, Elizabeth Marie. “Dance studios and gym teach online due to COVID-19.” San Diego
Union Tribune, www.sandiegouniontribune.com/pomerado-news/news/story/2020-04-16/
Dance-studios-and-gym-teach-online-due-to-covid-19, Accessed 5 June 2020.
Kerollis, Barry. “During COVID-19, Dancers Must Reframe What It Means to Be Resilient.”
Dance Magazine, Dance Magazine, 19 Mar. 2020,
www.dancemagazine.com/reframing-resilience-covid-19-2645532799.html.
Kornhaber, Spencer. “People Are Remembering What Music Is Really For.” The Atlantic,
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/04/coronavirus-has-forced-repurposing
-music/609601/. Accessed 9 June 2020.
Rice, Timothy. “Ethnomusicology in Times of Trouble.” Yearbook for Traditional Music, vol. 46,
2014, pp. 191-209.
West, Colleen N. “Introducing Improvisational Skills through Rhythm Tap.” Journal of Physical
Education, vol. 76, no. 7, pp. 38-39.
https://ums.org/2019/06/21/from-margins-to-mainstream-tap-dance-history/, Accessed 7
June 2020.
Himchak, Elizabeth Marie. “Dance studios and gym teach online due to COVID-19.” San Diego
Union Tribune, www.sandiegouniontribune.com/pomerado-news/news/story/2020-04-16/
Dance-studios-and-gym-teach-online-due-to-covid-19, Accessed 5 June 2020.
Kerollis, Barry. “During COVID-19, Dancers Must Reframe What It Means to Be Resilient.”
Dance Magazine, Dance Magazine, 19 Mar. 2020,
www.dancemagazine.com/reframing-resilience-covid-19-2645532799.html.
Kornhaber, Spencer. “People Are Remembering What Music Is Really For.” The Atlantic,
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/04/coronavirus-has-forced-repurposing
-music/609601/. Accessed 9 June 2020.
Rice, Timothy. “Ethnomusicology in Times of Trouble.” Yearbook for Traditional Music, vol. 46,
2014, pp. 191-209.
West, Colleen N. “Introducing Improvisational Skills through Rhythm Tap.” Journal of Physical
Education, vol. 76, no. 7, pp. 38-39.