Trusting Your Tap Dance Instructor

Series Summary

The rhythmic foot stomping we call tap dancing emerged in the 1830s from a blend of cultures in Manhattan’s original melting pot, the Five Points neighborhood (recently depicted in Scorsese’s film Gangs of New York.) Essentially a blend of African shuffle and Irish jig, tap dance became extremely popular in the first half of the 20th century. The metal plates attached to the bottom of the dancer’s shoes create a percussive rhythm which could either accompany music, or be used as an instrument itself. This popular form of entertainment soon found its way from amateur street performances to vaudeville, Broadway, and eventually film and television, where millions were inspired by the moves of Sammy Davis, Jr., Gregory Hines, Fred Astaire, and Gene Kelly.

A recent resurgence of tap enthusiasm came in the 1990s with the infusion of new dancers, such as Savion Glover, who began to incorporate a more personal style into their performances, and essentially made tap dancing cool again.

In this free video dance class, learn how to tap dance as an absolute beginner. An experienced tap dancer will walk you through the most basic steps you need to know to get started. Lessons include steps like the shuffle move and the ball change, as well as basic toe techniques, tap dancing postures, and a practice routine.

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Sarah McLellan in New York City here at June Parody's Dance Studio. I'm going to teach you today some basic and beginning tap moves. Come on in! I have actually been tap dancing since I was about 2 years old. My mom and her sister both owned a dance studio in Austria so I grew up tap dancing. It was definitely one of my favorites dance to be involved with. From there I moved to America and I worked in Broadway in a wonderful tap musical called "42nd Street". I also have been a tap teacher for numerous years and I definitely love being able to pass on such a great form of dance to kids and new generations of people. Even adults I think have a interest in tap dancing. So my experience I hope I can give you a little insight into this wonderful form of dance."