| It seems like most American girls, at some point in | | | | The term tap dancing was first used in the1920s. Tap |
| their early years, take ballet/tap/jazz classes. Most | | | | dancers are slangily referred to as "tappers" or |
| parents are familiar ballet dancing, but what exactly is | | | | "hoofers" because of the resemblance to horse |
| tap? | | | | shoes clomping on the ground. The basic steps of |
| Tap dancing is a form of percussive dancing; the | | | | tap are quite simple to learn. |
| sounds are made by metal plates attached to the ball | | | | In standard youth classes, which generally last one |
| and heel of the dancer's shoes. Dancers move to the | | | | hour, the basic steps are the brush, flap, shuffle, and |
| beat of the song; their feet become another layer of | | | | ball change. In intermediate classes dancers are |
| instrumentation when tapping is done properly. | | | | introduced to the tapshuffle, shuffle ball change, flap |
| Though tap is its own unique form of dance, the | | | | and flap heel, cramproll, Maxi Ford, single and double |
| upper body and arm movements can look similar to | | | | pullbacks, and the buffalo. |
| those used in ballet, which is why the two go so well | | | | Students learn each step separately. Once the steps |
| together for younger learners. Very strong tappers | | | | are mastered they move on to create series and |
| dance without the aid of music. This a cappella style | | | | combinations. |
| fills the room with the sounds of complex dance | | | | Outside of childhood dance classes, tap dance is |
| choreography. Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis, Jr., and | | | | widely used on Broadway and in other theatre |
| Gene Kelly are some of the best known tappers. | | | | productions. |