Tap Shoes

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Black Shoes with metal plates on the toe and heel

Tap dance (like the castanets) is simultaneously a dance art form and a percussive musical instrument. Dancers wear shoes with metal plates attached to the heel and toe of each foot, so that various step combinations can be used to create rhythmic patterns.

How to Obtain

Tap shoes can be found online or at your local dance wear store. Prices range from $30-$60. If possible, try to find tap shoes with a flexible mid-section, so you can easily point and flex your foot. If you want to try playing before investing in a pair of nice tap shoes, you can turn an old pair of shoes into tap shoes by attaching pennies to the heels and toes. Alternatively, you can practice learning some basic tap dance steps with socks and a wood floor (even though the sounds will not occur).

How to Learn

The key to performing an amazing tap dance as a beginner is to use very simple combinations of the most basic moves (shuffle, slap, heel, toe, etc). As long as the execution is clean and rhythmically precise, it does not have to be complicated or fast to look and sound very impressive!

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