into the heart of Olivia   Having entered a 'new life', — a career is no longer a driving force and kids have all grown with families of their own, —I’ve decided to live out my personality in it’s most articulate medium:  Tap Dancing!

God is truly interested in our desires.  He made them.  Consider the following;  'You have granted him the desire of is heart and have not withheld the request of his lips.  You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.' Psalm 21:2-3.  'Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.'  Psalm 37:4

I’m in the prime of my life and I love it.

Something inside me comes alive when I’m tap dancing and something makes my soul laugh when I hear the sounds of tap shoes beating.  I’m in a zone that no one can enter but can see as I explode with sheer excitement.

NOW is the time to experience childhood with the luxury of wisdom from life’s experience.  It’s an opportunity to know what matters and what doesn’t, —what to shrug off and what not to.  Tap dancing allows me to explore and share without fear and therefore enjoy beyond verbal expression.

"A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul."  Proverbs 13:19  —but be sure it is a lot of work!

"Each one should use whatever gift he or she has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."  1 Peter 4:10 An innovative tap dance ministry "Then David danced before the Lord with all his might.." 2Sam.6:14

He's given me wonderful expressions of worship and praise:  1) without formal education in the visual arts, he gifted me to create and portray His messages (see ArtCellar.net); 2) without experience or training in dance, He's opened the doors of opportunity to express joy as I dance for Him alone.  So in the poet's words:  I'm "Dancing With God", −what a fun way to be guided through life.

We are also commanded to play an active role in seeking our desires (Philippians 2:12-13; Ecclesiastes 11:9; Matthew 7:7-11).  We need to OWN our desires and pursue them to find fulfillment in life.  However, if we are wanting something to feed our pride or to enhance our ego, I doubt that God is interested in giving it to us. 

"Life is not LIFE on a lonely pedestal."  Olivia

into the heart of Rhythm Tap —
born on the streets . .
History       
      Rhythm tap is closely related to the origins of tap itself. Springing out of the dancing of slaves in Southern America in the early twentieth century, rhythm tap has always remained true to a representation of the every day and an expression of something universally familiar. It remained separate from the high art associated with the Harlem Renaissance, though it shared close ties with jazz music as the rhythm tapper (or hoofer) often set the tempo for the band in American jazz clubs. Although hoofers were rarely aiming for a clear narrative in their dances, they always sought to tell a story. They communicated with audience members and musicians using sound and as a result, improvisation was a crucial skill. Dancers such as John Bubbles and ‘Bojangles’ Robinson were the pioneers of rhythm tap as we know it today. However, after the Second World War, tap fell to the wayside.

Hoofers
Hoofers are tap dancers who dance primarily with their legs, making a louder, more grounded sound. This kind of tap dancing, also called "rhythm tap", came primarily from cities or poor areas. Today this is not the case, especially with such a wide variety of styles spreading throughout the world. Steve Condos rose out of his humble beginnings in Pittsburgh, PA to become a master in rhythmic tap. His innovative style influenced the work of Gregory Hines, Savion Glover and Marshall Davis, Jr. The majority of hoofers, such as Sammy Davis Jr., Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, and LaVaughn Robinson are African American men, although today the art form transcends racial and gender stereotypes. Savion Glover is the best-known living hoofer, who helped bring tap dance into mainstream media by choreographing and dancing for the major motion picture Happy Feet, a film about a tap dancing penguin. Another well-known tap film is 1989's Tap, starring the late Gregory Hines and many of the old-time hoofers.

The Resurgence of Rhythm
        Rhythm tap resurfaced in the 1980’s when Gregory Hines and a young Savion Glover reintroduced tap to popular culture. Hines, an actor, director, and choreographer, had both finesse and grace, making him commercially successful as a dancer. His feet, though, were the thing really worth watching and people slowly began to take notice. Glover, on the other hand, sprang onto the scene at only ten years old, starring on Broadway as ‘The Tap Dance Kid’. By his teens, however, his urban look and his laid back style had given way to an incredible and unique talent. Glover’s ‘hard core’ style of tapping, which featured rapid, changing, and complex rhythms, spread to other young dancers. When his own creation ‘Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk’ became a Tony-award winner on Broadway in the 1990’s, rhythm tap finally began to receive the international attention it deserved.

Tap dancers make frequent use of syncopation.  Choreography typically starts on the eighth or first beat count. Another aspect of tap dancing is improvisation. This can either be done with music and follow the beats provided or without musical accompaniment, otherwise known as a cappella dancing.

Common tap steps include the shuffle, shuffle ball change, flap, flap heel, cramproll, buffalo, Maxi Ford, single and double pullbacks, wings, Cincinnati, the shim sham shimmy (also called the Lindy), Irish, Waltz Clog, the paddle and roll, stomp, brushes, scuffs, and single and double toe punches, hot steps, heel clicks, single, double and triple time steps, riffs, over-the-tops, military time step, new yorkers, and chugs. In advanced tap dancing, basic steps are often combined together to create new steps.

African Dance            Rogers/Astaire            GregoryHines             Vaudeville    Nicolas Brothers         Eleanor Powell  

Early dancers like Fred Astaire provided a more ballroom look to tap dancing, while Gene Kelly used his extensive ballet training to make tap dancing incorporate all the parts of the ballet. This style of tap led to what is today known as "Broadway style," which is more mainstream in American culture. It often involves high heeled tap shoes and show music, and is usually the type of tap first taught to beginners. The best examples of this style are found in Broadway musicals such as 42nd Street. 

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Updated: 09/17/11