Being a fan of classic movies especially those featuring big bands, swing, jazz and dance I couldn’t miss the opportunity to watch the Jazz Tap Ensemble at HIFA. The ensemble was established in 1979 by three dancers and three musicians. They have shared the stage with such tap legends as Savion Glover and Gregory Hines.

Tap dance originated in the 1800s, and has its roots in African-American dancing and Irish step dancing. It is believed to have arisen in minstrel shows which gained popularity at that time where white performers would satirize southern african-americans dances, and black performers in blackface would imitate the white performers imitating black dances. Likewise Jazz is also born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. Both art forms are quintessentially American, and symbols of the beauty that can overcome a painful past.

This entry was posted on May 4th, 2012 at 10:44 am by Upenyu Makoni-Muchemwa and is filed under Media, Reflections, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.