Tap dancing is an exciting style of dance in which shoes containing metal plates on the heels generates complicated music. In tap dancing, there is no age restriction.
You can become an amazing dancer with learning skills and practice. Can you learn to tap dance at home? Yes, you can, but don't start to wear shoes with metal plates as it disturbs your neighbors and damages your flooring. Start learning by taking online classes and devoting lots of time having fun.
It is always good to take tap dance lessons from a professional instructor. If in your area, no tap dance classes are available or you can’t afford the price, then it is possible to teach yourself to tap dance too.
Resources Required Teaching Yourself to Tap Dance at Home
You need three things.
Most of the tap-dancing tutorials available on the internet are free. If you can’t find free tutorials, then you might have to pay a little amount to get one-on-one coaching.
Whether you want to practice or learn tap dance at home or studio, you need to buy both these items. It is good to buy shoes that are specifically designed for tap dancing.
If you want to teach yourself tap dance at home, then buy a portable dance surface. Otherwise, you may end up damaging your floor. A portable dance floor can prevent your feet and legs from injuries. There are different dancing surfaces available. So, buy the best portable dance floor from the market.
Steps to be followed to learn tap dance at home
You can learn tap dance at home in three steps.
Part 1: How to Get Start
Make sure that you are buying such clothes that wouldn’t restrict your movements. After clothes, buy tap dancing shoes. You can buy clothes and shoes online or from any dance supply store. Make sure that shoes are well-fitted, and metal plates are attached to the heel. If you don’t want to invest in tap dancing shoes, you can use your flat-soled shoes as well. Whatever shoes you choose, make sure that it doesn’t have ridges on the bottom. Metal plates attached to the heel are known as taps, and the taps on most expensive shoes generate different tones.
The best way to do is to do some online search and find a dance studio near you. If you want to know about competitions, then find a studio in which competitions are performed. You can call the dance studio and ask them questions that you have in mind. For example:
- The trainer has required dance education or not?
- The teacher itself performs in a competition or not?
- Some teachers teach other dance styles as well, so no need to worry about it. Dance studios prefer such teachers so that they don’t have to hire multiple teachers.
Get answers to your questions, and if you are satisfied, join the class; otherwise, you can learn tap dance at home.
If you can’t afford a dance class, then you can take an online class. But the fact is you learn quickly when you interact with an instructor one-on-one. If you are living in a joined apartment, then try to practice tap dance in the day, so that you don’t disturb your neighbors with the tapping noise. You can find free tap dance lessons on YouTube. If you want to get paid courses, you will have to pay a little amount, and you can buy tap dance lessons from various websites. Another option is to pay an instructor to teach you tap dance using a webcam.
Part 2: Learning the Basic Steps
- You can learn tap in rhythm with the music.
- Perform a “Ball Heel”
- Complete a “Ball Change”
- Do a “Shuffle”
- Learn a “Heel-step”
To be a perfect tap dancer, you must have to learn these basic dance steps.
Part 3: Improving Your Technique
You can learn advance moves in two ways, whether to learn from your instructor or invent your own at home. Some advanced moves are a combination of simpler and shorter moves. If you are interested in learning advance moves, break them into smaller basic steps. Once, you are able to learn basic moves, you can easily learn advance moves. Just take a blank paper and write down the sequence of basic steps on it. This tip can help you in how to perform a dance move. During these smaller and basic steps, try to practice transitioning. If you can easily practice transitioning, then all the basic steps come together and form a complicated dance move that you want to learn.
While learning a difficult or advance move, dance slowly. Try to focus on mastering each step one-by-one. When you feel you are comfortable with the dance moves, then speed up gradually. When you have developed a solid understanding of dance moves, you can learn and practice it quickly. Dance slowly is the best way to learn basic steps. Once you have a strong foundation, you can easily learn more difficult dance moves.
If you want to improve your tap dancing, then frequently watch famous tap dancer’s performances. It will allow you to learn more styles, and you can practice their dance moves. Attend those events where you can watch your favorite tap dancer’s performance. Watch the videos of famous tap dancers on YouTube or watch their movies. Explore Google to find out the best and famous tap dancers in the world.
If you want to master any art, the first thing to do is practice it as much as you can. If you have joined physical dance class, then they will surely offer practice times. You can practice tap dance independently. Some studios don’t offer practice time, and then you will have to do practice at your homes. If you are living in an apartment complex, make sure that you are practicing tap dancing during the day. Otherwise, the noise of tapping will keep your neighbors awake at night.