How to Execute the Vaudeville in Tap Dancing

Tap dancing was one of the mainstay acts on Vaudeville so it stands to reason that a tap dance step is called “Vaudeville” in honor of that long vanished form of theatre and entertainment. Vaudeville was prevalent in the United States between the 1880s and the 1930s and featured a series of unrelated acts.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tap shoes and some music

Doing the Vaudeville

1. Stand in the middle of the room, your arms extended out to the sides for balance, and your legs in a plie’ (knees slightly bent) position.

2. Start moving. Start on your right foot and brush (or flap) step, drop your left heel and then drop your right heel. The count is: and one and two.

3. Brush back with your left foot (your weight is on your right foot), lift and drop your right heel, tap your left toe behind your right foot, and lift and drop your right heel again. Brush (back) heel toe heel. The count is: and three and four.

4. Put it all together: Flap (right) heel (left) heel (right) brush back (left) heel (right) toe (left) heel (left). Repeat on the opposite side. The count is: and one and two and three and four. The Vaudeville is a side-to-side motion rather than a stationary or forward or backward motion

5. Repeat, and now you are doing the vaudeville.

Tips & Warnings

• Watch on-line tap dancing videos to give you a better understanding of tap dancing steps.
• Be careful not to dance on a slippery floor.