
What the Eye Hears: A History of Tap Dancing
Award History
| Award | Year | Status | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anisfield-Wolf Book Award – Nonfiction | 2016 | Winner | “What the Eye Hears by Brian Seibert won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Nonfiction in 2016.” |
About This Book
The definitive cultural history of tap dance, tracing its origins in the fusion of African and Irish dance traditions through Vaudeville, the Harlem Renaissance, Broadway and Hollywood, and the contemporary tap revival. Brian Seibert addresses the contested racial politics of an art form shaped by both Black creativity and white appropriation. Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Nonfiction and the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award.
About the Author
Brian Seibert is an American dance critic and journalist who writes about dance for The New York Times, where he is a staff critic. He studied at Harvard University and has spent his career writing about dance in New York. His critical writing has won multiple awards and is considered among the most perceptive dance criticism being published in America. Read more →
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