The History of Tap Dance | The Express Way with Dulé Hill
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Official website: to.pbs.org/3TwQDsm | #ExpressWayPBS
Dulé Hill has been tap dancing since the age of three, and launched his career shortly after when he was cast in the national tour of the Broadway show, The Tap Dance Kid. Dulé explores his love of tap, and the history of this American dance form.
Tap historian Chester Whitmore explains, “Tap is an American form of dance, but the rhythms come from the West African djembe drum.” Djembe dance and drumming traces its roots back to the 12th century Mandinka people and was later brought to America by enslaved West Africans. But when early slaveholders banned the traditional drums, enslaved people found other ways to preserve their rhythms, using rocks, sticks, bottles and their feet.
While enslaved Africans defiantly held onto and preserved their drum patterns and syncopated rhythms, European immigrants also arrived in the American colonies, bringing Irish, Scottish and Dutch folk dancing with them. This blend gave birth to the American tap dance.
By the 1840s, tap evolved from a tool of communication to a controversial American comedy act known as minstrelsy, in which mostly white performers would paint their skin black to imitate African-American dancers. Since then, tap has seen over a century's worth of transformations, each bringing its own unique style, like that of Bill Bojangles Robinson and his famous stair dance in the vaudeville era, the trailblazing Nicholas Brothers who fused jazz, ballet and acrobatics during the Harlem Renaissance, and silver screen giants like Gene Kelly, who brought tap to forties and fifties-era Hollywood.
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The Express Way with Dulé Hill
Multi-talented actor and performer Dulé Hill (“The Wonder Years,” “The West Wing”) and director Danny Lee (“Who Is Stan Smith?”) take audiences on an emotional and celebratory road trip across the nation to explore the transformative power of the arts. Along his journey, Hill travels to California, the Appalachian region, Texas and Chicago to connect with local visionaries, activists, changemakers and pioneers who are using their artistic passions to foster connection, deepen empathy, and create meaningful change within their communities.
Пікірлер: 42
Dule is such a great actor I forgot he did tap. This was a beautiful doc needs to be longer, I love being reminded of how much black folks started things.
I started watching Psych because I sensed what an incredible talent Dule possesses. He will be known in history as an American treasure. Thank you for sharing!
@jeanine6328
3 ай бұрын
Psych replaced MASH as my all time favorite TV show. Their chemistry was awesome. It a great alternative to depression medication. Only side effect it laughter!
How wonderful seeing Dule presenting something he loves so much and is so passionate about.
I was blessed to have worked with Arthur Duncan before he passed, and While I jumped into tap more seriously too late to ever meet most of the old masters, it was a true gift to see one of them at work. Having worked with many tappers before and since, I still think most fondly back to that single weekend working with Arthur, the joy he had for the form, and the respect he had for the heritage. Dang... =)
I've worked with Dule ..he is a lovely person Happy to see this ✨️🙏🏾
@jeanine6328
3 ай бұрын
Thanks for confirming what I thought. I was first introduced to him on the show Psych, he was so great, so charming, so sweet and so hilarious.
Wow, I did not know that Dule Hill is a dancer. This is great essay!
@ThatSuzanneSchmid
3 ай бұрын
He took over the Broadway role of the Tap Dance Kid from Alfonso Ribeiro back in the day. Then Alfonso went on to LA to work on Silver Spoons, my favorite show in the mid 80s
@acuzengineer6259
3 ай бұрын
@@ThatSuzanneSchmid Thank you!
I had the pleasure of meeting Gregory Hines at his show in San Antonio years ago. What a lovely gentleman and incredible dancer!
@KristineMaitland
3 ай бұрын
RIP. He was buried not far from my home in Toronto, in the city of Oakville in a Ukrainian cemetery.
Dulé on PBS?! Perfection! 🤌🏽
"share and receive....and make this world a better place"--that line was worth the price of admission...
This brings me back to the days of Tap (RIP Gregory Hines Sammy Davis Jr.)
@jeanine6328
3 ай бұрын
I think Sammy was the first time I saw someone doing tap. He was mesmerizing as an entertainer. While Sammy was class, Gregory Hines added a touch of cool and so very handsome.
@totsielester4628
Ай бұрын
I watch this movie ALL the time❤❤❤
I was lucky enough to see Savion Glover and Gregory Hines live and Hunny Coles, too.
@totsielester4628
Ай бұрын
Oh wow I'm so jealous!😍😍😍 I watch the movie Tap ALL the time!!
Of all the dance shoes sitting in my closet. It’s the tap shoes I miss the most. LOVE all of these masters! ❤
I wonder how African American tap dancing and Flamenco dance created by the Roma in Spain are connected - both are so similar.
Gratitude Dule for sharing Beauteous to know you're upholding the Legacy 💜
Wow this is very interesting. I didn't know all this about Dule. I only knew about his acting in Psych and thought the tap dancing bits in the TV show were just acting. Thanks for this eye opening video on tap dance. So much I didn't know
@cactustree505
3 ай бұрын
I loved Psych, that episode when he took Lassie to tap class was brilliant. Both Dule and Tim are multi-talented, song, dance and acting.
@hihi615
3 ай бұрын
@@cactustree505the whole Psych cast is honestly just 10/10 ❤
I had no idea Dule Hill was such an incredible tap dancer!! Thanks for sharing the joy and history of tap!! Art is meant to make the world a bettet place ❤
Thank you
truly inspiring, i love tap & always have. it's magical. & dule' just rocks. 😻😻😻😻😻 5/5
That Berry Brothers stunt is so crazy.
your content always feels fresh and exciting, no matter the subject!
I love tap dancing. Sometimes under appreciated. I never new Dulles was a great top dancer. I did see savior Glover. He was unbelievable.
I enjoyed watching this
As a child I wanted to learn tap so badly. But in my rural area we didn’t have dance studios. Not sure my parents would have paid for it anyway. Now there are dance studios here, but I’m old and physically it isn’t possible for me.
i remember him tap dancing on Smart Guy. brilliant danc-er!
This was nice to see.
I didn’t know that tap dancing in psych was a nod to his actual skills. This dope.
💜💜💜
Who kept this secret about Dule Hill from us? Why?
@gimmethepinkelephant3685
3 ай бұрын
Just because you don't know something doesn't make it a secret...lol!
😎 😎 😎 😎 😎 😎 😎 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😊😊😊
am I the only one who after watching some of this has the strange urge to yell "Challenge!"👞👞👞👞
How did you forget Sammy Davis Jr