I took tap lessons when I was 13, I also took Jazz and Modern lessons. They were key in developing my love of all things musical. However I was really rubbish at Tap dancing, I always felt awkward hopping around in Taps. I was never good enough to take my grade one Tap level, and by the time I had worked up to that level ( it took me over two years!) I had to stop dancing to focus on my GCSE's. Adult TapI managed to find a Tap lesson for people who had already done Tap but couldn't be classed as intermediates in Woolston. The Roydon Dance centre was able to accommodate my late entry into the class, and even provide me with Tap shoes. I managed to get spectacularly lost en route in Woolston, as my comprehension of the layout of Southampton, has until recently been limited to bus routes. But I did eventually manage to find the centre thanks to the useful lost method of trial and error. When I arrived I was given my borrowed tap shoes and shown into the class. Putting on the shoes stirred memories of my old classes, and falling over repeatedly when trying to learn tap springs. Relaxed class with easier levelsThe class contained 5 ladies of varying ages all learning tap. The class was taken by the lovely Sarah who didn't shout at me like my old teacher used too. WE did a warm up with Sarah calling out various steps and expecting us to follow. Slowly I started to remember how to Tap dance. Admittedly I was normally about one beat behind everyone else in the class, resulting in them tapping, and me echoing the tap one second later. But I knew most of the steps, I can demonstrate tap springs, step ball changes, back pickups cross over's and my favourite the buffalo. I had trouble following the longer sequences as I tended to forget what I was supposed to be doing. Much to the entertainment of the others. Sarah explained that the adult levels were different to the children's levels I had studied. I learnt various basics from different levels including a shuffle routine from level 3. Stick Dance | | The class show me the stick dance! |
Finally with only ten minutes to go, the class collectively decided to perform a group stick routine to demonstrate to me the complexity of Tap. Becky spent five minutes refreshing the dancers memories of the routine, then the dancers performed the piece. Tap dancing is predominantly based on three steps, Tap ( tapping your foot on the floor) Shuffle ( Shuffling your foot on the floor) and Heel ( tapping or stamping your heel on the floor. Although this is a simple description, it does mean that Tap dancers can pick up routines quickly. After only five minutes preparation the dancers, who had not danced for over six weeks, performed the routine almost flawlessly. They completely put me to shame! 7 Dances 7 DaysTap dancing is a technically simple dance, but when performed correctly it showcases the talent and complexity of the dancers. The better you get at Tap the faster the dance often becomes requiring fitness and skill to ensure that you Tap at the appropriate moments. Finally over the past two weeks I have tried five different dance styles and now use the opportunity to rank them according to my personal preference. - Morris Dancing: Great fun, Easy to pick up with a wonderful atmosphere.
- Salsa Dancing: Gives ability to any man to easily become a confident and good dancer.
- Tap: A technical dance which requires time to pick up, but enjoyable once the basics are mastered.
- Swing: Although an easy dance style to learn, my lack of fitness meant that I was not as good at Swing as I hoped to be .
- Ballet: A beautiful dance, and I had fun, but I am not Ballet dancer!
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