This week I took time to invest in the basics of tap. I went to my dance studio Wednesday after school and Saturday morning to take time to learn some tap steps. I made sure to save time out of my schedule and plan exactly what I wanted to learn. I developed a week plan:
Plan:
Monday: Learn shuffle and flap and master these on both sides (left and right)
Tuesday: Watch the videos to familiarize myself with the concepts of the moves I want to learn
Wednesday: Meet with a dance peer after school to learn the steps I watched from the videos
Thursday-Friday: Practice these steps
Saturday: Get feedback from dance peers on how to improve, and get tips
I started with the real basics: shuffle and flap. Shuffle is a simple move that is just a brush of the toe front then back. A flap is a brush that stays out and doesn’t come back to meet the other foot. I felt learning the basics of tap was very important even though I already knew the idea of them. To master anything, you have to start from the beginning. If you don’t you may get ahead of yourself which can end up hurting your progress later.
Once I mastered these, I could move on to the more difficult steps: front irish, buffalo, and shirley temple. To fulfill my goal, I knew I needed more than a simple shuffle. I needed some body to my essay. This way I could reach my ultimate goal of making a purpose to my movement and conveying a message to my audience.
To continue the experience. I moved to toe stands and turns. This took more effort and more time to learn as a whole. I spent the most time mastering this because it was more difficult and turns are something I enjoy doing when it comes to dance. Turning is a breeze of free spirit and new air- or so it seems. Turning in tap shoes is much different than in half-shoes or ballet shoes. It is more slippery so you can turn more and turn faster. This is not only more freeing and fun but needs more control so it becomes a very difficult step in tap.
This is the process I made this week:
Tap Dance Dictionary:
Brush: swing foot forward (front or diagonally side) hitting only the ball tap
Spank: swing the foot back (coming from the front or diagonally side) hitting only the ball tap
Shuffle: brush spank
Flap: brush step
Front Irish: shuffle hop step
Buffalo: (cross foot in front) step shuffle step
Shirley Temple: flap heel heel spank heel toe heel
Toe Stand: "jump" up to the tip of your toes and balance on them
Next week, I plan on learning more intricate steps. I want to move on from the basics because I feel like I have learned them quickly and I can fasten my learning pace. To do this I am going to stick with the same plan I did before but this time on that Tuesday I am going to try to learn them from the video tutorials before I get help on Wednesday.
These links helped me learn steps at home. I was able to get a piece of wood from my father so I could practice even when there is carpet in a room. Learning these steps was rather easy for me, but you may find getting the rhythm a bit of a challenge. I advise to try the basics on your own until you get the hang of them and if needed, get help from a teacher or friend.
How To:
Terminology:
Comments:
Toni(red)
Christy(red)
Lizzy(red)
I love the plan you made in the beginning. It definitely helps me get a clear idea as to the breakdown of that week. I also liked the video that you added in; even though you haven't been learning for long, you're really good! I am, however, interested as in the origins of tap dance and how tap dance came to be. It isn't something required (at least I don't think) but I feel that it would be beneficial to yourself and your audience if research was done down to the core when it comes to something like dance. Either way, nice progress and I'm excited to see more!
ReplyDeleteHi Kat,
ReplyDeleteThis looks pretty awesome and I like how you included a link to the terminology because I got a little confused. Also, maybe you should talk more about tap dance as a whole and not just your progress, that way people get a sense of what tap dance really is. For example, maybe you could include some famous tap dancers or how to prepare before actually tap dancing. Overall, nice job and good luck with your project.
I was planning on researching the history right before I choreograph my tap dance so I can understand the means of tap as a whole. Expect to see history of tap soon!
ReplyDeleteThe plan you made was great, and I like how you gave the links for other people to look at if they wanted to try tap dancing. Since you already dance, getting to a teacher is easier. I loved the video and I can't wait to see your progress!
ReplyDelete