Sam Weber recently gave some additional insight on the importance of improvisation in tap dancing. Sam Weber is the one of the most incredible tap dancers I have ever seen. His style is very unique in that it seems to blend ballet and tap in a way that is truly breathtaking!

Without further ado, here is Sam Weber’s response to the question: “Is Improvisation Important in Tap Dancing?”

Improvisation and choreography are part of the same creative process. All choreography begins with improvisation. I think that Schoenberg said that “composition is improvising in slow motion.” And you could say that improvisation is high-speed composition. And since tap dancing is, essentially, a jazz art, improvisation is especially important. The musicians will be improvising, so the dancer should, too. If the choreography is completely set, it may not always fit what the improvising musicians are playing.

-Sam Weber

View Jimmy Tate’s response to this question

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 at 10:00 am and is filed under Masters of Tap, Performances, Tap Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.