This energetic and engaging class is designed for older beginners who are new to tap or looking to solidify foundational skills. With an emphasis on clarity of sound, musical timing, and rhythmic awareness, students will explore the joy of tap dance through structured exercises, traveling steps, improvisation, and choreography.

Throughout the year, students will build a tap vocabulary that includes steps like shuffles, flaps, cramp rolls, and time steps, while also learning how to count music, identify rhythmic patterns, and create their own phrases. As they grow in coordination and confidence, students will begin combining steps into short routines that encourage both technical precision and creative expression.

The course is structured in three progressive units:
Unit 1: Tap Technique & Musical Fundamentals
Unit 2: Rhythm, Style & Improvisation
Unit 3: Performance Presence & Musical Application

Students will have two special opportunities to share their progress with family during our informal “Family Night: Inside the Studio” events, held at the end of each semester (December and May). These evenings are designed to let families step into the studio and see firsthand what their student has been learning and experiencing each week, and to provide a celebratory atmosphere for students to showcase their growth and skills.

Class Objectives:

1. Execute foundational tap steps with clear sounds and accurate technique
2. Count music and match rhythms using clapping, stepping, and tapping
3. Explore musical phrasing and syncopation through rhythm-based drills and improvisation
4. Increase coordination, balance, and timing through age-appropriate combinations and traveling patterns
5. Understand and apply tap terminology while learning to build and memorize short tap phrases
6. Perform confidently as part of a group while developing individual style and expression
7. Rehearse and present a choreographed tap combination that demonstrates progress and ensemble awareness

Instructional Tone: Encouraging, rhythmic, and musical—structured to help tweens and teens build a strong foundation while discovering the artistry of tap
Activities: Tap drills, traveling steps, rhythm puzzles, call and response, guided improvisation, structured choreography
Skills Focus: Tap vocabulary, musical phrasing, rhythmic accuracy, improvisation basics, choreography retention, ensemble work
Performance Readiness: Prepared to present a full-class combination during informal “"Inside The Studio"” events, with an emphasis on rhythm, clarity, and musical expression

Aligned National Core Arts Standards (Dance):
Creating:
DA:Cr1.1 — Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work (improvisation, rhythm exploration)
DA:Cr2.1 — Organize and develop artistic ideas and work (building and memorizing tap phrases)
Performing:
DA:Pr5.1 — Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation (tap technique, clear sounds, rhythmic accuracy)
DA:Pr6.1 — Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work (musical phrasing, expression)
Responding:
DA:Re7.1 — Perceive and analyze artistic work (ensemble awareness, coordination)
DA:Re8.1 — Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work (musicality, syncopation)
Connecting:
DA:Cn10.1 — Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art (tap terminology, musical phrasing)