Attend a tap dancing workshop by Emmy award-winning director Jason Samuels Smith

Jason Samuel Smith

It's dance that is based on sound, the sound made by shoes. But tap dance has a history that is derived from several ethnic percussive dances, including African tribal dances and Irish jigs, and is believed to have begun in the mid-1800s. The sound is made by shoes that have a metal ‘tap', which make a percussive sound when they hit the ground. Prior to metal taps, the dance was performed with wooden clogs on leather shoes.

Today, you can learn all about tap dance at a workshop conducted by New York-based tap dancer, choreographer, and Emmy award-winning director Jason Samuels Smith (in pics). He won an Emmy for the opening number of the 2003 Jerry Lewis/MDA Telethon, which was a tribute to the late Gregory Hines.

Jason Samuel Smith

Tap that

• Tap dance comes from West African Dance. It has influenced Jazz and popular music from the 1920s to the present.
• Because of shows like Shuffle Along, tap dance is now a staple in musical theatre performance.
• Tap dancers like Sammy Davis Jr supported the civil rights movements with appearances and performances.
• African American tap dancers were the first to break racial barriers.
• Dancer Fred Astaire added a ballroom look and style to tap dancing; Gene Kelly on the other hand introduced ballet elements into it (called broadway-style).
• Hoofers are tap dancers who dance primarily with their legs, making a louder and more grounded sound; this dance style is called rhythm tap.