The Decline of Tap

Though tap dance took off in film, it almost completely lost its presence on the stage during the 1930's.  First of all, Vaudeville itself began to crumble in the early 30's.  Tap dance slowly disappeared from Broadway as well.  Once a nationally loved form of entertainment that nobody could get enough of, suddenly the dance famous for its innovation was sloppy and lacked originality.  Perhaps the audience suffered from over-exposure.  In addition, other types of dance such as ballet and jazz were being introduced to the stage, effectively shoving tap out of the programs.  "Oklahoma" is one of the most well-known; its ballet corps appealed to audiences at a time when tap dance was trite.

And so ended the reign of tap dance in the theaters.  It enjoyed a fanatic, century long rule over American entertainment and even then, even after a hundred years, tap dance was gone only from the stage; it was still thriving in film.  Long live the shuffle, the turkey trot, the time step, the Buck and Wing, and everything tap.

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