Brief HX of Tap and Jazz Dance in US
Brief HX of Tap and Jazz Dance in US
Brief HX of Tap and Jazz Dance in US
2013
ABOUT DANCEMOTION USASM
This essay was produced by DanceMotion USASM organizations and educational institutions to
to provide information on American dance for a create unique residencies that allow for exchange
global audience. DanceMotion USASM is a program and engagement. In addition to person-to-person
of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs interactions, the program reaches a wider audience
of the US Department of State, produced by BAM through an active social and digital media initia-
(Brooklyn Academy of Music), to showcase the tive, and through educational resources housed in
finest contemporary American dance abroad while embassy and consulate libraries.
facilitating mutual understanding. DanceMotion
USASM helps US embassies partner with leading
cultural, social service, and community-based Please visit us at dancemotionusa.org
SUSAN YUNG
Festivals are held across the US, in particular in At the start of the 20th-century, to ragtime and
cities such as St. Louis, Chicago, and Boston. ballroom orchestral and big band music, dance
The Tap Extravaganza, which began in 1989, gained a firm foothold in the public imagina-
celebrates National Tap Dance Day and selects a tion through revues (Darktown Follies, Ziegfeld
dancer to receive an annual lifetime achievement Follies), clubs (Hoofers Club, Cotton Club, Savoy
award. Recent years have seen the emergence Ballroom), and musical theater. The 1921 revue
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