That Tap Dance Show

Immerse yourselves in a percussive tap dance journey from the villages of West Africa to the streets of New York City. Groove along with us as our feet speak the beat!

In the villages of West Africa, history, folklore and ancestral lineage were contained in the rhythms of the Djembe drum. This rich musical culture crossed the Atlantic to the plantations of the American South, where enslaved African people continued to preserve their identity through the rhythms of their homeland.

This tradition took an abrupt turn when the Negro Act of 1740 was passed in the colonial province of South Carolina, making it illegal for enslaved people to own drums.

People began dancing in a percussive way, beating out rhythms on the ground with their feet. This developed into Patting Juba, a rhythmic call and response performed in a circle. Even today, tap dancers will stand in a circle and “trade fours,” a continuation of this tradition nearly 300 years later. And so tap dancing has continued to be a vehicle by which to speak truth.

The Measuring Time Dance Collective performs a joyous 11-chapter journey including stops with:

A cappella, Juba, Paddle and Roll (Double time), Ragtime, Blues, Dixieland, Swing, Jazz, Scatting, Counterpoint, and Funk.