Writing_Dance

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By Catherine Massey

As long as people have been dancing, dancers and choreographers have struggled with how to record their work. Dances are traditionally passed down from one dancer to another in the studio. Nonetheless, dancers have always searched for a way that they could easily write down and save a dance. The invention of the video camera went a long way toward alleviating this concern. However, a video doesn't always catch the nuances of every movement and leaves much up to interpretation. If you've never tried learning a dance from video, trust me, it's an arduous and time-consuming process. What if there was a universal, written language for recording dance? Could that transform how we teach and learn choreography?

Tap dance, which is based on intricate footwork and uses the body to make musical rhythms, could be the ideal candidate for developing a written record. It is much more feasible to write down a tap dance than a ballet with its multiple patterns, arm movements and technique variations. Over the past 50 years, many tappers have made attempts to formulate a system for recording tap dance.

The existing methods of tap notation range from written shorthand using symbols to rhythmic structures to high-tech software programs. Each method shares an overriding goal to record tap dances so that they can be passed on and translated precisely. Tap notation is useful to anyone-dancers, choreographers and teachers-who wants to transcribe their combinations or dances so that they can be taught more easily. If mastered, tap notation is a valuable tool for teaching tap to beginners, saving existing dances and creating new ones. Although there is no universal style, a variety of notation options are available and dancers should be able to find a system that suits their particular needs. In this article, I will describe three different forms of tap notation, and give resources where you can learn more about how to use these styles.

FootNotes
Since tap dance is a rhythmic art form based on making sounds with the feet, it is only logical that dancers could utilize music notation to record their choreography. Greg Varlotta, a musician and amateur tap dancer in Arizona, has developed a new system of tap notation based on sheet music. Varlotta's format, which will be published in his book "Footnotes," prioritizes a dance's rhythm over its steps. "Coming from a musical background, I believe the rhythm is the higher priority," says Varlotta.

Varlotta spent 21 years working as a musician at Disneyland and touring with his band, the Side Street Strutters. Occasionally when his band played, Disney would employ tappers to join the musicians in an impromptu street show. Varlotta got interested in tap and asked the dancers to teach him a few basic steps.

"In order to remember the steps, I decided to write down the rhythms." Using regular staff paper, Varlotta devised a system that records tap dance in basic music notation. In his format, each step is represented by a musical note and each sound goes on a different line. The top [of the] staff records the toe while the bottom represents the heel and a dot over a note indicates a weight change. A legend helps dancers remember what each note represents.

"Footnotes" will introduce each step and give students an overview on how to read music. "Tap really is a musical instrument," says Varlotta, who believes that it is important for dancers to learn the language of music. "For a lot of tap dancers, rhythm is secondary. I wanted to devise a system that would help tappers to be rhythmically accurate." He emphasizes, "I really see tap as a musical art form-it's all about the sound." For dancers who already know how to read music, or for those with an interest in tap's rhythmic structure, "Footnotes" may offer the perfect notation system.

Resources
•To learn more about Varlotta's "Footnotes," or to contact Varlotta directly, go to www.tapdancenotation.com.