Class & Program Descriptions
Tap Dance
Discipline: Dance
Class Type: Recreational
Class Title: Ballet/Tap Pre-Primary Combo
Student Age: Ages 3 to 4
Discipline: Dance, Early Years
This is a combination class. Ballet focus is on pointing and flexing feet, skips, walks and gallops, plies, point and close, bounces, knee lifts, posture and rhythm. Use of imagination is used to show importance of storytelling in dance. Tap focus in on making the proper tap sounds, and learning the terms of the different parts of the foot. The very earliest skills are taught, such as heel steps, toe steps, digs, jump out jump in, and learning the right from the left side of the body.
Class Title: Tap Grade 1
Student Age: Ages 4.5 to 5
The focus in Grade 1 tap is on basic rhythm and coordination. Students learn the basics of left vs. right sides of the body, and beginner steps such as shuffle, ball change, use of heel and toe with point together, heel together and rocking back and forth on heels and toes. Students get playful with performance oriented steps like the flash trick step.
Class Title: Tap Grade 2
Student Age: Ages 6 to 7
Grade 2 tap builds on steps from Grade one, adding to it the Maxi Ford, and introductions to the buffalo step, flaps, waltz clog and essence. Steps like shuffle ball change are combined together and sped up, and students are challenged with the Charleston and sugars.
Class Title: Tap Grade 3
Student Age: Ages 8 to 9
Grade 3 is one of the most important grades in tap. The skills learned in grades 1 and 2 begin to come with more ease and speed, so the ability to add many new skills is advantageous. Students learn, amongst these new skills, Cramp rolls, Military cramp rolls, single double and triple Buck time steps, Irish, Shim sham and much more. Grade 3 is a great beginning grade for older students who just want to begin tap now in their lives.
Class Title: Tap Grade 4
Student Age: Ages 10 to 11
More challenging step combinations begin in grade 4, rather than mostly working on individual steps. Additional steps learned this year are riffs, (2,3 and ball change) Double front essence, inside and outside paddle turns, travelling time step and Cincinnati. We also introduce tap turns in Grade 4.
Class Title: Tap Grade 5
Student Age: Ages 12 to 14
Grade 5 is fun because students begin to learn some of the “tricks” of the trade! Advanced skills such as pendulum riffs, pickups, pullbacks, wings, 6 and 7 tap riff walks, drawbacks and more difficult turn sequences are learned in Grade 5. This grade level is a requirement for any more advanced tap classes.
Class Title: Tap Advanced (Grades 6, 7)
Student Age: Ages 13+
This advanced level is only available to the most experienced tap dancers. Students must be able to perform all skills from grades 1 to 5 at a fast pace and with clean sounds. New skills that become the focus are scuffles, riffles, nerve tap, riff cabrioles, various wing steps, off-beat travelling time steps and 11,12 and 13 tap riff walks. The challenging combination of steps in this grade level will really challenge the dancer’s brain and coordination.
Class Title: Tap Adult
Student Age: Ages 19+
In an inviting setting, with a fun experienced instructor, we start at a slow pace at the beginning of the year by learning all elements in grade 3. As the early skills get mastered throughout the year and we jump to grade 4,5,6 still levels, teaching the most important and fun steps from those grades. We combine all the steps together into a fun dance routine at the end of each class so that memorization and skill combination is also learned.