Tap dancing has made a big comeback in recent years, and two upcoming events will incorporate the dance form to illustrate important events in American history.
On Saturday at the Parrish Museum in Water Mill, Kerri Edge, a filmmaker and choreographer, will present "4 Little Girls: Moving Portraits of the American Civil Rights Movement," a film featuring Omar Edwards, a professional tap dancer who has appeared on Broadway in "Bring In 'da Noise, Bring In 'da Funk" and has performed at the White House. The film tells the story of the children who were killed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1963, in a bombing at their Alabama church.
Admission to the event, which runs from 2 to 4 p.m., is $12; free for students and members of the Parrish. It is co-sponsored by the Edge School of the Arts, which was founded by Ms. Edge, and the Hamptons United Methodist Church.
On Monday at 4 p.m., Mr. Edwards will present "Tap Dancin' Is Music" at the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center, co-sponsored by the Hayground School. This free show, with audience participation, promotes tap dance both as an American folk art and a way of making music. It "explores the history and significance of tap from its beginnings when African-American slaves were deprived of their drums by slave owners and instead created rhythms with their feet," according to a release.
Young tappers have been encouraged to bring their own tap shoes to the child care center on Monday to take part in the interactive show.
