Tap dance originated in the United States in the early 19th century. It is a combination of African and Irish American dance moves. Enslaved people made up this form of dance when their enslavers took away their traditional African percussion instrements. They used tap dance as a form of expression.
Tap dance is a style of dance where the dancer is wearing a shoe with metal attatched to the heel and toe of their shoe. These metal pieces make rhythmaic sounds when the dancer strikes the floor. Tap dance consists of learning rhythm patters, and is considered an extreme workout for your brain.
There are many famous tap dancers such as Gene Kelly, Gregory Hines, and Savion Glove. Fred Astaire is in the picture above. He was born May 10, 1899 and he died June 22, 1987. He was an actor, singer, dancer, musician, and choreographer. He is important because he is widley recognized as the "greatest popular-music dancer of all time."