These two documentaries, No Maps on My Tapsand About Tap, shine a light onto the pioneers of tap dancing.

The recently restored No Maps on My Taps provides a portrait of the dancers Bunny Briggs, Chuck Green, and Harold “Sandman” Sims, capturing their relationship to tap and their continued commitment to dancing. When released in 1979, the documentary helped to kick start a revival of sorts, leading to renewed interest in the films three performers and generating a stream of concerts and international tours.

The two films reflect the integral role of jazz music and Broadway to tap dancing, and the decline in popularity in both, led to the decrease of relevance and attention tap. Both films also document the centrality of the city to the creation and popularity of tap, highlighting the role of the urban space through its nightlife and clubs as providing a spectacle and temporary escape from the inequality and social instability of the period.