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Shifting the Beat: Exploring Tap Dance Performance and Identity on a Global Stage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2014

Sally Crawford
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Abstract

The globalization of tap dance carries the possibility of hybridization as well as homogenization of the dance form. The transmission of tap dance to England during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries enabled individuals to learn repertoire for syllabus examinations and theatrical productions. In 2006, the implementation of the tap jam, an informal event featuring improvised tap dance and live music, introduced the concept of spontaneous musical and movement composition. The tap jams represent shifting cultural processes in global performances of tap dance. This paper will examine the application of global perspectives in how tap dance is performed and practiced in other countries. My discussion will draw from an ethnographic investigation of two tap dance communities located in Manchester and London, England. Utilizing examples from my fieldwork, I demonstrate how the tap jams in England act as a site for constructing individual performance identity, highlighting a move away from homogenized tap performance.

Type
Research Article
Information
Congress on Research in Dance Conference Proceedings , Volume 2014 , Fall 2014 , pp. 52 - 58
Copyright
Copyright © Sally Crawford 2014 

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