The two tap dancers who made it into the top twenty did a duet on “So You Think You Can Dance” yesterday, and everyone seemed to love the performance. Several of the people I spoke to this morning said the routine had a Nicholas-Brothers flavor with a modern look. These two tap dancers made tap dancing look like fun, and they were clearly tap dancing for the audience and not for themselves, as indicated by their eye contact with the audience, expressive arm and body movements, and the way they used the entire stage.

Here are a few of the comments they received after the performance: “Amazing stuff for you guys…. This shows that tap dancers can be stars.” Not only are these guys good tappers, but they are also good dancers and good actors.

And here’s more great news: Nigel, who has also been a performing tap dancer himself, said that tap dancing may be used as one of the competition dances this season. WOW! The link below might be a preview of what tap dancing will look like in the future:

aamp3.com . . .

The Nicholas Brothers would be proud!

Christopher Scott, who is an actor, dancer, and the choreographer for the LXD (Legion of Extraordinary Dancers), created this routine for SYTYCD.

This is from Regina's The Dancers Workshop Inc. 2007:

“Chris Scott…received dance training at Colburn School of Performing Arts, in Downtown Los Angeles, where he mastered the art of tap dance. Chris later received a scholarship to dance with the Jazz Tap Ensemble, which gave him an opportunity to tour and perform on a professional plateau. Since then, he has taught tap in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, including studios like the Millennium Dance Complex in North Hollywood….”

I LOVED this performance.

While I was watching it I found myself thinking, "I hope Charles Kelley is watching this. The exceptional tapping and the spot on acro (they hit every move on the beat)made me think of him in his younger days.

Thanks for posting this. I hope the performance shows up on youtube or someplace we can easily embed here.

Keep On Dancing*

I just saw Nick's performance of the quick step.


IT WAS OUTRAGEOUS!


Keep On Dancing*

This is part of an article posted on wordpress.com:

The final dance of the night was the “dreaded” quickstep. Every single dancer who has ever performed the quickstep in SYTYCD history has been eliminated. Tapper Nick and world quickstep champion Iveta may have changed that trend. Jason Gilikson’s choreography was dynamic and fun, two words I never thought I would use to describe the quickstep….Despite never having danced ballroom before, Nick’s tap training had to help, as both dance styles have fast footwork….

aljal.wordpress.com . . .

Based on what all of the judges have said, it appears that Nick is taking tap dancing to the next level in this country (US). The things that I believe are helping him reach this new level are (1) making it clear that tap dancing is both tapping and dancing, (2) dancing with his entire body and not with just his feet, (3) letting people hear the beat and see the beat, (4) connecting with his audience, and (5) connecting with his music.

Tim also clearly demonstrates that large, quick movements are more entertaining than small, quick movements. As a friend of mine pointed out when she was being less than enthusiastic about a flash step I was working on: Small, quick steps often produce small, quick sounds that are not worth listening to or watching.

I was happy to see that Jess, one of the two tap dancers who made it into the top twenty (US), is now in the top ten. This guy has tremendous talent, and he can make tap dancing fun watch.

Smith & ACGI also performed on the SYTYCD last night. All of the tap dancers are extremely competent, but I really had a hard time taking my eyes off Sarah Reich. There is something about the way this girl dances that absolutely fascinates me. She still reminds me of Diane Walker. I also enjoyed watching Chloe Arnold, who is very athletic, and Melinda Sullivan, who we all know and love from her previous performances on SYTYCD.

It might have been easier to see just how good these tap dancers really are if the choreography was different, the lighting was better, and they used the entire stage instead of crowding together on a small, raised wooden floor. I thought the hip-hop dialog detracted from the performance, but that’s probably because I’m more interested in watching the group tap dance than listening to vocals.

Nick, Jesse, and Matt Flint did a tap routine during the SYTYCD finale yesterday, and everyone I’ve spoken to said they really enjoyed listening to the rhythms and watching the routine. Nick was in the top 20 (US), Jesse was in the top 10 (US), and Matt Flint won first place in the SYTYCD competition in the UK. After Nick and Jesse got millions of votes in the US and Matt Flint got millions of votes in the UK, I would say these three tap dancers are a good indication of what the next generation and future of tap dancing will look like.

loved it! They truly put the joy in tap dancing. I'm glad to see tap taking a turn back to a bigger, showier style. They made it look effortless.

For anyone who has not seen Matt Flint perform, this website has a clip that shows the routine that Matt, Jess, and Nick did on SYTYCD.

www.footnotesontap.com

If you look at the nine traditional tap dancers that are featured at the top of the page, you will notice that like Matt Flint, none of them are using the flapping-arm movements that characterize many of today’s modern tap dancers. This reinforces my belief that if tap dancing is going to move forward, we need to build on the past and try to copy or improve the exciting techniques that most of the legendary tap dancers were using during the “golden age” of tap dancing.

Next weekend is our annual studio field trip to the SYTYCD road show. I'm so excited!. Of course I'm hoping the tap number is part of the show.

In years past, some of the best numbers were done by dancers who weren't in the final 4 or 5 but had great pieces like the tap number we've been chatting about here.

Has anyone seen the road show yet?

Keep On Dancing*

I really don't think that "copying" what people did in the 40's and 50's is going to bring tap back to centerstage.

This number is amazing, but this choreo wouldn't work with a song from the Black Eyed Peas, or a spanish guitar. This is not the only kind of tap that works and draws in fans.

The problem with tap not being front and center is partially because where do people actually see it anymore? You can't see it on MTV or music videos like you can hip-hop. You can't perform it just anywhere (like hip hop), you need a decent floor if you are going to put on a show. They don't have tap on SYTYCD or Dancing With The Stars because it is not a form of dance you can learn in a week. Those are far bigger challenges than someone moving their arms more.

^:C Sad but true, I'm afraid.

I saw Jane Fonda, now 73 years old, on Jay Leno last week and she said she was going to learn to tap dance. I hoped she might be able to do for tap what she did for exercise back in the 80's.

It's sad because tap is such a uniquely American dance form and has a rich history. It is also so satisfying to dance. If you think about it, clogging has found its own little niche. I hope tap doesn't die out completely. Maybe things like the SYTYCD number will help save it.

Keep On Dancing*

Tap is never going to die out, and right now it is very far from it. You know why? Tap is contemporary, relevant, and adaptable. You can see and hear tap, which, you cannot do with non rhythmic forms of dance.

You know why else? This generation of hoofers not only posses technical virtuosity not seen since the black hoofers in the 20's-40's, but they are also connected to today's culture. Maybe not mainstream pop culture, but actual arts and music. They posses immense knowledge of the history of tap and music, yesterday and today and combine all these facets to become top notch performers. People like Jared Grimes, Jason Janas, Jason Saumels Smith, Dormeshia Edwards and Derrick Grant, these people add no gimmicks, no arbitrary arm movements, nothing like that, and I promise anyone that has seen them perform live walks away with their jaws dropped, and not just tap dance aficionados.

Every day there are more and more tap dancers with that knowledge and ability, and all of us continue to teach and pass down that knowledge to more and more students. There have been more professional tap ensembles and tap festivals started in the past few years than ever. Tap dancers in France, Brazil, Japan and most recently China have even begun to learn the technical skills and the history of tap, and have infused tap with their own cultures' approach to rhythm. Most importantly people in these countries have approached the art form with the respect for the history and the past masters, and like the young hoofers here in america reference that material and make it relevant to today.

If a person does not live near a major metropolitan area, and only relies on the popular media for entertainment, I can totally understand how they would think tap was dead. However for the many people that seek out live dance, live music, arts, for entertainment, Tap is definitely not dead. Unfortunately the popular culture thrives off of people not seeking out real forms of culture and entertainment, so many people are never going to be exposed to something so beautiful as real tap dance.

I believe that the steps the Nicholas Brothers or Gene Kelly used when they danced to music that was popular at the same time these legendary tap dancers were performing can easily be modified to accommodate today’s popular music. I have seen video clips where the music used in an old routine was replaced with popular music that had a similar beat and old routine being done with contemporary music was fascinating to watch. It is my impression that many of today’s modern tap dancers have tremendous technical skill, but their ability to entertain an audience is far below the level you would expect from people like the Nicholas Brothers, Gene Kelly, or Eleanor Powell. In other words, I agree with what the Nicholas Brothers said: modern tap dancers are too much about tapping and not enough about dancing. Similar statements have been made by highly respected people who are judging national and international dance competitions. Matt Flint did not win first place by standing in one place, flapping his arms up and down, and producing highly sophisticated rhythms, he made to first place by producing exciting rhythms, using expressive arm and body movements, and entertaining millions of people. I don’t know about everyone else, but I like seeing the words “tap dancer’ and “first place” used in the same sentence.

The Nicholas Brothers made that statement at a post Noise Funk era when cats were more concerned with cutting each other (meaning one upping the other person technically and musically). At that time not as much of an emphasis was put into the presentation of tap, however there were professional ensembles that were doing work that considered the presentation, Jazz Tap Ensemble for example, or even if you want to go way back, Bufalino with the ATDO (maybe a bit too much presentation, oh modern dancers). Their statement is not as applicable to professionals today (who by no means stand in one place and flap their arms) as it was 15 years ago.

Tap isn't JUST about being entertainment, it can be entertaining, big difference. It could also make you cry, make you angry, make you laugh, all these things, in a non gimmicky way. Looking at it from a purely entertaining happy go lucky standpoint degrades it and makes it gimmicky. Don't think I'm talking down on the master entertainers of old, but I'm just saying how it is- tap doesn't need to be viewed like a gimmick anymore (though doing something gimmicky with it does have its place from time to time), because it IS so much more, and looking for it to be just "entertaining" limits its range.

Matt Flint is clean. He has integrity when it comes to cleanliness and performance quality. However I don't believe there was much substance in any of the performances, and they just didn't tell a story for me. In my mind it was a lot like most of the dance in the competition world: trick trick >> moving moving >> trick trick. I heard a lot of incomplete musical ideas, substance was sacrificed for flash, which the Nicholas Brothers, Berry Brothers, and any other flash acts never did, they always had substance. You can't just hit the audience with FLASH FLASH FLASH FLASH, there is always a build, always a story, and you slip the flash in there. Also with the trio, when the music dropped into that heavy swing the dancers definitely did not swing hard enough... As Jimmy Slyde always said, and still we must swing. It was all entertaining, in a fast food burger kind of way, not stimulating like a free range organically fed chicken sandwich on whole wheat.

This is an excellent article on the Nicholas Brothers (1999) and it’s totally consistent with what I’ve been told by two excellent dancers who have tap danced with both the Nicholas Brothers and the Condos Brothers:

“ In the 1943 musical Stormy Weather, for example, the young men were reunited with fellow Cotton Club performers Horne, Calloway, and Robinson (as well as Fats Waller and another dance icon, Katherine Dunham). It's a period Nicholas remembers fondly, and he is dismayed that the brothers' work was satirized by two characters called "Flash" and "Grin" in Savion Glover's Broadway hit Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk. "Don't try to bring the Nicholas Brothers or Hollywood down," says Nicholas, his jovial tone turning serious. "He was saying the studios used us. But we could do what we wanted to do. There was no dictator. Why bring us down? We are the ones who made it possible for them to be where they are today."…
"It's a different type of dance today. When my brother and I were doing movies and stage, we would always wear nice tails and tuxedos, real sharp. We had class and personality. We practiced and rehearsed. The dancers today improvise. They just think about their feet. We used our bodies and our hands." He adds with a knowing chuckle, "When young dancers of today see these old films, they are amazed. 'Oh, Mr. Nicholas,' they say. 'I've never seen anything like that. How do you do that?'" He seems to shrug over the phone. "We were the pioneers."

www.theatredance.com . . .

I have tremendous respect for people who can produce complex rhythms that most people cannot understand or create a flurry of sounds with tap steps that are too small for most people to see, but when it comes to being entertained, I’m like most of the other people in the audience, I like to hear the beat and see people tap dancing with their bodies and their hands—the way the Nicholas Brothers did.

I believe that the steps the Nicholas Brothers or Gene Kelly used when they danced to music that was popular at the same time these legendary tap dancers were performing can easily be modified to accommodate today’s popular music.

So you basically want all tap dancers today to just copy what other people did and not have the art form move forward? If we all did that we would have never had a show like Tap Dogs. They are as far away from the Nicholas Brothers as you can get...and they did wonders for bringing tap to the masses in many non-metropolitan cites.

What art form doesn't evolve and move into different areas? Ballet, Jazz and Modern has all moved to different places (some which I like and some I don't.) I don't think it is healthy for anyone to say, "We should all go back to what Isadora Duncan was doing, or what Fosse did, or what Balanchine did because that is when dancing was great!" They were pioneers and influenced choreographers of today...just like the Nicholas Brothers. I've seen people do Nicholas Brother routines and you know what? It's not as good. You know why? BECAUSE THEY AREN'T THE NICHOLAS BROTHERS!!! Their personality, stage presence and style cannot be copied. There will never be a duo like them ever again.

As for them dissing tap dancers of today...they really weren't talking about people like Jason Samuel's Smith. Fayard Nicholas was a HUGE fan of Jason's. He didn't like Savion or Savion's style and I know that because I was at a tap festival with him and he told me this. He actually liked MANY current tap dancers and understood hoofers and different styles. He knew his style of dancing with the dramatic arms wouldn't have worked with a hip-hop song but he told me he'd never choose to dance to that kind of music.

By the way...what person doesn't always think that "back in their day" things were better? Even as a teacher I say that the kids were better and easier to teach 20 years ago. All of my senior citizens could think of a list of things that were better 40 years ago, so it isn't really amazing that the Nicholas Brother's thought their era of dancing was better their clothes were better etc. It was a different generation how could it possibly be the same 40 years later and why would we want it to be? Musicals are no longer movie hits, we don't have traveling shows like they used to in the 30's and 40's, and the music produced is completely different. Things don't stay the same, so lobbying for them to do so is really not a good way to spend one's time.

Similar statements have been made by highly respected people who are judging national and international dance competitions.

Dancing for a dance competition and dancing professional or choreographing for a show is different. You know that right? The kids I do solos for competitions are usually incredibly different from something I would put in a serious dance show. I don't think that statement is a very good representation of what tap dance is out there. Serious tap students aren't competing in dumb dance competitions. Most highly competitive dance studios don't have really good tap programs because they are heavily dominated by contemporary and hip-hop. Sooooooo considering I have judged competitions...I can tell you we rarely see really really awesome tap dancers that I see at the tap festivals. Tapper communities don't support competitions for the most part.

As you probably already know, unlike Gregory Hines and Savion Glover, I am a huge fan of the Tap Dogs, and to the best of my knowledge, they have been the most popular tap-dancing group that has emerged over the past ten or more years.

On the other hand, even though their style is much different from the style used by the Nicholas Brothers, the tap steps the Tap Dogs use are largely traditional tap steps, and like the Nicholas Brothers, they use their entire body when they tap dance and not just their feet.

What people do in the name of art, be painting, music, or dance, is a personal choice and they certainly have a right to pursue their own path. That being said, if you are presenting yourself as an entertainer and performing for the benefit of the audience, you have an obligation to do whatever you can to please your audience—especially if you expect to make a living from being an entertainer. Gene Kelly knew this, the Nicholas Brothers knew this, and quite clearly the Tap Dogs know this, which is probably why their show has evolved over the past several years.

I prefer high-energy tap dancing that has a lot of movement and a lot of expression, which is the kind of tap dancing that Matt Flint used to win a first place in SYTYCD. It would have been nice to see Matt do more traditional flash steps because I like flash steps and many of today’s “modern” tap dancers do not use them, but that didn’t stop me from watching and enjoying the video clip I posted on this website ten or fifteen times.

When I mentioned national and international dance competitions, I was referring to shows like SYTYCD, American’s Got Talent, and some of the international dance competitions that have been on television. I know that many of the dancers competing in these competitions are already professional performers, and many of the Irish dancers who performed in Riverdance were national and international dance-competition champions before they joined Riverdance.

What "modern" tap dancers do you watch that don't use their whole bodies?

As far as modern tap dancers go, I love watching Chloe Arnold and Jason Janas because they are both high-energy tap dancers, they both use expressive arm and body movements, and they can both do some amazingly good flash steps. I find it much harder to connect with or enjoy watching a tap dancer who looks at the floor and concentrates on percussion or rhythm but largely ignores the audience and seldom uses expressive movements. Chloe and Jason are both tappers and dancers, which for me is what makes listening to them and watching them extremely entertaining.

Heh, I still don't get how you can claim other tap dancers don't "use their whole body".

I haven't seen a tap dancer (worth listening to) looking just at the floor (unless that is specifically part of the presentation) and only focusing on rhythm since around the time of noise funk.

Here’s is a method I use that may help you understand what I’m talking about: (1) listen to a routine without watching it and then (2) watch the same routine with the sound turned off. In my way of thinking, a good routine should be worth listening to and worth watching. I have tried this technique with several Nicholas Brothers routines and all of them were worth listening to and worth watching—which means they were tapping and dancing at the same time.

Rather than name specific people and talk about tap dancers who get booed by the audience or have people walk out in the middle of a performance, it might be more productive to talk about choreography. I have seen Chloe Arnold do routines that lacked expressive movements and I have seen her do routines that I totally enjoyed. A good part of what bothers me about some of the “modern” tap dancing is that some of the choreography is not letting the tap dancers show what they are capable of doing. I have talked to many people who thought the routine Chloe did on SYTYCD was less than great, but some of the routines she has choreographed for herself and the girls in her group were excellent.

Some of the best tap routines I have seen on SYTYCD were done the choreographers who are not considered part of the “tap community.” If someone like Sonya Tayeh ever decides to do a tap-dancing routine, it will probably be spectacular. And yes, she may not know very much about tap dancing, but she certainly knows a lot about choreography. Even though Stan Kahn, who was probably one of the best tap-dancing instructors of all times, didn’t know how to ice skate, year after year he was hired to choreograph ice-skating routines that got standing ovations.

So you like Jason and Chloe...who are probably the two of the biggest and most influential names promoting tap right now (in my opinion.) You like Tap Dogs (Which I don't care what you say is NOT the Nicholas Brothers!!)

WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THAT DOESN'T DANCE?? Savion? I've seen Savion really dance before. When he's in a group he doesn't just look at the floor and barely move his arms. I've seen him in concert and even people that weren't into tap enjoyed his show. To base your opinion that tap is dying on Savion's style is bizarre.

And to say that Matt Flint should be the future of tap is even more ridiculous. How many tap companies have you actually seen perform? Have you been to NY City Tap Festival, DC Tap Festival, Detroit, St. Louis or LA??? I've been to some of these tap festivals and seen what tap is all about right now. I think you have no clue what the tap community is really doing. If you are basing it off of what you can find on television and youtube that is really really sad. Go find some tap companies, buy a ticket and come back with an opinion that has some basis.

Apologies, but I was posting at the same time as your last post:

Here’s is a method I use that may help you understand what I’m talking about: (1) listen to a routine without watching it and then (2) watch the same routine with the sound turned off. In my way of thinking, a good routine should be worth listening to and worth watching. I have tried this technique with several Nicholas Brothers routines and all of them were worth listening to and worth watching—which means they were tapping and dancing at the same time.

HA HA HA...it's a TAP number. You are supposed to hear the sounds that is the basis for the art form. How about I post 2 of my favorite drummers and ask you to listen first to the sound on and then to the sound off and ask you which one was better. Sounds silly right? Sometimes the music they are dancing too is part of the experience. I can watch a ballet dancer with no music and be moved in a different way once the music is on. While I see the point you are attempting to make, it is ridiculous at best. Once again...THERE ARE NO OTHER GROUPS LIKE THE NICHOLAS BROTHERS AND THERE NEVER WILL BE!! Their career really ended with the MGM musicals and they peaked in the 1940's. It is almost 2012. How can you expect an art form to not change and grow in 72 years?? You are stuck in a time warp.

I have seen Chloe Arnold do routines that lacked expressive movements and I have seen her do routines that I totally enjoyed. A good part of what bothers me about some of the “modern” tap dancing is that some of the choreography is not letting the tap dancers show what they are capable of doing. I have talked to many people who thought the routine Chloe did on SYTYCD was less than great, but some of the routines she has choreographed for herself and the girls in her group were excellent.

This is hysterical. Have you actually been to a show and seen Chloe's repertoire or are you speaking only from clips you've seen on the internet? Are you really so uneducated in the world of dance that you can't fathom liking some routines and not others? I like some Balanchine pieces and really don't care for others. I like some Alvin Ailey pieces, and seen others that didn't inspire me. I've seen Baryshnikov dance and liked some numbers better than others (by the way he sucks at choreography.) His company had some bizarre pieces in their modern repertoire. I'm not going to judge modern based on a few interpretations I don't like. Chloe is doing amazing things for the world of tap, and she works hard, networks her butt off, and has a female company which is amazing since female tap dancers have a tough time finding work!

Some of the best tap routines I have seen on SYTYCD were done the choreographers who are not considered part of the “tap community.” If someone like Sonya Tayeh ever decides to do a tap-dancing routine, it will probably be spectacular. And yes, she may not know very much about tap dancing, but she certainly knows a lot about choreography.

I had to go pour a drink to even respond to this. Who choreographed a tap routine on SYTYCD that wasn't a tapper? I must have missed that announcement. You think excelling in contemporary choreography means you can choreograph tap? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Have you actually taught tap and choreographed, danced professional, or judged? Because I can only imagine someone with no actual dance/teaching/performing experience saying something this dumb. I am sure I could have phrased that 101 better ways, but that statement truly offends me as a professional tapper. Just any good choreographer could do my job and be successful at it. Why do you think they don't teach tap to the contestants on SYTYCD? Because they can't learn a tap routine in a week...it's too difficult.

/off to soak head

The choreographer I was referring to is Christopher Scott, who is an actor, dancer, and the choreographer for the LXD (Legion of Extraordinary Dancers). He is probably better known for choreographing “Step Up 4” than for choreographing tap routines. I didn’t say he never tapped.

Sonya Tayeh choreographed the Quickstep routine that one of the tap dancers (Nick) did on SYTYCD. Ballroom dancing, like tap dancing, is not considered one of her specialties, but all of the judges and probably most of the audience thought the routine was spectacular.

Since you are a professional tap dancer and someone with extensive experience as a tap dancer, choreographer, and judge, please post some clips of your tap dancing on this website, especially pictures of you doing flash step. I look forward to seeing some of your techniques.

^Please respect Imadanseur's right to remain anonymous on the site.

Helen