Tap Dancing

Are you considering taking your first tap dance lesson? This list will give you plenty of reasons to stop procrastinating and start tapping!

1. Tap Dance Lessons Are Fun! Have you ever watched any of the famous tap dancers perform? They always look as though they are having the time of their life. That's because they are. When I teach tap classes, I try to keep them from becoming too serious. Time and time again I have seen that the students that allow themselves to relax and have a good time do much better than those of us that are too serious. And guess what? They have more fun too!

2. You Can Lose Weight In A Tap Dance Lesson! Everything about tap dancing is aerobic, whether you are learning or performing it. It takes energy and concentration to execute all of the sounds and movements in time with the music. Let's face it...legs are not the lightest parts of the body...in fact, they are often the heaviest.

3. Tap Dance Lessons Develop Balance! Since becoming a tap dancer I have noticed that I am more able to maintain (and regain) my balance. When you first start taking classes, one of the most important things you do is start balancing yourself on the balls of your feet. Doing this while executing the other movements is a little tricky at first, but in time you will see a noticeable difference in your balance.

4. Tap Dance Lessons Teach Rhythm! This is a skill that is useful, not only for dancers, but for musicians, and athletes as well. Many famous boxers have taken up tap dancing to further develop their timing and coordination. The same can be said for many musicians...particularly drummers. In fact, many tap dancers are also skilled drummers.

5. Tap Dance Lessons = Dancing + Making Music! This is one of the things I love most about tap. With most other dance forms, you are dependent upon some external source for the music. This is not true for tap as the visual and auditory elements are combined. In tap you can take the musical ideas in your head and communicate them through your feet.

6. Tap Dance is an American Art Form! I am fond of saying that tap dancing could not have been born anywhere but here in the good old U.S. of A. It was the interaction of Irish, African, English, and Native American influences that led to the creation, over time, of this beautiful art form.

7. Tap Dance Lessons Teach Fancy Footwork! Who has more complex footwork than a tap dancer? Tap dancers use our footwork to create sound which has to be executed with precise timing to be correct. Training as a tap dancer develops the communication between the brain, legs, and feet. This ability is a key to learning about every other form of dance...especially those with swift footwork!

8. Tap Dancing is Mysterious! I can imagine that you are wondering what that even means. Let me explain...I did not start tap dancing until the age of 19 (About Ten Years Ago). Thus, I can still remember what it was like to see people tap dancing and have no idea how they were making the sounds. To me, it was like magic! Maybe this one doesn't impress you, but it certainly impressed me.

9. Tap Dancing is About Expression! True of tap and any other form of dance. Dance is a way of expressing yourself. You can sometimes say things with a step or a combination that you are unable to express with words.

10. Tap Dance Lessons Will Help Relieve Your Stress! Remember that old advice about punching a pillow when something upsets you? Tap allows you to strike the floor instead! OK, not quite the same thing. As stated earlier, tap is a form of expression. As you study it, you will find that tap steps and combinations can have moods and ideas associated with them. This can be an excellent way to relieve stress through expressing those emotions!

Terrence Taps maintains the official Tap Dance blog at http://www.TapDanceMan.com/blog

This site is updated five days a week with tap dance articles, news, events, auditions,and tap dance video clips! It's a great resource for all things relating to tap dancing.

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If you want an exercise that will keep you in shape and that is good for your heart as well, consider tap dancing. The beauty of tap dancing is that the basic steps are easy to learn and you can add your own flair and touches to make it fun for you. Just 20 minutes of tap dancing three times per week is enough to improve your health and get you back into shape.

The first thing that you need for tap dancing is, of course, tap shoes. You can find tap shoes online or at a local dance store. Tap shoes have metal on the toes and heels that make a "tapping" sound when ever you stomp on them. You can also make your own tap shoes. You can basically use any shoe that you want to use from a dance shoe to boots. Once you have chosen your shoe, you can buy taps and put them on the bottom of your shoe. Before you put your taps in place permanently, make sure that they are on the correct place on your shoe as shoes have different soles and shapes.

You can learn tap dancing by taking a class or by teaching yourself with a video. Tap classes are available for all ages from toddlers to senior citizens. There are different types of classes as well. Some use jazz, others use big band type music and one of the most popular tap classes around now uses tapping with hip hop music. If you choose to learn to tap on your own, research videos before purchasing one. Read reviews and make sure that it is for beginners and also has the kind of music you like. The more a video is geared towards the type of music and exercise you want, the more likely you are to use it.

You need to use a solid surface for tap dancing. Taps can scratch hard wood floors, so you might want to purchase a sold surface to use when tapping. You can actually purchase hard "mats" for practicing your tap.

The more you use your arms, the better the cardiovascular workout. Be sure to do slow tapping at the beginning of your workout to warm-up and slow tapping at the end to cool down. The best way to strain muscles and injure yourself is to jump right into tapping without stretching or warming up. Tapping is excellent for coordination and balance as well. You can learn to tap on one foot or tap your feet alternately with your hands.

Tap dancing is a traditional dance that can be made contemporary by using popular music and more modern steps. It is a fun thing to do by yourself or to learn with a partner. A great cardiovascular workout and great way to keep in shape, tapping might be the perfect exercise option for you.

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To be able to dance you need to be able to understand beat. The beat is one of the few elements that carries through from classical to rap music. Learning to move and finding classes is the easy part of dance. Before you can find classes, you need to find the right style of dance to suit you.

There is a selection of dance types to choose from, as well as different types of levels. There are evening classes for those who wish to dance as a hobby, and there are academies for those who wish to create a life out of it.

The most classical version of dance is ballet. Ballet involves a good sense of grace, elegance and focus. The traditional dress code for ballet for girls is a pair of light pink ballet shoes, stockings, tutu and a leotard. Generally, the colour theme for these items is in shades of pinks. Men also have to wear ballet shoes, with stockings and a leotard. Their colours are normally blue and black.

Ballet involves being able to stand on the very edge of your toes. This takes years of practise and hard work to achieve. You also have to be subtle, able to do the splits and have good balance. Some of the movements include twirling, jumping and walking on you toes, sideways, across the stage. In partnership, men have to have good upper-body strength as they have to hold the girls by the hips, as they balance in horizontal positions.

Unfortunately, being a professional ballet dancer doesn't only require being able to move with grace. Your body type plays a role as well. The ideal body type is slender and medium height (just taller then 5ft). Your legs have to be in good proportion to your upper body. To be a professional ballet dancer, you need to start as soon as possible, from the age of ten or less.

However, there are ballet classes for inspiring dancers who didn't start young and want to do it as a hobby. Ballet is normally accompanied by classical music, such as Beethoven. It was made famous with dances such as "The Sugar Plum Fairy" and "The Nutcracker."

For those of you who lack elegance, but make up for it in passion, look into modern dance. Modern dance has risen in popularity, as the music is upbeat and there is a fair amount of freedom.

Unlike ballet, where dance moves are categorised and defined, modern dance still allows for unexpected movement. It focuses on the motion and rhythm of the music, rather than the style and positioning. What comes across in modern dance is passion and ability to feel the beat and rhythm of the music.

Ideally, modern dance should be started at a young age, but it isn't necessary. A lot of dancers only truly discover their love for music in their early twenties. Being flexible is an advantage, but not a necessity. The dress code is generally casual. You can wear what you want, as long as it doesn't restrict you in movement. Most modern dancers are barefoot.

Once you have mastered the basics, dancers are encouraged to think of different moves and styles to add to the group. Although there are some solo modern dances, generally you dance as a group, in lines. The movement is abrupt, quick and action packed.

Modern dancing became popular with music videos. The dance generally incorporates the latest hits, or conversely back-up dancers for popular videos use modern dancing. There have been movies such as "Center Stage" which incorporates ballet and modern techniques together.

If you prefer less elegance than ballet, but not the full body movement of the modern dancer, then take into consideration tap dancing. This is wonderful form of dancing that has rising and sunk only to rise again in popularity. There are different forms of tap dancing, ranging from street to formal.

Street tap dancing is where dancers are given more freedom to move, flinging their arms and taking on one-to-one challenges. In the formal version, arms are to the side, with backs straight. The formal version only allows dancers to move their feet, whereas with the street form dancers move their whole bodies.

Tap dancing involves wearing shoes with metal pieces on the tip and heel of the sole of the shoe. By tapping with your feet, the metal will create a noise against the floor. During training, you can manipulate your ankles and feet to create a beat using this technique. Generally there is no music with tap dancing. If there is music, it is a track with no beat or drums, as the rhythm is tapped out by the dancer.

Traditionally, tap shoes were created out of sophisticated closed black shoes. Today, tap dancers are using hiking boots and other forms of shoes, for a different feel and sound.

Tap dancing had a popular uprising due to "Lord of the Rings" as well as Disney's movie "Happy Feet." There are academies that teach the strict formal dancing style, but there are also classes that have moved to trendy vibe, including steel drums with the dance.

There are many different types of dance, incorporating different parts of the body, styles and taste in music. If you are interested in taking up dance as a hobby or lifetime career, you have to first find your niche in the market. By taking the type of music that you feel most comfortable with, you can then decide what type of movement you enjoy. For most dance courses you need focus, but before you can pick the class, you need to find which type holds your groove.

Celeste writes for Dance Music News, who specialise in the latest dance news.

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If you are serious about becoming a famous tap dancer, you are going to have to purchase your own practice floor at some point. Below I share three portable flooring options that may help you to eventually rival the great Savion Glover!

There are 3 levels of tap surfaces that I have used for practicing at home and recommend for others.

#1 - A Sheet of Plywood

The cheapest way to create a surface for tap dancing is to get some plywood and have it cut to whatever size you need. Be advice that you will have to balance convenience with quality. In general, the thicker the board is the longer it will last. At the same time, the thickness will add to the weight and bulk of the board, making harder to transport.

Sanding is also recommended to help you avoid splinters.

Plywood is the cheapest option for getting a floor to practice on but it also has its downsides.

First among them is the fact that plywood does very little to help absorb the shock of dancing on hard surfaces. This increases the possibility of injury.

In addition, the sound quality on a plywood sheet is not great and they can be difficult to transport for use in performances due to their size.

#2 - Jubilee Dance Floors

Visit JubileeDanceFloor.com for the floor with the best balance of cost and convenience.

It comes in panels that are 2' x 2' and connect to one another using industrial strength velcro. This means that your practice floor could be as large as you need it to be. The panels fit together securely and seamlessly.

The boards are made of Polymer with a foam backing which helps to protect the joints and makes a really good sound. The Jubilee Dance Floors costs about $36 per square at the time of this writing.

The big con with these floors is that they are not made of wood so they probably would not appeal to hardcore wood floor enthusiasts.

#3 - The Stagestep Portable Tap Board

This board has the best sound quality!

It's extremely durable as well, having survived the worst that I and other local hoofers could give it at our monthly tap jam. You can pick it up at Stagestep.com.

The only downside is that this board weighs around 37 pounds and is awkward to carry. I hope this article helps you to find a solution to the challenge of practicing tap at home.

Terrence Taps has created a library of online tap lessons at http://www.eTapDance.com New videos are added several times each month! Members have full access for a low monthly rate and are able to practice and learn new tap steps from home. Head over to http://www.eTapDance.com now and sign up for more information and the "Tap Step of the Week" video series.

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