Tap Dance

This article is about how to put the elastic pony-o shaped tap ties (with buttons attached) in your child's tap shoes. You will learn how to insert the purchased tap ties(most likely purchased...

Tap dancing is defined by the creation of sounds made in a rhythmic pattern when the foot strikes or steps onto the floor. The easiest tap steps to learn are flap, shuffle, and ball change. They...

Although the quick movements and loud noises make tap dances seem complicated, routines are often comprised of a few basic steps, with some added flair if the performer is a seasoned dancer. Below...

According to Constance Valis Hill, a dance professor and author of "Tap Dance in America: A Very Short History," tap dance is America's oldest indigenous dance form. It began centuries ago in...

Time steps were created to keep time. They are fairly simple and one of the most widely used tap steps in musical theatre. Buck time steps are ones that do not have a shuffle in them. You should...

In the mid-1600s in America, before tap dance shoes were invented, the bare soles of slaves walking rhythmically across the wood decks of river boats combined with the energetic steps of the Irish...

Tap shoes owe their origins to a number of dance styles: European step dancing and Irish clogging, as well African tribal dances. Just as with clogging, from which the style of tap dancing...

The Maxie Ford dancing maneuver, in tap dance, is an intricate dancing step that requires a tap dancer to use proper technique. Learn to perform the Maxie Ford dance step from a tap dancing...

The Maxie Ford is a very useful tap dancing step when you want to switch lines in your choreography. Learn about the Maxie Ford tap dancing maneuver and tap dance from a tap dancing instructor in...

The Maxie Ford with pickup tap dance maneuver is an excellent move to include in your tap dancing routine. Learn to perform the Maxie Ford with pickup tap dance maneuver from a tap dancing...

Ball change, in tap dance, refers to when a tap dancer switches their weight from one ball of the foot to the other. Learn more about ball change and tap dance from a tap dancing instructor in...

It's important, in tap dance, to stay on the balls of your feet when performing the Irish. Learn more about the Irish and tap dance from a tap dancing instructor in this free dancing video.

The riff walk, in tap dance, occurs when a tap dancer strikes the bottom part of their hell on the floor and then performs the same task after switching feet. Learn to perform the riff walk from a...

The double riff walk, in tap dance, is a very simple step that can be used for traveling. Learn more about the double riff walk and tap dance from a tap dancing instructor in this free dancing video.

The triple riff walk is a great tap dancing maneuver to add to your dancing move arsenal. Learn the triple riff walk from a tap dancing instructor in this free dancing video.

It can be difficult to balance, in tap dance, while performing the single buffalo dance maneuver. Learn more about the single buffalo and tap dance from a tap dancing instructor in this free...

Performing the double buffalo, in tap dance, involves picking up one foot, striking the flat part of the tap on the floor and then landing on one foot. Learn to perform the double buffalo tap...

The triple buffalo tap dance maneuver is an excellent move to include in your tap dancing routine. Learn to perform the triple buffalo tap dance maneuver from a tap dancing instructor in this free...

The Maxi Ford, in tap dance, involves stepping on one foot, shuffling with the opposing foot, hopping and then switching feet. Learn more about the Maxie Ford dance step and tap dance from a tap...

The shuffle is one of the most basic components of tap dancing. Learn the tap dance shuffle from a tap dancing instructor in this free dancing video.

When performing the toe tap, in tap dancing, it's important to strike the flat part of the tap dancing shoe to the floor. Learn more about the toe tap and tap dancing from a tap dancing instructor...

The brush, in tap dance, is when you hit the flat part of your tap shoe on the floor, while moving it across the floor in order to get that brushing sound. learn to perform the brushing tap dance...

The flap is a tap dancing maneuver that can be used when traveling, standing in place or as a combination of a more complex dance step. Learn to perform the flap move in tap dance from a tap...

It's important to only hit the bottom part of the heel tap on the floor when performing the heel dig tap dancing maneuver. Learn more about the heel dig and tap dance from a tap dancing instructor...

The toe pick, in tap dance, is used as a component of a more complex step in tap dancing. Learn more about the toe pick and tap dance from a tap dancing instructor in this free dancing video.

The scuff, in tap dance, uses only the heel part of the tap dancing shoe. Learn more about scuffing and tap dance from a tap dancing instructor in this free dancing video.

Tap dancing was all the rage when I was a kid and to save money we made our own tap shoes with this simple technique. I was in love with Fred Astaire and of course I imagined I was Ginger in one...

A shuffle is a forward and then backward brush of the ball of the foot against the floor. However, a shuffle can be done as a quick treble, which it is in the treble hop (which also includes a...

The shuffle is one of the integral steps in tap dancing. A dancer must learn how to execute it early in her dance class experience. The shuffle pops up in time steps as well as in Shuffle Off to...

The split riff, or the Hines riff, was one of legendary dancer Gregory Hines's signature steps. Hines starred in the dance film "Tap" in 1989 with another famous dancer, Sammy Davis Jr. Both were...

The Bombershay step is derived from a social dance, most likely the Suzi-Q, which was a popular dance step in the 1930s. In time, the Bombershay became a jazz step. Later on, tap dancers began...

The Maxie Ford dance step is named after Max Ford, who was a buck and wing dancer in vaudeville. The Maxie Ford, in its various incantations, can make between five and 14 sounds, all depending on...

In this combination, the dancer puts together a brush (done diagonally) with heel and ball drops, but she does it while she is making a full turn, either to the left or to the right, depending on...

A cramproll is frequently done in military dance routines because the sound of the cramproll approximates the sound of a drum roll. A basic cramproll is defined as two quick steps followed by two...

The "essence" is the basic step in the soft shoe. If you were doing a single back essence you would do a spank, which is a back brush, on your starting foot. Then step down on your opposite foot,...

Pullbacks require air time, which means that the dancer is going to spring into the air and at one point neither foot is on the ground. Having strong legs, knees and ankles will help propel you...

The around-the-world cramp roll is sometimes referred to as the trading cramp roll or alternating cramp roll. A basic cramp roll consists of two steps followed by two heel drops. Of course, the...

If you are going to tap dance, you are going to do ball changes. A ball change consists of two steps, one on each foot, and you shift your weight from one foot to the other. A ball change often...

After a dancer learns the basic steps in tap dancing--such as a shuffle, toe tips, ball changes--that's when it gets really exciting because she can combine these basic steps into more complicated...

A pullback is generally done on one foot. The pullback can land on the foot that is pulling back, or it can land on the opposite foot. In this dance step, the dancer is going to pull back on both...

The Shuffle Off to Buffalo step in tap dancing heralds back to the days of Vaudeville. It was used as an exit step. The dancers did it while exiting from the stage. This version of the Buffalo has...

When a dancer incorporates a turn into her dance routine, it always notches up the difficulty somewhat, but also makes the dance routine more exciting to do and to watch. In the stamp step riff...

The "Buffalo" step in tap dancing has been around for years (think back to the days of vaudeville), and was devised so the dancers could get off the stage while dancing, rather than walking off....

The regular Cincinnati is derived from a very old dance step called Back to the Woods. The only difference between these two steps is that the dancer does a heel drop in the Cincinnati, whereas...

The "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" step in tap dancing debuted in a Buffalo, New York theater called Shea's many years ago. It was created as an exit step or a way for the dancer to get off stage while...

Make sure that your ankles are warmed up and limber before attempting the Steel because your ankles are going to get a work-out. This is intricate tap dancing and the dancer must get five...

The scap is a quirky variation on the basic flap, a step that is frequently done in tap dancing. When a dancer flaps, she brushes to the front on the ball of her foot and then steps down. In the...

The Irish pullback toe flap is an advanced step. It is a variation of the basic Irish step, which consists of a shuffle hop and then a step to the back or to the front, depending on if you are...

The Spiel has been described as a reverse drawback, which is an accurate description; however, unlike in the drawback, the dancer does not move to the back when executing the Spiel, which consists...

The Stephunky is like a drawback step in tap dancing, except a drawback is a backward moving step and the Stephunky stays in place. The drawback was named by a well-known dancer, Jack Stanly. The...