Tap dance was born this century. It is most developed in the United States but is popular all around the world.
The grandparents may well have been
- Spanish flamenco, where nails are hammered into the front part of the dancers' shoes so that the rhythm of their steps can be heard
- Clog dancing, for example from Lancashire, where there may well be no accompanying music, just the noise of the shoes
- African welly boot dance. Same deal
- African dance to drum rhythms.
In the end we have a terrific art form where the performer is both dancer and musician.