Facilitating collective dramaturgy in dance and music collaborative improvisation from the perspective of Rhythm Tap practice

This is the first practice research Ph.D. within the field of rhythm tap globally. This research aims to analyse creative practices within rhythm tap dance to generate new knowledge about improvisational dramaturgy in dance and music collaboration. This will make an original contribution to discourse and practice around dance dramaturgy and the field of Improvisation Studies. Academic research is needed to connect rhythm tap creative practice with wider theoretical frameworks and instigate critical reflection within professional practice and support wider understanding and acknowledgement within the industry and Academy. Published literature about Tap Dance focuses upon
the historical, technical and stylistic contribution of key individuals (Hill, 2000), (Siebert, 2015). Writing about practice is mostly autobiographical (Buffalino, 2004) or instructional (Duffy, 2017). This study will address this gap in literature through practice research from a performance perspective.