Tap Dance

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 "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...

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 Irish Shiggy Bop consists of a shuffle followed by a scuff and a heel; however, it's not as simple as it sounds. In fact, is considered an extremely challenging tap dance step. Sometimes this...

Sometimes when you are tap dancing you are required to balance. You might have to balance on one flat-foot or on your heel or heels or on a toe or toes. In the Rorymeister you are required to do a...

The Clickety Clank step in tap dancing is rather complicated. If involves a jump into the air, at which point the dancer must strike the insides of her shoes together, as well as a Clunk, where...

The pullback into a toe stand is an advanced move in which the dancer is required to balance on the very tip of her toes. When first attempting the pullback into a toe stand, hold onto the dance...

This tap dancing break is named for dancer Bill Bartlett. It is a complex and lengthy combination, and involves a lot of close footwork---a six-tap riff, for example, as well as heel drops, heel...

In this dance step, the dancer actually bends down and gestures as if she were shining her shoes. The shoe-shine step consists of some quick and challenging close footwork, including a spank (back...

A wing in tap dancing is considered a flying step, because the movements of the dancer's arms approximate the flapping of a bird's wings, and because both feet come off the floor. Dancers...

The Double-Up Glide step in tap dancing is often called "Over the Top," and for many dancers it may SEEM over the top. This is a challenging step that requires balance and athleticism. This step...

In tap dancing, a wing is described as a shuffle to the side; however, the wing actually entails scraping the outside of the foot to the side and then doing a back brush and step, which...

A pull-back in tap dancing can be done as a single--executed on one foot--or as a double (both feet are engaged) or as a pull-back change or swap, where the dancer must brush back on the leg she...

When a dancer does a bell cut or an aerial heel click, it is usually met with applause from an appreciative audience because it's an athletic, razzle-dazzle maneuver that sends the dancer into the...

A basic riff in tap dancing consists of brushing the ball of your foot to the front and then scuffing your heel against the floor as you finish executing the forward movement; however, a riff can...

The Indian step in tap dancing is known by other names, including the grasshopper, Russian kickouts, rabbit and Cossacks. This is one of those flashy steps that assures the dancer of applause from...

The final section of the ABC dance in tap dancing is the "C" part. The "C" section includes the following: heel digs, back brushes (which are a staple of the overall step) and stomps (which do not...

The Swanee and shuffle combination in tap dancing is a lengthy one; however, the individual steps themselves aren't difficult. It's simply a matter of remembering them and putting them in the...

The shuffle step in tap dancing is incorporated into all kinds of combinations. It is sometimes called the four, treble or a double ball change. The dancer makes four sounds in a shuffle ball...

Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant created the shim sham during the Roaring '20s as a finale for their act. The shim sham designation actually came from a locale where Reed and Bryant had performed....

The basic over the tops step in tap dancing is considered a flash step, which means a trick step. Its intended purpose is to generate approval and applause from the audience. A flash step is often...

The over the tops dance step is a trick step or flash step, which requires athletic ability, perhaps more so than dance skill. It is bound to render applause, because it is a difficult step to...

In the triple paradiddle in tap dancing, the dancer makes 12 sounds. The paradiddle requires the dancer to execute several taps per beat thus the strange musical notation of “1e and a 2e...

When a tap dancer is doing a riff, she is combining a forward brush (on the ball of her foot) and a scuff (striking the heel of your foot against the floor in passing) on the same foot. To do the...

A pickup in tap dancing can best be described as a hopping back-brush movement. You can do a pickup on one foot or you can do a change, which requires that you land on the opposite foot. In the...

The pullback/pickup step in tap dancing is as varied as the time step. The pullback, also referred to as the pickup or graboff or snatch, was invented when it was discovered by dancers that two...

Tap is an art form that requires balance and coordination and it's a completely different technical feat from ballet or jazz. Learning tap is challenging, especially at the more advanced levels,...

A treble is made up of a hop and a shuffle, but done at a rapid rate of speed so it sounds far more difficult than it is. That's not to say the step is not difficult—it takes a little work to get...

Doing combos in tap dancing is a fun way to combine all of the individual tap steps you learned into interesting patterns and rhythms. Here you can experiment with sound, "push the beat" and build...

When you view old-school tap dancers like Bill "Bojangles" Robinson or Gene Kelly, it appears as if their feet are barely moving. That's because they keep their moves close together. The drawback...

Tap dancing is a great activity for kids. It can help them in staying healthy, lean and fit, as well as helping to develop their confidence. Tap dancing is a popular choice for energetic kids as...

The shuffle change is a fun move in tap dancing, because it allows you to hop from foot to foot while making more noise than seems humanly possible. You go from a shuffle to a shuffle, from foot...

Doing combinations in tap dancing is fun, for you can start to put all the techniques you learned together into a cohesive dance. With these steps you can learn a fun and challenging shuffle toe...

The Pink Panther tap dance step combines the shuffle, hops and the pas de bouerré in a fun way. For those of you who don't remember the pas de bouerré, you can find that explained after the Pink...

Pull backs in tap dancing are a bit of a conundrum. As Dani Rhodes explains, "you have to have all weight on both feet and no weight on no feet at the same time." Confused? Well, this should have...

Your passion for tap dance has developed over the years through hard work and many classes. Perhaps you have always looked up to your tap dance teachers and sought to emulate them. After all this...