Louise Levene

Feet first

Tap is having a moment. Louise Levene looks back at its golden age, its African American roots and how cultural appropriation was part of its life blood

Fire up YouTube on the iPad, tap in ‘tap’, then wave goodbye to the rest of your day: clip after clippety-clip of the best and brightest stars rattling out impossible rhythms: Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling; Fayard and Harold Nicholas taking the stairs one split jump at a time; Gene Kelly singing (and dancing) in the rain.

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Because you read about dance

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