Tap dance technique
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Tap dance technique makes frequent use of syncopation. Tap dance choreographies typically start on the eighth beat, or between the eighth and the first count.
Another aspect of tap dancing is improvisation. This can either be done with music and follow the beats provided or without musical accompaniment, otherwise known as a capella dancing.
Hoofers are tap dancers who dance only with their legs, making a louder, more grounded sound. This kind of tap dancing is also called "rhythm tap". The majority of hoofers, such as Sammy Davis Jr., Savion Glover, and Gregory Hines, are black dancers.
Dancers like Fred Astaire provided a more ballroom look to tap dancing, while Gene Kelly used his extensive ballet training to make tap dancing incorporate all the parts of the ballet.
[edit] Steps
A simple step is the ball tap, which involves striking the ball of the foot on the floor and releasing it immediately, using an ankle movement. The same can be done with the heel (a heel tap), which involves striking the heel of the foot on the floor and releasing it immediately.
A ball dig involves "digging" the ball of the foot into the floor (with or without a change of weight), and can also be done with the heel (heel dig).
Another step is the heel drop, which starts by standing on the balls of one or both feet and then "dropping" the heel on the floor, with or without a change of weight; it can also be done with the ball (ball drop).
Ball digs and heel drops can be combined to make a cramp roll which produces a rolling sound like a horse gallop or a drum roll. It is performed by doing two ball digs (right then left), similar to two steps on the balls of the feet; it is followed by two heel drops (right then left), releasing the right heel immediately upon completion. In other words, it is performed as "ball (R) ball (L) heel (R) heel (L)" and is counted as "1 and a 2." It may be preceded by a brush (counted as "& 1 & a 2" and known as a flap cramp roll) or done double time, known as a "bite cramproll" and counted as "a & a 1."
Another step in tap dancing is the brush. Standing on one leg (i.e. the left), the other foot is "brushed out" by striking the ball of the foot (i.e. the right) on the floor in a sweeping motion forward or backward.
The brush may be turned into a shuffle by combining two brushes, one forward and one backward and is counted as "& 1." Making the step faster must be done by making smaller movements that are closer to the body. There are actually many different ways to perform a shuffle. Broadway-style shuffles use knee movement to swing the foot into a shuffle. Hoofers perform shuffles in 2 different ways. The more common shuffle comes from movement in the upper leg and hip. The first sound of the shuffle is almost like a drop, while the second sound is the foot being pulled up. The other type of Hoofer shuffle is from the ankle. This is used in more impressive, fast tap dancing. The difference in the sounds of the brush and the pull back is almost none; this shuffle is more of a "double tap".
Another simple tap step is the flap. The flap involves a brush forward and a step (which is striking the ball of the foot on the floor with a change of weight; similar to a walking step, only done on the ball of the foot--the heel does not touch the floor). The flap is counted as "& 1." It is similar to the shuffle, but instead of brushing the ball back after the brush forward, the dancer steps (i.e. brush step instead of brush brush, as in a shuffle). Both the shuffle and the flap make two sounds.
All tap dancing steps are a combination of simple movements that build upon each other. Most movements, simple and complex, include "taps," "brushes," "drops," "brushes" (including shuffles and flaps), and "steps." For example, "shuffle ball change" is a shuffle followed by a ball change. A ball change is a combination of two "steps" (right then left), with an accent done on the second step (and must be done on the balls of the feet, as steps are only done on the balls). Tap dancing steps may be learned and mastered by children and adults alike and are a good way to express/learn rhythm, dance, and percussion.
