Why everything you think about tap dancing is probably wrong

When you think of tap dancing, you might be picturing grandiose, showy numbers and bright costumes and dancers all moving in unison to choreographed steps in movies like La La Land. But Heather Cornell wants you to hear tap dancing as music.

Cornell is an independent tap and recording artist and she says you don't have to look too far to be reminded of tap's connection to music. Cornell says tap dance and jazz grew up together and share the same history dating back to the be-bop era — and the heart of it all is improvisation.

But somehow, according to Cornell, that relationship between music and dance got disconnected. But now, many artists are finding their way back to the connection between the music and the dance. This summer, there are tap dance festivals happening all over the U.S. and Canada. 

Vancouver's Tap Festival kicks off later this month on Aug. 25, and there's another festival in Sommerville, Mass., that begins today (Aug. 1).

Cornell was recently in Canada for the first ever Toronto International Tap Dance Festival and as part of the festival she spoke to q about her connection to tap.  Find out more about Cornell here.

Here is the playlist for Cornell's gateway to tap as a musical art form, as featured in the audio segment.

1. Charles 'Cookie' Cook performing with the Mitchell-Ruff Duo at Yale University

2. Baby Laurence performing 'Baby at Birdland' from Dancemaster (recorded in 1959 - 60, released in 1976)

3. Gregory Hines performing 'Rhythm is my Business' with the Boston Pops Orchestra on PBS in 1983

4. Michelle Dorrance performing with Jon Baptiste and Stay Human on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS in 2015

5.  Peru's Antonio Vilchez performing Panalivio at the Toronto International Tap Dance Festival in 2017

— Produced by Danielle Grogan