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Digital Archive

Digital Archive Prototype Unveiled during TED Talk

November 23, 2016 By Tap Legacy

This past summer, Tap Legacy co-founder Andrew Nemr spoke at the TED Resident’s Salon, the final event for the inaugural class of TED Residents. Each resident presented an idea that was central to their project. While working on development of the Tap Legacy Digital Archive during the residency, Andrew’s talk, presented while he tap danced, centered around the idea of tap dance as oral tradition. Andrew shared personal stories, the unique attributes of oral traditions, the challenges oral traditions like tap dance face during times of cultural shift, and a possible solution.

TED Resident's Salon, July 12, 2016, New York, NY. Photo: Ryan Lash / TED
Tap Legacy Board Member Michael Jagger and Tap Legacy Digital Archive collaborator Mike Thibault at the TED Resident’s Salon, July 12, 2016, New York, NY. Photo: Ryan Lash / TED

Oral traditions are rooted in cultural identity, the stories of a people, and the traditions, activities, and rituals that embody those stories. Institutional support is primarily designed for preservation, not the support of an ongoing oral tradition. However, during times of cultural shift the continuity of unsupported oral traditions can be endangered. Tap Legacy™ has been working on a solution that would fill the gap between well established institutions and a community’s oral traditions.

Andrew Nemr speaks at TED Resident's Salon, July 12, 2016, New York, NY. Photo: Ryan Lash / TED
Andrew Nemr speaks at TED Resident’s Salon, July 12, 2016, New York, NY. Photo: Ryan Lash / TED

At the end of his talk, Andrew unveiled a prototype of the Tap Legacy Digital Archive platform. Developed in collaboration with Michael Thibault, the platform will feature timeline, graphic data visualization, and community engagement functionality. The prototype is a working model that envisions all the functionality of the Digital Archive currently in development.

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Tap Legacy™ at the TED Residency

June 28, 2016 By Tap Legacy

ted_theater_logo_render

You might have seen this announcement a few months ago, but if you missed it, we wanted to let you know about some very exciting news. Our co-founder, Andrew Nemr, was recently awarded a TED Residency. As part of the inaugural class of residents, Andrew will be spending his time developing the Tap Legacy™ Digital Archive. The vision of the archive is unique in its effort to reflect the oral tradition of tap dance in the digital space. Andrew is currently working with anthropologists, sociologists, big data scientists, programmers, and experts in the field of oral history to develop a platform that will serve to bring to greater light the rich history of tap dance and related vernacular dances.

As part of the residency, Andrew will also be giving a TED Talk on the underlying idea of oral tradition as way of remembering. Unfortunately the event is not open to public, nor will it be live-streamed. However, we will be sharing the talk here once it is published online.

About TED
TED
is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

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