Tag: tap dance

Do you know how to teach this classic tap rhythm? Watch American Tap Dance Foundation’s Susan Hebach teach a swing eighth note.

Susan Hebach and Margaret Morrison believe it’s important to get your beginning tappers moving through space with their flaps. An easy way to do this is with a traveling flap-heel. Remember to lift the knee and bring the leg with you as you travel forward. The next phase? Take away the heel and replace it […]

The double time-step is a foundational tap step that Denise Caston says often pops up in Broadway auditions. In fact, auditionees are frequently asked to demonstrate the time-step one by one. “Choreographers want to know: Can you learn it quickly? Can you keep time? Can you stylize it while doing both of those things? And […]

Broadway choreographer Danny Daniels passed away on July 7 in Santa Monica, California, at age 92. Daniels was known for his choreography in musicals, such as Walking Happy, Annie Get Your Gun and The Tap Dance Kid, for which he won the 1984 Tony Award for best choreography. Daniels was born Daniel Giagni Jr. in […]

Tomorrow night, L.A.’s fiercest lady hoofers are lighting up the stage at the Ford Amphitheater in Hollywood. Chloé’s Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies present Syncopated Ladies: Live Concert—a one-night-only tap-dance extravaganza. Want more Syncopated Ladies? The ensemble’s Los Angeles Boot Camp begins tomorrow at Universal Dance Design in L.A. and goes through Sunday, July 30. Participants will […]

Tomorrow night at 7 pm, the American Tap Dance Foundation will host a special performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room in honor of legendary jazz pianist and composer Duke Ellington. The program, aptly titled “Tap Ellington,” will feature the Duke Ellington Center’s Big Band and tap stars like Tony Waag, Brenda Bufalino, Sam […]

This summer at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, tap program director Michelle Dorrance curated a mixed repertory program that showcased the best of the best in tap innovation. Four extremely diverse acts graced the stage of the Ted Shawn Theatre for a one-of-a-kind tap extravaganza. Here are three of our favorite tap trends that we hope […]

Since 1989, tap dancers have been celebrating National Tap Dance Day (NTDD) on and around May 25, the birthday of tap dance legend Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. This year, prime events are happening in Philadelphia, New York and Chicago. Check out these celebrations still happening and watch the video below for some inspiration. Rockaway Beach, NY, […]

This month, Steps on Broadway tap teacher Claudia Rahardjanoto teaches a crossover step—a traditional rhythm tap step first performed by the great Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. The step is usually done three times with a break at the end, and is a great way to practice weigh shifts. Here, some of tap history’s greatest hoofers perform […]

As soon as she hears a song, Chloé Arnold knows if she wants to tap to it. “I’m a very feeling person. I like to feel the rhythm in my soul and feel like I have no choice but to dance,” she says. “Tap is music, so it’s a dual experience of creating. I hear […]