Carmen Amaya

When someone asks me to define tap dance, I often give the simple answer, "making sounds with your feet" and then go into a bit of history of it (if I think the questioner is really interested!) as an American art form.  Of course, there are many other "making sounds with your feet" dance forms around the world, one of the most famous of which is flamenco.  Flamenco is not only dance, but is also music and is part of the culture of Spain, with Andalusian, Gypsy, Sephardic, Moorish and Byzantine origins (my Wikipedia info).

A friend recently turned me on to the flamenco dancer and singer, Carmen Amaya, who died at the relatively young age of 50 in 1963.  She was a Spanish Gypsy, or Spanish Roma, and had an incredible talent.  Check her out below in a clip from 1937.  Evidently she always wore pants, which really lets you clearly see the moves she is making.  Sort of reminds me of the African American tap dancer Juanita Pitts.  There is a documentary about Amaya that has more footage of her.

I REALLY like this clip!!