Tap Dance Day - May 25

Tap dance is a dance style in which the feet are locked in special shoes for dancing on the floor, in different rhythms. The shoes hitting the floor make knocking noises that add to the rhythm of the music. Sometimes the dance is not accompanied by music and what is heard is just the tapping of the shoes.

Tap dance has two main styles: Rhythm and Broadway. The Broadway style is most often seen in musicals because it focuses on dance and physical aesthetics. The rhythm style focuses on musicality and rhythms and is considered part of the jazz world.

International Tap dance Day was proclaimed by US President George W. Bush in 1989. He chose May 25 because it was the birthday of tap-father Bill Bojangles Robinson, who united whites and blacks in tap dancing in America in the early 20th century.

You can see tap dancing in many movies, including: "Tap", "Singin' in the Rain", "White Nights", "Move Your Feet", "The Cotton Club", "American in Paris" "Bootmen".

Among the most successful tap dancers today: Brenda Bufalino,  Dianne "Lady Di" Walker, Savion Glover, Sam Weber, Jason Samuels Smith, Sarah Reich, Melinda Sullivan, Maurice Hines, Michelle Dorrance, Chloe Arnold, Jason Janas, Heather Cornell, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards.

The tap shoe consists of two metal parts located in the heel of the shoe and in the toe area that produce tapping sounds.

A bride and groom in a tap dance at their wedding ceremony (Source)

In the next video (speakers required) you will see an amazing tap dance performance by a 6 year old boy named Luke Spring, who is dancing alongside a famous and popular dancer named Justin M. Lewis. The two demonstrate rhythm, speed and energy and produce the dance sounds with their own feet. Both perform across the United States and are enthusiastically swept away by a large audience.

May 25 is also Towel Day

International Dance Day- April 29

World Dance Day is celebrated every year on April 29, which is the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), the French dancer and the Creator of ballet of action, the precursor of the narrative ballets of the 19th.

The day was created by the Dance Committee of the ITI (International Theater Institute) and was officially recognized by the United Nations in 1982 and has since been celebrated in all the member countries.

The message of International Dance Day is to celebrate dance and savor the universal language of this art form, which crosses political, cultural, geographical and ethnic barriers, brings together people all over the world.

Each year the ITI International Dance Committee selects an outstanding choreographer or dancer who conveys its message. The message is translated into many languages and distributed around the world.

The message of this year, 2021, belongs to the ballet dancer Friedemann VOGEL, who has a long and glorious international career, and it talks about the COVID-2 period and its limitations:

"...As dancers, we are constantly on the move, aspiring to create these unforgettable moments. Regardless of the dance genre, it’s what every dancer strives to achieve. 

So, when all of a sudden, we aren’t allowed to perform anymore, with theatres closed and festivals cancelled, our worlds come to a standstill. No physical contact. No shows. No audiences. Never in recent history has the dance community been so collectively challenged to stay motivated, to find our raison d’être..." (Link to source)

To celebrate International Dance Day every year, on April 29, the International Theater Institute invites its members along with dancers, choreographers, dance students and amateurs to join them in the celebration. The gala celebration takes place in a selected host city decided by the Executive Council of the International Theater Institute - for example in 2017 it was held in Shanghai, China and in 2018 it was in Havana, Cuba. The program of the gala event can vary, but usually consists of quality dance performances from around the world, student performances, keynote speeches, and a recital for the event of that year that reads, in person, the author of the chosen message in those years.

How to celebrate International Dance Day?

One way to celebrate International Dance Day is to start dancing. Sign up for a dance class or learn on your own from instructional videos. It does not matter what type of dance you choose, the main thing is that you will love it and express yourself with it. You can upload photos and videos of yourself dancing to social media with the hashtag #InternationalDanceDay. Another way to celebrate is to watch dance performances or movies about dance and dancers like: Fame (1980), Flashdance (1983), Footloose‏ (1984), White Nights (1985), Dirty Dancing (1987), Billy Elliot (2000), Step Up (2006), Black Swan (2010) and more ...

April 29 is also World Wish Day and Zipper Day