5/22/2021
Celebrating tap dancing as a uniquely American contribution to world dance, these five stamps feature photographs of different tap dancers performing against brightly colored backgrounds that highlight their form and movement. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamps with photographs by Matthew Murphy.
How do you capture the history and vitality of tap dance on a postage stamp?
That was the question Dr. Janet Schroeder wrestled with when, in late 2019, a company that contracts with the United States Postal Service on stamp design asked her to serve as a subject-matter consultant as it considered a new stamp depicting tap. A former dancer with the Dayton-based Rhythm in Shoes, Schroeder recently received a doctorate from Ohio State University for research examining the migration of rhythm tap and Appalachian step dance from vernacular to stage forms.
"Tap dance is identified as an American art form," Schroeder says she told the committee. "The racial–cultural blending—musically, physically, rhythmically—through the movements is so vital to tap dance as a form and also to thinking about the history of America."
Read the full article here.
APS News Team
View More by APS News Team
Watermarks - A Philatelic Introduction
Review of the 2022 Postal History Symposium
Gum Basics
APRL Notes: A Brief Intro to One of Philately’s Miscreants
Article of Distinction - James Baldwin: Writing from Life, Searching for Self
Mailing Memories
Amazing Mail Day #Philately
The Swearing Parrot on a Postage Stamp - #philately
A New Stamp Vlog? - #philately Pilot Episode
#Philately: A Chat with Samuel West
Share it: #Philately
C3a Stamp Basics Highlight - Part 1
2022 Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposium - Presentations and Videos
World Class - What a Scam!
Bridges - For the Future of Philately
C3a Stamp Basics Highlight - Part 2
Stamp Paper - A Case Study of Coconut Definitives
APS StampStore’s first month transition to HipStamp a huge success!
GASS '23 - Dealer Priority Selection Deadline - March 3
Scott English, Executive Director
Susanna Mills, Editor in Chief
X