Episode Notes GFADAF EP 17 - Learning To Die Daily; Tap Dance and Bipolar Disorder Sometimes people say the most reprehensible things, but is what they say really what they mean? When it comes to conversations in text, it can be very difficult to ascertain a person's true intention. There could be a lot going on in their life, including mental illness like bipolar disorder. On tap dance social media groups, there is the occasional controversy sparked by individuals spouting racist, misogynist and violent rhetoric, often for no reason, seemingly only to upset people. These words may be masking ..read more

Episode Notes GFADAF EP16 - The Origin(s) of Whiteness / Books From A Dying Art Form: David Roediger and the “Wages of Whiteness” Sure, we're all aware of the various harmful stereotypes placed upon non-white people, but what about white stereotypes? Where do they come from and how have they been instrumental in forming "white culture"? "Wages of Whiteness" by David Roediger is a monumental text that shows how, through language, labor competition and blackface minstrelsy (where much of the style of tap dance was developed) white folk created distinctions that separated themselves from non-whit ..read more

Episode Notes GFADAF EP 15 - Belated 4th of July Spectacular! According to many, the United States' greatest strength is that we are a proud nation of immigrants. So why do so many people demonize immigrants? Every patriot is no doubt familiar with the famous lines "Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" but don't seem to understand it. In this episode, host Tristan Bruns breaks down the monumental poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus—the same poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty—which spells out what ostensibly separates the U.S.A. from ..read more

--Episode Notes GFADAF EP 14 - Books From A Dying Art Form: "Five Points" by Tyler Anbinder Imagine living in a room no larger than a walk-in closet, sleeping shoulder to shoulder with strangers, it's pitch black, no windows, no ventilation, you might miss a stair step in the inky darkness and tumble to your doom... This would give you an idea what it's like to be a resident of the Five Points neighborhood in New York City before, during and after the Civil War. Yet this is one of the places credited with the formation of the art form we now call tap dance. Is that true? Were Black and Irish r ..read more

GFADAF EP 13 Paulo Freire and the Pedagogy of the Oppressed Tap Dancer Who wants an episode on the philosophy of education? Too bad, you're getting one anyways! On this episode, host Tristan Bruns dives into the philosophy of Paulo Freire, the famed Brazilian educator who taught hundreds of illiterate people in Brazil to read in only 45 days (!) and who influenced such scholars as bell hooks and more. Bruns talks about Freire's method of "problem-posing education," and how it can be applied to tap dance on an individual, macro and super-macro scale. Plus, the Tap Dance Podcast Roundup! Chapter ..read more

If you've read the book "Jazz Dance" then you may have been surprised at one part in particular, the epilogue, which begins with an argument against the emasculation of male dancers. (I know!) Most damning of all is a quote attributed to Gene Kelly, where he claims that the dance industry is "dominated by homosexuals." What did Kelly mean by that? Did he even say it at all? What is the original source? All of these questions are answered and more in this episode. 0:00 - 3:24 Theme Song 12 & Introduction to "Jazz Dance" 3:25 - 6:46 The Epilogue and Kelly Quote 6:47 - 7:13 Anecdotal example ..read more

Episode Notes Welp, someone went and did it. They really did it. And a tap dancer no less! A well-known tap dancer mentioned to me a book about conspiracy theories, and says, "I tell you, this book changed my life!" I ask, "Am I going to find anything antisemitic in here?" And... OF COURSE I DID! No matter what I told the person, no matter how much evidence I say I have, they not only ignore my input, but they then put the stinkin' book in a stinkin' inspirational video shared on their social media—to convince YOU to read it! As antisemitism is trending in 2022, I regret that it has reached ta ..read more

Tap dance history and philosophy from across the pond! Host Tristan Bruns reviews the book "Teach Yourself Tap Dancing" (2007) by Derek Hartley and compares it to other books in the "Hidden Histories of Tap Dance Histories" series—A meta analysis of syllabus-style, at home, DIY instruction books from 1932-2018 that compares and contrasts the various accounts of the history of tap dance found in these materials. "Teach Yourself Tap Dancing" is the most modern book that's been covered so far. Hartley writes with a refreshing originality and does it "his way," but there are some recurring trends ..read more

Episode Notes A lot of people think that tap dance is related to European dance styles because they look so darn similar, but what if it was really the other way around? Join host Tristan Bruns as he reports on the worse-than-you-thought history of international minstrelsy in England, Ireland, Australia, South Africa and more. Support this program by joining us on Patreon. 50% of all support goes to the M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy at the Harold Washington Cultural Center on Chicago's historic South Side. Link to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/GFADAF Or support this program through ..read more

Episode Notes We begin Part 2 of The Hidden History of Tap Dance Histories series with a look at "The Book of Tap" by Jerry Ames and Jim Siegelman. In this episode—1 of 3—host Tristan Bruns discusses multiple subjects from the book, including what Bruns considers the book's most endearing quality, a ton sourced quotes from famous tap dancers and instructors. Even more exciting, there are whole chapters on the death of tap dance and the resurrection of tap dance. Whoo-Hoo! That's, like, what this whole podcast is about. It's like non-denominational, sectarian gift-giving holiday-day has come ea ..read more