Merion Tap Lessons (Not In Use)

Tap Program

Beginning Tap – An introduction to the basic techniques of tap dancing for ages 6-10.

Intermediate Tap – A program for more advanced tap students.

Tap is a form of dance characterized by a tapping sound that is created from metal plates that are attached to both the ball and heel of the dancer’s shoe. Unlike other styles of dance, tap is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Some styles of tap dance include the rhythm, or jazz style, and the Broadway style. The Broadway style is often included as part of musical theater pieces and focuses more on upper body movements, jazz dance techniques and performance qualities. The rhythm style focuses more on the musicality of the feet and legs. This is a heavier hitting style and the sounds are made not just with the bottom of the shoe, but with the sides, back and tip. Tap dancing has its roots in Irish step-dancing, English Lancashire Clog dancing, and Juba Dance. It is believed to have its beginning in the minstrel shows of the 1800’s and then moved to the popular vaudeville stage. The current form of jazz dance is said to have evolved from the early forms of tap dance, and after the 1950s, both styles continued to evolve separately. Early tap dance pioneers such as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly added techniques from ballroom dancing and ballet to their tap routines. This is what led to the Broadway style, which is usually the style of tap taught to beginners.

Tap dancers make frequent use of syncopation and choreography typically starts on the first or eighth beat count. Another aspect of tap dancing is improvisation. This can either be done with music and follow the beats provided, or it can be done without musical accompaniment (otherwise known as a cappella dancing). Main Line School of Dance offers a beginner tap program for ages 6-10, an intermediate tap program, and a ballet/tap combination class for students also interested in studying ballet. A tap class at either our Ardmore or Springfield dance locations may include a warm up, steps across the floor, improvisation techniques and a routine. Both the rhythm and Broadway style will be taught. A few of the movements students may learn in the tap dance program in the Main Line dance studio include shuffle, shuffle ball change, flap, flap heel, spank back, cramp roll, buffalo, single and double pullbacks, heel clicks and chugs.

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Often referred to as “Merion Station,” Merion, Pennsylvania is a suburb of Philadelphia. Welsh settlers built the Merion Meeting House in 1695. The area is world renowned for the Barnes Foundation, an important collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, which was collected by Albert C. Barnes. The Pennsylvania Railroad was built through Merion in the late 1800s. SEPTA stops at Merion Station, located in the heart of Merion.