What the Eye Hears: A History of Tap Dancing
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.28 (653 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0865479534 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 624 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-12-29 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
An Economist Best Book of 2015 A Finalist for National Book Critics Circle Award
Lots of detail - that's the good and the bad part A work of great scholarship with great references and fantastic detail. The excruciating level of detail makes it a great reference work, but a difficult read for one casually interested in the history of dance.. Judah Adashi said superb book about much more than tap dance. As a musician with an abiding interest in African-American history and culture, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Full disclosure: the author is a close friend, but I have no special interest in tap dancing. While "What The Eye Hears" is nominally about tap (and it seems certain to become the definitive text on the subject), it's about much more than that. Like Alex Ross's "The Rest is Noise: Listening to the "superb book about much more than tap dance" according to Judah Adashi. As a musician with an abiding interest in African-American history and culture, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Full disclosure: the author is a close friend, but I have no special interest in tap dancing. While "What The Eye Hears" is nominally about tap (and it seems certain to become the definitive text on the subject), it's about much more than that. Like Alex Ross's "The Rest is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century," it is an expansive history told through the le. 0th Century," it is an expansive history told through the le. Steve Ramm said Highly entertaining (as well as well researched) book on the “human percussion instrument” – the feet!. This book looks a bit daunting at first -at 61"Highly entertaining (as well as well researched) book on the “human percussion instrument” – the feet!" according to Steve Ramm. This book looks a bit daunting at first -at 612-pages in length (1Highly entertaining (as well as well researched) book on the “human percussion instrument” – the feet! This book looks a bit daunting at first -at 612-pages in length (130 of those pages being footnotes), plus an 22 page “index” – but, honestly, you will breeze through it. The print side is easy to read and the author – dance critic for The New York Times – writes in a conversational style. I liked the fact that the note are all in the back – so they are there if you need them.I’ve been a fan of tap dancing since – as a child in the . 0 of those pages being footnotes), plus an 22 page “index” – but, honestly, you will breeze through it. The print side is easy to read and the author – dance critic for The New York Times – writes in a conversational style. I liked the fact that the note are all in the back – so they are there if you need them.I’ve been a fan of tap dancing since – as a child in the . -pages in length (1Highly entertaining (as well as well researched) book on the “human percussion instrument” – the feet! This book looks a bit daunting at first -at 612-pages in length (130 of those pages being footnotes), plus an 22 page “index” – but, honestly, you will breeze through it. The print side is easy to read and the author – dance critic for The New York Times – writes in a conversational style. I liked the fact that the note are all in the back – so they are there if you need them.I’ve been a fan of tap dancing since – as a child in the . 0 of those pages being footnotes), plus an "Highly entertaining (as well as well researched) book on the “human percussion instrument” – the feet!" according to Steve Ramm. This book looks a bit daunting at first -at 612-pages in length (1Highly entertaining (as well as well researched) book on the “human percussion instrument” – the feet! This book looks a bit daunting at first -at 612-pages in length (130 of those pages being footnotes), plus an 22 page “index” – but, honestly, you will breeze through it. The print side is easy to read and the author – dance critic for The New York Times – writes in a conversational style. I liked the fact that the note are all in the back – so they are there if you need them.I’ve been a fan of tap dancing since – as a child in the . 0 of those pages being footnotes), plus an 22 page “index” – but, honestly, you will breeze through it. The print side is easy to read and the author – dance critic for The New York Times – writes in a conversational style. I liked the fact that the note are all in the back – so they are there if you need them.I’ve been a fan of tap dancing since – as a child in the . "Highly entertaining (as well as well researched) book on the “human percussion instrument” – the feet!" according to Steve Ramm. This book looks a bit daunting at first -at 612-pages in length (1Highly entertaining (as well as well researched) book on the “human percussion instrument” – the feet! This book looks a bit daunting at first -at 612-pages in length (130 of those pages being footnotes), plus an 22 page “index” – but, honestly, you will breeze through it. The print side is easy to read and the author – dance critic for The New York Times – writes in a conversational style. I liked the fact that the note are all in the back – so they are there if you need them.I’ve been a fan of tap dancing since – as a child in the . 0 of those pages being footnotes), plus an 22 page “index” – but, honestly, you will breeze through it. The print side is easy to read and the author – dance critic for The New York Times – writes in a conversational style. I liked the fact that the note are all in the back – so they are there if you need them.I’ve been a fan of tap dancing since – as a child in the . page “index” – but, honestly, you will breeze through it. The print side is easy to read and the author – dance critic for The New York Times – writes in a conversational style. I liked the fact that the note are all in the back – so they are there if you need them.I’ve been a fan of tap dancing since – as a child in the
Seibert chronicles tap's spread to ubiquity on Broadway and in Hollywood, analyzes its decline after World War II, and celebrates its rediscovery and reinvention by new generations of American and international performers. Seibert traces the stylistic development of tap through individual practitioners, vividly depicting dancers both well remembered and now obscure. This is a story with a huge cast of characters, from Master Juba (it was probably a performance of his in a Five Points cellar that Charles Dickens described in American Notes for General Circulation) through Bill Robinson and Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and Gene Kelly and Paul Draper to Gregory Hines and Savion Glover. And he illuminates the cultural exchange between blacks and whites over centuries, the interplay of imitation and theft, as well as the moving story of African-Americans in show business, wielding enorm