| It is really not hard to begin and it can be fun | | | | very aware of where he/she needs his/her body |
| immediately! | | | | weight to go to in order to help create the step! |
| Tap dancing at its core is about the rhythms you | | | | Children who skip, jump rope, or play the game of |
| create and how you create them. The rhythms can be | | | | hopscotch learn this at a basic level very quickly. |
| as simple or as complicated as you choose. A nursery | | | | Although the majority of the action in tap dancing rests |
| rhyme can be a great rhythm to start with. It is the | | | | at the feet, the truth is the entire body needs to be |
| same for drummers. Where the beginning tap dancer | | | | involved. With this in mind I suggest a game. Think of a |
| often gets confused and frustrated is when they can | | | | rhythm. You can listen to your favorite song to help |
| "hear" the rhythms in their head but have trouble | | | | you find one if you like. Or you can simply use the |
| tapping out those rhythms in a coordinated way with | | | | happy birthday song. Now that you have your rhythm |
| their feet. | | | | in your head, see how many different ways you can |
| This is where it is important to recognize the other | | | | think of to tap out that rhythm with your feet. Do not |
| component in tap dancing, weight shifting. As toddlers | | | | worry about "looking good". This is just an exercise in |
| we learn very quickly how to walk and then to run. But | | | | different ways to shift your weight. |
| once we master those abilities and are able to get to | | | | When the music moves you, move to the music. |
| where we want to go, we typically stop "teaching" our | | | | Pretend the floor is a big drum and your feet are the |
| feet. Think about it. When we walk we are usually | | | | drumsticks! The possibilities are endless and so is the |
| going in a forward direction while stepping right, left, | | | | fun. Once you get the sense of what tap dancing |
| right, left, etc. But in tap dancing we may move | | | | feels like, you are ready to learn specific steps that will |
| forward, backward, sideways, up and down, or not in | | | | lead to combination's. Pretty soon you are doing |
| any direction at all! We often make several sounds | | | | routines and having the time of your life. So do not be |
| while standing on one foot before shifting to the other | | | | afraid to pick up some tap shoes and join in! |
| foot. In other words, the tap dancer must become | | | | |
