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Tips for Tap Dance Day

Seize the Day: Tips for Tap Dance Day (May 25th)

by Carol Vaughn of Tap America Project

Introduction

Since Tap Dance Day (TDD) was first introduced to the U.S. Congress on September 15, 1988. The celebration has snowballed with thousands of tap dancers everywhere recognizing the importance of honoring the memory of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and uniting with fellow artists to focus the attention of the world on this timeless, vital art form. TDD has become our Super Bowl, our Woodstock, or Indianapolis 500, rolled into one. Tap dancers all around the world should have the opportunity to participate, and with your help, they will. The International Tap Association and the Tap America Project have joined forces to challenge the world tap community to double the number of participating U.S. cities and the number of foreign countries. Seize the Day!

The most successful celebrations have been those which reflect the community in which the participants live and dance, i.e., big, splashy concerts with world-renowned talent in big cities, and more humble jams, teach-ins and gatherings in smaller communities. The net result has been the same; a feeling of tap solidarity with a ripple effect of creative energy lasting well into the next season.

New dancers and audience members have been introduced to the magic of this percussive art form. Local media have become aware of tap programs and tap artists dancing and living in their own backyards. School children have been hipped to the contributions of the revered tap masters. Senior citizens have put back on their tap shoes for the first time in twenty years. White people woke up to the fact that Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire were not the only cats to make music with metal plates on their shoes. Novice tappers have realized the challenge inherent in being both dancer and musician simultaneously. Tap studios have begun to notice larger classes. Tiny tappers have stood beside celebrity tappers to dance the shim sham in festival finales all across the USA. This year, we are aiming for 100% participation in TDD activities by tap dancers world-wide.

Intimidated? Don't be. We have expert contacts, possibly in your area, for help and support. The time to start planning is now. Use the following tap tip sheet to help you get started and use this event as a chance to meet new dancers and support you local tap community.

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Steps by Step

  1. Decide what the focus of your celebration will be. Will it be a parade, jam, concert, picnic, lecture/demonstration, community class, or fund-raiser for tap books for the local library?

  2. Define the mission of you event. Will it be educational, audience-building, networking, or fund-raising in purpose?

  3. Outline a budget, but be conservative. Many organizations have lost money on these events and it leaves planners with a rancid taste in their mouths. Underestimate what you can afford to present.

  4. Take stock of your assets including dance studios full of students who could volunteer to help, spaces available to you for events (with wooden floors!), local businesses who could sponsor portions of the events, mailing lists you could borrow, and local famous tap dancers who could appear to add celebrity cachet.

  5. Write down an action plan for February through May with everything that needs to be done listed with the names of the people who could help next to the action.

  6. Outline a public relations plan for how to get the word out to tap dancers in your community. Include local press, dance supply stores, studios, recreation centers, and civic groups. Don't forget to send in submissions for the ITA Newsletter Calendar and the ITA On-Hand Events File.

  7. Convene an enterprising team of volunteer workers to plan and realize the event.

  8. Do it and document it for posterity. Send in a review, report and/or pictures of your event for the ITA Newsletter Tap Dance Day Round-Up Article and Archives.

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Ideas for Large Events

  1. Organize a city-wide shoe drive to collect used shoes for adult and children's community tap classes.

  2. Host a concert weekend of local talent with a few big name dancers from outside your community. Include classes.

  3. Host a tap-off talent contest for local kids with prizes donated by local businesses.

  4. Organize a travelling class with 3 or 4 local studios and tap teachers so that each studio has a different concept to teach.

  5. Hold a demonstration or informal show at the local shopping mall. Teach audience members a single step.

  6. Host a tapathon to raise money for a worthy cause or charity. Dancers should seek sponsors at 10 cents a minute and try to dance for hours.

  7. Get your town or city government to declare a local tap day and celebrate with officials on the steps of City Hall. Show them some of your best dancers and steps.

  8. Launch a fund-raiser to send talented local youth to one of the big tap festivals in the summer.

  9. Have a tap parade down main street led by a local tapper.

  10. Begin planning a festival for next year's TDD. One year advance planning is a must.

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Ideas for Small Events

  1. Organize a signature collection event for the postage stamp "Stampin' for the Stamp" drive out in your local post office with some dancers getting signatures while others dance on plywood boards.

  2. Host a Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Shirley Temple, or Bill Robinson look-alike or tap-alike contest at the local mall.

  3. Volunteer to create tap history bulletin boards at several local elementary schools; offer to dance at an assembly.

  4. Launch a fund-raising drive to raise money for tap books for the local library.

  5. Honor a local tap celebrity by inviting them to speak at your studio or at a luncheon held in their honor. Put their story on tap for posterity.

  6. Organize a field trip to a tap movie or show.

  7. Take over a local pub for an "on tap" party with beer tasting and hot step exchange. (Adults only.)

  8. Draw chalk footprints on local sidewalks or at the shopping mall with instructions for "Shuffle Off to Buffalo." Recruit teachers who can help teach people the rudiments of this step so that they can take it home and show their families.

  9. Get your town or local government to declar a local tap day and get people dancing out in front of City Hall.

  10. Bring in a guest teacher from outside your area to teach a teachers only clas and encourage people to stay and socialize afterwards.

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Possible Business Sponsors

  1. Tuxedo rental stores.
  2. Bookstores and shoe stores.
  3. Dance supply stores
  4. Local dance studios.
  5. Photographer or videographer services.
  6. Restaurant or shopping mall.

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Going It Alone

As exciting as it can be to work toward an event with other tap-charged individuals, this may not always be possible because of geographic limitations or unwillingness of the tap community to work as a team. Don't sweat it. Tap dancers have traditionally been rugged individuals who dance to their own beat and much can be accomplished by one inspired individual. The following is a list of activities that can be done by one.

  1. Give a TV or radio interview on the history of tap or the saga of one tap dancer with whom you are very familiar. Use the library for research help.

  2. Write an article for the local paper on the art form or your favorite tap pioneer.

  3. Speak at an assembly at your child's school or at the Rotary Club luncheon. Cut a few steps for the folks.

  4. Teach your fellow office workers how to "Shuffle Off to Buffalo". Have them do it in the cafeteria on May 25th.

  5. Donate the book "Tap!" by Rusty Frank or "Jazz Dance" by Marshall and Jean Stearns to your local library. Total cost: $37.00 for both.

  6. Collect 1000 signatures in support of the tap dance stamp.

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Contacts for Help

The Tap America Project, the originators of Tap Dance Day, has a hotline available 24 hours a day at 301-589-6123 and their mailing address is P.O. Box 18505, Washington, D.C. 20036. The International Tap Association (ITA) can be reached at 303-443-7989. Either group will help to connect you with experts in your area.

The ITA publishes a bi-monthly newsletter which contains an event calendar. Once your TDD event is solidified, you could send them the information. A fuller description of the ITA, sample newsletter, and contact information is on the ITA page. Submissions are needed two months in advance (by Mar. 10 for the May/Jun issue and the earlier the better.)

This article originally appeared in the Jan/Feb 1996 issue of the International Tap Association Newsletter (Vol. 6, No. 5) and is reprinted by permission of the author. Carol Vaughn is Executive Director of the Tap America Project. The passage of US Joint Resolution declaring May 25th National Tap Dance Day, was the result of hard work by Nicola Daval, Carol Vaughn and Linda Christensen of the Tap America Project (TAP). It was introduced and shepherded through the process by Congressman John Conyers and Senator Alfonse D'Amato and signed into law by President George Bush on November 7, 1989. (©1995 Carol Vaughn)

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Last Modified: 3-Feb-05