WITHIN THE LAST FEW YEARS, tap dancing has become established so firmly upon the physical education programs of our schools and colleges that its place there scarcely needs further defense. However, for those who still question the educational values of tap dancing and who would deny it a place in the school curriculum, it might be well to recall the storm of protest which mel. the proposed adoption of social dancing on the educational program. Educators came to realize that whether social dancing was taught or ignored in the school, boys and girls were going to dance. It was found necessary for the school to provide leadership in an activity which otherwise found its sole indulgence in clubs and dance halls of questionable influence. Similarly, educators have come to realize that whether tap dancing is taught or ignored in the schools, boys and girls will engage in this form of rhythmic expression, and again, the school is coming forward to provide the leadership in an activity which will otherwise find its sole indulgence in dancing schools and studios. Along with this same line of thought, it might be well to quote that well-known educator, T. H. Briggs, who has said that "the first duty of the school is to teach children to do better the desirable tiling is that they will do anyway."
This book of tap routines is offered to serve a dual purpose: to supplement the comparative paucity of material available for school purposes in view of the ever-increasing use of tap dancing as an activity; to answer a felt need often voiced by instructors of physical education who are called upon to supply entertainment numbers on programs of all kinds. The routines presented here are especially adaptable to recreational and extra-curricular use with suggestions as to costuming and the specific occasions on which they might be used. Where the entrances and exits are not a part of the routine proper, they need not be taught as a part of the dance for regular class purposes.
Now that "tap dancing" appears in curricula with "clogging," instructors arc constantly asked to differentiate between the two. The author feels
that no sharp line of demarcation can be drawn between them. Clog and
tap dancing are both types of the same thing, having their common root
in the so-called step dances of a still earlier age. Historians of the dance
refer to tap, shuffle, and clog steps of the various countries. "All the Latin
countries, no less than Scotland and I inland, have their Jig. Tn Italy, as elsewhere, it is a combination of rapid clog and shuffle steps."' In Ireland,
the clog and shuffle type of dances were most highly elaborated. Mr.
Thomas Hill, the famous Irish dancer, is quoted thus: "The thing of
greatest importance in Irish dancing is the music of the shoes. In the
eleven years that I have been dancing, the greater part of my attention
has been spent on the development and control of the variety of tones that
can be produced by taps of heels and soles on the floor and against each
other."
The term "clogging" arose through the use of stiff, wooden shoes or "clogs" which were a characteristic accessory of the early Irish peasant costume. Clogs were introduced in this country by our early settlers for use in inclement weather. They appeared later in their professional capacity when Irishmen, who were among our first professional tap dancers, wore them for the execution of their tap rhythms. Among [he first popular tap dances performed in this country was the Lancashire Clog, so called because of its origin and because of the wooden shoes worn for its execution.
With the evolution of modern popular music with faster and more syncopated tempo and rhythms, the evolution of modern tap dancing kept pace. Wooden shoes proved clumsy and precarious as steps became faster and more intricate; wood-fibre soles came to be used only to give way to softer, leather soles to which were attached aluminum toe tips or taps. Jingles and heel tips or taps are additional accessories of the modern tap dancing shoe.
If a differentiation between clogging and tap dancing is to be made in our educational institutions, the author feels that the term "clogging" should be applied to those dances of a simpler nature, a more even timing, and a decided folk quality, —dances in which the typical folk dance steps appear, and in which the emphasis is not primarily on the tap sounds themselves. Tap dancing, on the other hand, is a term applicable to a more professionalized and intricate type of dancing; emphasis is upon the variety of rhythms secured through rapid manipulation of [lie feet. There may or may not be a folk quality to [he [ap dance, hut the time is usually syncopated and a great many more tap sounds are achieved to each measure of music than those tapped out in the slower, more even rhythms of clogging. To say, however, exactly where tap dancing begins and clogging ends is a difficult matter and cannot be settled arbitrarily.
The first books of clogging built up a terminology for certain tap sounds which arc not in consistent usage among professional teachers of tap dancing. Steps were called "2's," "3's," "5's," et cetera, according to the number of tap sounds made. Inasmuch as there is no standardization of terminology among the professional group itself, and inasmuch as tap dancing has entered educational circles after a background of clogging,
The author
feels that, at this time. it is wiser to use the terminology already established
in the minds of students and teachers of clogging all over the country. The
differences are distinctions in name only, and applicable to but a few of the
steps. There is a need for standardization of terminology among the teachers of tap dancing, especially among those in educational institutions.
The author wishes to express her gratitude to [lie many friends who have
given their aid in the preparation of [his book: [o Miss Marjorie Hillas for
her reading of, and suggestions for, the descriptions of the dances; to Dr.
C. L. Brownell for his invaluable aid and suggestions; to the students in
the extension department of Teachers College where much of the material
was first taught; to fellow teachers who read and demonstrated their ability
to interpret die dances from the descriptions; to the students of Baylor College, and others, who posed for the illustrations; to E. W. Davidson, who made
the photographs; to Miss Esther Alien Bremer for her splendid cooperation
in the arrangement of the music, and for her suggestions and aid in the preparation of this manuscript.