Tap Steps
A step having two sounds: a brush and a spank.
What is a shuffle?
A tap and ballroom dancer known for his elegant style; he appeared in many films with his partner, Ginger Rogers.
Who is Fred Astaire?
The speed of a piece of music.
What is tempo?
The founder of Syncopated Ladies, a female tap dance band.
Who is Chloe Arnold?
A 1952 film starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor.
What is Singin' in the Rain?
A step having four sounds: Heel dig, pick up, step, heel.
What is a paradiddle (or paddle)?
An African-American tap dancer who brought tap more on its toes; he often danced with Shirley Temple.
Who is Bill "Bojangles" Robinson?
A rhythm playing three notes in the space of two.
What is a triplet?
A tapper who gained fame from her collaborations with Postmodern Jukebox.
Who is Sarah Reich?
A movie and musical in which Peggy Sawyer, a small-town girl, dreams of tapping her way to Broadway stardom.
What is 42nd Street?
A step executed on one foot: toe, heel, heel, toe.
What is a Riff
A team of tap-dancing brothers who performed a highly acrobatic technique known as "flash dancing."
Who are the Nicholas Brothers (Fayard and Harold Nicholas)?
The pattern or arrangement of musical beats and silence.
What is rhythm?
A child prodigy who starred in The Tap Dance Kid on Broadway and won a Tony Award for Best Choreography for Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk.
Who is Savion Glover?
A Cole Porter movie and musical that is a retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew. The movie starred Ann Miller.
What is Kiss Me, Kate?
A step historically used to set tempo that repeats for several measures; the basic step is a stomp, hop, step, flap, step.
What is a timestep?
A tapper known as the "Queen of Tap Dancing" on the silver screen; she starred in several movies during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Who is Eleanor Powell?
A rhythm that gives unequal weight to beats of the same value; "stressing the upbeat." Often thought of as more laid back.
What is swing rhythm?
A performer who was in over 40 movies, including White Nights with Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Who is Gregory Hines?
A 1921 musical that was adapted and re-staged in 2016 with choreography by Savion Glover.
What is Shuffle Along?
A step named after a city in New York State
What is a buffalo?
A tapper who revolutionized tap by playing with rhythms and offbeats; he is often called the "Father of Rhythm Tap."
Who is John Bubbles?
Accenting a note or notes that wouldn't normally be accented; rhythmic stresses or accents on the "off beat."
What is syncopation?
A tapper known for her youthful, powerful energy and fast footwork. She is a 2015 MacArthur Fellow and has her own tap company.
Who is Michelle Dorrance?
A 1943 film that featured many famous tappers, most notably the Nicholas Brothers, performing what many consider the greatest musical dance number ever filmed.
What is Stormy Weather?