New York City’s Been The Capital Of Tap Dancing For Two Centuries

“In the 1800s, tap appeared along the East River at Catherine Market, where slaves from Manhattan, New Jersey and Long Island would congregate. ‘They were coming in to sell herbs and roots on their days off — they were allowed by their masters to do that — and they also had their dancing skills to sell. … They’d put down pieces of wood they called shingles and do a jig and a breakdown for money.'”