How to Do a Back Treble in Tap Dancing

The back treble in tap dancing is sometimes called the back Irish. The dancer can elect to step to the front or to the back when executing the Irish, which, obviously, determines whether it's a front or back Irish. However, in the back treble, the dancer is definitely moving to the back. The step is a bit more complicated than a regular back Irish because after the dancer hops she must immediately drop the heel of her hopping foot.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tap shoes

1. Shuffle on your right foot on the count of "and 8."

2. Hop on your left foot and then immediately drop your left heel on the count of "and."

3. Step down on your right foot behind your left foot on the count of "1."

4. Start the back treble on your left foot: Shuffle, hop heel drop and step back.

5. The back treble is sometimes called a back Irish. The Irish can be done moving to the back or to the front. If it were a front Irish, the dancer would step to the front.

6. Note that the back treble differs from a regular back Irish, which consists of shuffle hop step down to the back, because of the added heel drop.

Resources

• Tap Dancing Demo by Rene Preciado