How to Do the Yacht Step in Tap Dancing

The yacht step in tap dancing is a version of the Maxie Ford step. A typical Maxie Ford consists of leaping onto your right foot, shuffling on the left and then leaping back onto the left foot and executing a toe jab in back of your left foot with you right foot. A Maxie Ford can also be done to include a pullback. That version consists of leaping onto the right foot, shuffling on the left and then doing a back brush on the right foot (this is the pullback or pick-up) and leaping onto the left foot, ending up with a toe jab on the right to the rear of the left foot. In the yacht step, the dancer does something quite different at the end of the combination.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tap shoes

1. Leap onto your right foot on the count of "1."

2. Shuffle (a forward and backward brush on the ball of your foot) on the left foot to the count of "and 2."

3. Leap onto your left foot on the count of "and."

4. Step down on your right foot in front of your left foot on the count of "3." Stepping down to the front (this is considered a cross) is quite a departure from doing a toe jab to the back, as is customary in the Maxie Ford.

5. Combine the steps to the yacht step: Leap, shuffle, leap, step (crossing in front.) Think about the count: 1 and 2 and 3.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not confuse a leap with a hop. When a dancer leaps, she springs from one foot to the other. When she hops, she hops in place on one foot. Watch the video demonstration found in the resource section below. Dancer and instructor Dani Rhodes demonstrates the Maxie Ford as well as the Maxie Ford with a pick-up---the term pick-up, in tap dancing, is used interchangeably with the term pullback. However, remember in the yacht step you are going to step to the front and don't do a toe jab to the back as is executed in the video nor are you required to do a pull back. In the second video demonstration, Emily Larew does a Maxie Ford with a leap, pullback (or pick up) swap (or change). When you swap, or change, you land on the opposite foot that you're doing the pullback (which is a back brush) on.

Resources

• Tap Dancing Demo by Dani Rhodes
• Tap Dancing Demo By Emily Larew