Tap Dancing is the Story of America: Steve Zee at TEDxSoCal

[@aarongrooves]

This ranks in my top 10 favorite TED talks of all time. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a tap dancer! Great stuff!! Kudos to the TED team for having Steve Zee as one of their presenters.

[@charleyhogan5284]

Found you

[@aarongrooves]

Tag!

[@stephensandham4919]

Hello Aaron! I am a performer from Ohio and grew up doing swing dancing. We danced the shim sham each month and I wanted to get better. I found your tutorial and it was so helpful! Thank you good sir!

[@aarongrooves]

@@stephensandham4919 That's amazing! I made that tutorial for some music educator friends, and I'm so glad it was helpful. Hope to shim sham together some day!

[@thunderballsz]

always a pleasure to see Steve, whether performing, speaking, or both. love what he has done for the world of tap and all he has contributed to preserve tap's legacy in our culture.

[@lynnewainfan3000]

I took Steve Zee's "History of Tap Dancing" class at CSULB--the guy knows what he's talking about. Always a pleasure to hear/see him.

[@JbBarnes88]

Nicholas Brothers are best of all time!

[@bluedancelilly]

Tap dancing and history and Ted Talk. 3 of my favorite things in one.

[@RicktheTapDancer]

Steve Zee ROCKS!!! Great presentation! Full of great history and tap knowledge.

[@markweissberg1164]

Wonderful presentation. A 15-minute tease, really . . . . coulda listened for another 3 hours!

[@drrd4127]

Don't forget English clubbing and Scottish Highland dance also gave to tap dance. African: the open legs, stepping forward. Irish: cross legs, tap behind with toes English: stomping, stamping Scottish: hooping and jumping.

[@brucegoolsby1470]

Loved this!

[@jeremiemence3186]

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@tarunsharma5122]

Excellent

[@larrygardner9767]

That was very interesting and informative. Thank you

[@msflyingfree7]

Loved it!! thx Zee

[@MarianoBulaBlackOrpheus]

I love tap!

[@happyday1240]

Tap technique and great historical information. But not complete information. Eleanor Powell could outdance Fred Astaire all day long.

[@bluedancelilly]

He said he couldn't include all of the history.

[@Kyletapps]

awesome video! I have a new video I posted called "motivation" just starting to post more and more videos like once a week! check it out! hope you like it!

[@hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo]

Complete and utter nonsense, tap dancing was developed from clogging or clog dancing, taken to America by English settlers, they wore English clogs , wooden soles with steel plates and leather uppers, it it nothing to do with the Irish or Africans.

[@aarongrooves]

Not nonsense. There are dozens of percussive dance styles that humans have independently created over the millennia. Tap dance began on plantations and especially developed after American slaves had their drums banned. Minstrelsy was a huge part of the spread and evolution of tap dance, with Thomas "Daddy" Rice becoming an international star, even taking his Jumping Jim Crow routine (which he learned from watching enslaved African Americans) on European tours. Tap dance in particular is an African American dance in origin, but it took on a life and evolution of its own, and many people (and peoples) have contributed to it. It's still evolving...

[@hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo]

@@aarongroovesJust not true, it developed from traditional indigenous English clog dancing, i never knew Africans had steel taps on their English clogs.

[@aarongrooves]

@@hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo Ahh, you're trolling. Gotcha.

[@hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo]

@@aarongrooves You've got nothing, i'm just stating facts.

[@aarongrooves]

@@hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo Facts based on...? Your word?