Every Monday night, Miss Pam Jones catches two trams then takes a 20-minute walk to attend Miss Jane’s 7.30 Sweet Sherries class. For most people this hour-long journey is nothing out of the ordinary. For Miss Pam, a lady in her eighties, it is a remarkable feat.
Welcome to the world of tap, where anyone from ages seven to 87 can put on a pair of low-heeled shoes and make some noise. “I don’t know of any other dance you can still do even when you can’t walk,” says Miss Jane, who teaches many elderly dancers. “Quite often I will say, ‘Put your hands up if you liked that dance’, and some of our dancers will say, ‘Miss Jane, I can’t really put up my hand’.”
Tap dancing is a fusion of several percussive dance forms including jigs, clogging and tribal dancing and drumming. Unlike ballet and other dance forms, tap was developed from people who listened and watched each other – whether it was on the street, stage, in the neighbourhood or club. The original founders of tap exchanged ideas, stole steps and created what we know today as tap.
It first began in the US in the early half of the 20th century, when it was the main performance dance of Broadway and Vaudeville, a popular form of theatrical entertainment before television.
John Bubbles popularised a slower, more syncopated style of tap dance, while Bill “Bojangles” Robinson adapted his tap to fit the rhythmic complexity of jazz.
Miss Pam started tapping in 1939, when she performed at Red Cross events. “It was much stricter back then. My younger sister would get in trouble because the teachers would say she was fudging. She wasn’t doing it properly.”
Back then, Miss Pam was instructed to follow the steps of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, who were the first to bring tap to the silver screen in the 1940s and ‘50s. Both performers expanded the style of tap dancing by adding movement from ballet and modern dance, further inspiring an army of street tappers.
Tap today is very different to what it was, as performers adapt steps and styles from all genres of dance – Latino to hip hop. Tap Dogs, a show created by Australian dancer and choreographer Dein Perry, revolutionised the way dance is presented to a modern-day audience. Tap Dogs is an 80-minute show that features just six men performing non-stop tap-dance routines on a set that was designed to look like a construction site. It put Australia on the map in terms of being a dance nation, and it has continued to be performed in major cities around the world.
In Melbourne, tap has played a major part of dancing culture, with numerous dance studios offering instruction. In her 70 years of tapping, Miss Pam has witnessed many changes to tap dancing in the costumes, music and style of dance. “We used to dance like Gene Kelley and Fred Astaire, now we do fun steps which Miss Jane makes up like the Thriller and the Pineapple,” Miss Pam says as she moves her hands above her head and shuffles to the side to demonstrate how the pineapple step is performed.
Miss Pam loves the theatricality of tap dancing and looks forward to Friday-night soirees and the end-of-year concerts. “The soiree lets anybody get up and do anything, and everybody just laughs the whole time. It is lots of fun.”
Despite having serious heart surgery, which has impaired her speech and memory, Miss Pam has no intention to stop dancing. “I practice at home all the time. The laundry is the best place to practice because it has a cement floor.”
International Tap Dancing Day
More than 200 dancers tapped their way through Prahran market on Saturday, between the fruit and vegetable produce. Dressed in sequined underwear and their tap shoes, the dancers performed the famous Shim Sham Shimmy in celebration of International Tap Dancing Day.
Since 2002, tap dancers across the state have been celebrating May 25 as a day to commemorate the birthday of the so-called grandfather of tap, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Glamour Puss Studios continuously pays homage to the day by tap dancing on the steps of Parliament, at City Square, Federation Square and Queensbridge, the Royal Botanic Gardens and Southbank.
This year they have dedicated a whole week to the history of tap dancing.
Happy feet
“Its fun and noisy and we like the glamour,” says nine-year-old Annabelle, who started tap dancing last year and has already perfected the Shim Sham Shimmy – a complex dance routine that was practiced in the 1920s. After watching her mother perform in classes and concerts, Annabelle and her younger sister Claudia began their Shirley Temple children’s class. Now they can’t stop moving their feet.
“The girls tried ballet but found it really boring,” says their mother, Sarah, who has been tapping for seven years. “They love coming here because there is no pressure. It’s not like other dance schools.”
It’s easy to see why children love attending Miss Jane’s Glamour Puss Studios. It is a dazzling treasure chest; paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling, feather bowers surrounding the entrance, faux fur, tiaras, glitter, baubles and beads.
There are hips swinging, children winking, twirling, smiling, beeping, thudding. It is infectious.
But for Claudia and Annabelle, the best thing about tap is the end-of-year extravaganza, when they get to dress up in colourful costumes and make-up. “Last year we had two costumes. We got to dress up as a cowboy and then a punk-rock star. It was so much fun,” says Claudia as she begins to re-enact one of the dance routines. For grandma Anne, she just hopes this year she will be able to fly onto the stage upon a silver moon like Dorothy Lamour. “This is my dream, and every year I say, ‘Please Miss Jane, before I retire can I fly in on a moon?’,” says Anne.
“But you will never retire,” Miss Jane says, grinning.
Why should I do it?
1 Fashion “While we love a leg warmer, there is a strict no-leotard policy,” says Miss Jane, who was traumatised as a child when she forgot her leotard and had to dance in her undies. Dancers can wear anything from a flowing dress to leggings and a T-shirt, providing they wear a tap or low-heeled shoe.
2 Noise Whether you are a beginner or an expert, tap shoes make the most fantastic noise when they hit the floor – it is music for your feet. Tap dancing is also a stress buster for people who have had a hard day at the office. “There is nothing like stomping out your stress,” says Miss Jane, whose students include lawyers, doctors and police officers.
3 Achievement “There are lots of basic skills that will have you sounding fabulous almost straight away,” says Miss Jane, who encourages everyone to try a beginner’s class. “After just a few sessions dancers will know the steps to a routine and feel a sense of satisfaction.”
4 Fun Ever watched a tap dancer perform? Judging from Miss Jane’s classes, more time is spent laughing than dancing.
5 Fitness “Tap dancing will leave you with the most fantastic pins,” says Miss Jane, who was recently surrounded by a group of nurses intrigued by the shape of her calf muscles. As well as toning your legs, tap is a fantastic cardiovascular exercise and an alternative to the gym.
6 Age Unlike other dance forms that require you to learn from an early age, tap is a skill you can pick up at any age. “As you get older, you get better,” says Miss Jane.
7 Expression Dancing is a form of expression. You can say things with a step or a combination that you are unable to express with words. Miss Jane focuses on the glamorous side of tap dancing, a cross between old movie musicals and Vegas showgirls.
8 Social There are many social activities based around tapping – Tap Week events and performances. At Glamour Puss, Miss Jane hosts martini costume-making workshops, a vodka smoothie Saturday and make-up classes. At the end of this year Glamour Puss will be going on a school excursion to Las Vegas.
9 Impressive Tap dancing is an art form that sounds impressive even if you are just a beginner. Miss Jane says that with the help of champagne, you will find yourself performing the routine at a party when your favourite song comes on, thinking you are TAPTASTIC!
Miss Jane
DARRIAN TRAYNOR
10 Freedom There are many different forms within the tap-dance genre. “I always look at Gene and Fred. Fred was a ballroom-trained tapper, Gene based on the original street tapping, very clunky more of a hoofer. You can go down either street,” says Miss Jane.
Getting footloose: May Calendar
Saturday, May 22, 2pm
Event: 1930s master class teaching the Shim Sham Shimmy routine Price: $20
Location: St Kilda Studio, 8 Martin Street, St Kilda
Sunday, May 23, 11am
Event: 1970s master class with Countdown dancer Julie Green Price: $20
Location: Glamour Puss Studios,
8 Martin Street, St Kilda
Monday, May 24, 5pm
Event: Zimmer Tap a low-impact seated class for older, injured showgirls and nannas
Price: $5
Location: Glamour Puss Studios
Wednesday, May 26, 6.30pm
Event: Master class with cheerleader Victoria Kluth.
Every participant receives pom poms to take home
Price: $22
Location: Richmond Studio,
119 Swan Street, Richmond
Saturday, May 29, 11am
Event: Beginners’ tap class
Price: Free
Location: Richmond Studio
Saturday, May 29, 7.45pm
Event: 1940s Tap Week Ball
Price: $69
Location: Ormond Hall Ballroom, 557 St Kilda Road, Melbourne