How to Do the Shuffle Toe Shuffle Step in Tap Dance

Tap dancing may look complicated, but with time and practice you can learn to tap dance. There are many step combinations that need to be put together to develop a whole choreographed dance, but you can start with a single step. The shuffle is one of the most important steps in tap dancing, making it a good one to start with.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Put on your tap shoes. You can tap dance without tap shoes but to get the full audio effect of tapping when you wear your shoes.

2. Perform a shuffle, which you do with the ball of your foot. Your leg does a drop and rise motion while doing a shuffle. Raise your knee up, drop your foot to the floor, brush it forward and brush it back in one quick movement. A shuffle makes two noises when done correctly. The forward motion is one sound and the back motion is the second.

3. Shuffle with your right foot then tap the toe of your shoe directly behind you.

4. Complete another shuffle and then step with your right foot. When you step, place your right foot down next to your left foot.

5. Repeat the shuffle toe, shuffle step with your left foot.

6. Continue to practice this combination slowly and as you become more comfortable with the steps pick up the pace. Alternate these steps with your right foot and left foot.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you've mastered the shuffle toe shuffle step, you can add it to many other tap combinations.