| Abstract | As a tap dancer of twelve years, I wanted to create a creative-based, departmental honors project that stretched my limits and knowledge of tap dance while also developing my choreography skills. To do this, I looked back at the hitsory of tap dance in America. In narrowing down the project, I decided to research seven important influences of tap dance and how their styles envolved into tap as society knows it today. Within this research, I chose to focus on Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, The Nicholas Brothers, Broadway, Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, and the Syncopated Ladies. After researching each person/group's specific style and history, I then choreographed a one to two minute tap dance influences by that person or groups specific style and contribution to tap dance on stage. The project culminated with a live twenty-minute performance of the choreography with eight tap dancers in the Buschman Theatre at Ed Landreth Hall at Texas Christian University on March 27th, 2022. Through this project, I learned about the importance of these seven influences and their contributions to tap dance and American culture, pushed my skills as a choreographer, and developed a deeper understanding of teaching dance to others in preparation for a final performance. |
