“We’re really trying to grow our tap program”

I’ve heard this phrase at all three of studios I have worked for. It’s easy to assume that low enrollment means the style is dying, but really, the way tap is being marketed and taught needs some revamping.

Marketing-wise, studios tend to send out images of their older students performing ballet, jazz, and contemporary while posting images of only little ones with their tap shoes on. With a lack of representation in older students, this message implies tap is a style only for preschoolers or very young children. For parents with children who are joining dance later on into childhood, they may opt to skip tap entirely because of the false belief that they are too late to join it, and for parents who have had their little ones tap for some time, they may drop their children from the classes once they are “too old.” This problem is easily fixed with a few pictures or videos of older dancers in tap. Seeing older students performing acts as an example of what can be done, especially if they are strong dancers. Seeing a good tap dancer can be encouraging for parents who are uncertain whether or not to enroll their children in tap. With better representation, enrollment may prosper.

Currently, tap classes are falling behind in ways that other classes are not. Ballet lessons aren’t taught the same way or with the same techniques from 1800s, jazz classes have moved on since the jazzercise of the 1980s, and you don’t really see 1990s Cabbage Patch in hip hop routines these days. For whatever reason, studios still try to reinforce the misleading image of tap being solely the Broadway style of the 1950s. Although Broadway tap has its place and should be taught, tap has continued to evolve outside of this style and mold to fit current interests. One style that has developed into the 21st century is rhythm tap. Rhythm, unlike the Broadway being pushed, allows for greater freedom of expression. Rhythm tappers are encouraged to explore the sounds they can make without the pressures of standardized timesteps and appearing uniform to the dancers around them. Without completely eliminating Broadway tap and instead highlighting rhythm tap, freestyle, and the independence these style offer, tap classes may adjust enough to increase enrollment.

Tap classes also run into a problem not seen in other styles when teachers cannot hear their own students individually to know if they are performing correctly or incorrectly. In a ballet lesson, an instructor may be able to see if a dancer’s arabesque lacks a point or elongation in comparison to other students, but when a tap instructor tries to spot problems in a room with 15 children, hearing a cataclysm of metal on the floor drowns out the ability to not only spot issues, but to hear them as well. Even if the class has that high of an enrollment, there will need to be pauses with students waiting to go one at a time in order to receive feedback, leading to a loss of learning time. Without these pauses, the lesson are impersonal and encourage poor form when instructors cannot hear the issues they need to correct. Instead, accepting smaller classes, around five to ten students, and increasing the number of classes offered gives students the attention they need in order to succeed. From there, they will be more inclined to continue with tap.

However, one of the biggest issues in my opinion is studios hiring non-passionate tap instructors. As tap isn’t as popular as ballet or jazz, finding a strong candidate can prove difficult, but when instructors are hired solely for having a basic knowledge of tap and not for their enthusiasm for the dance form, students can definitely catch on. Instructors who don’t love what they are doing won’t pass the love onto their students. Classes grow boring and meticulous. Sure, the students will know how to do their shuffles and timesteps, but being taught by someone who has little care for what they teach, especially with artforms, substitutes what should be an exciting lesson with something closer to the mathematics of dance. Without passion, classes are strictly technique-driven and quickly become tedious. If more studios put the effort into hiring tap instructors who are people in love with tap, and not general instructors who just so happen to know how to tap, their classes will fill out in a fantastic way. 

Ultimately, studio owners and instructors cannot control who joins, stays with, or quits a class, however, tap does not need to be stifled because of a refusal to accept change.

When it comes to defining the different forms of tap dancing, there are several mixed opinions floating around on what styles there are, how many, and what constitutes something as tap dancing versus a different form of dance entirely. Some argue there is only one form—tap itself. Those following this line of thinking believe the different styles do not earn unique titles as this categorizes tap dance in unnecessary ways. Others argue tap may be split into either Broadway or rhythm tap—the top hat and cane style versus everything else. There are even some who will say there are dozens of styles of tapping including: Broadway, jazz, soft shoe, rhythm, Irish, flamenco, and clogging. These arguments may all have points to be made, however, they also come with their fair share of flaws.

Suggesting the different forms of tap should be left unlabeled, or that they fall into one of only two categories, leads to misinformation about tap. Limiting the dance in this way implies it is not a diverse and intricate form, that tap and its genres are a black-and-white matter. This belief often leads to the phrase “Well, you know, tap is a dying dance after all,” and while some forms of tap may be less popular than they had been years ago, other styles of it are still very alive and well.

The issue with the latter argument, that there are dozens upon dozens of different styles of tap, causes the exact opposite problem—it over-includes and can even lead to cultural-appropriation. Those who fall into the fallacy of over-inclusion often say Irish, flamenco, and clogging are subsets of tap. They do not take into consideration that all three of these styles began far before tap dancing came into the scene and are all deeply rooted with cultural values. Suggesting they are different forms of tap seems like a slap in the face to their history and uniqueness from tap dancing. In fact, tap drew a lot of its influence from Irish and clog dancing, so one could even argue tap is just a form of Irish or clogging itself. (Although it is definitely not. It’s more so a melting pot of styles, but that conversation is for another time.)

A strong middle ground to stand on would be that tap includes: Broadway, jazz, soft shoe, and rhythm. These four styles are each distinctive from one another, do not claim the rights to another dance form’s name, and are just broad enough to be inclusive while not overindulging.

Broadway Tap

Broadway tends to be the go-to when one imagines a tap dancer. It involves costuming, such as top hats and canes, massive groups of performers, exaggerated motions, repetitive steps, and a story to tell. Famous examples of Broadway tapping include Step in Time from Mary Poppins, King of New York from Newsies, and more currently, Turn It Off from The Book of Mormon. This style is incredibly fun to watch, but with the misinformation floating around that is the only kind of tap, the loathsome “Tap is dying!” tends to creep its way into conversations. Although Broadway tap had been much more prevalent toward the 1950s, it still appears in shows today and pushes on. Other styles, however, are definitely alive and well.

Jazz Tap

Jazz tap and Broadway tap seem to blend into one another, but the differences come in the delivery. While Broadway includes costumes, massive groups, and storytelling, jazz tap avoids these obligations, takes the dramatic motions of Broadway, and adds to them with more inspiration from jazz dancing. Leaps can often be found in jazz tap and the style offers much more freedom of fluidity as the dancer may express themselves as individuals. Unlike Broadway, a jazz tapper is not required to appear identical and uniform to dancers around them, like what one may see on a play’s stage. Jazz tap tends to be one of the first styles learned for new tappers because of how flexible the form can be. The leaps and turns are a theme, not a necessity, and with the freedom to mold the style to one’s own needs, it makes sense that new dancers would flock to this form.

Soft Shoe

Ironically enough, the third style, does not require metal tap shoes at all. Soft shoe, like the name implies, utilizes everyday shoes with hard and smooth bottoms (sorry, Nike’s won’t cut it) in order to produce soft, scratchy, elongated noises. Back in its heyday, soft shoe tappers often placed sand on the ground they danced on to create a scraping sound with their feet. Traditional tapping with metal taps is marked by loud, sharp, crisp noises, and soft shoe brings a completely different mood to the table. Drawing out long slides of the foot, soft shoe is also slower-paced than other styles. So if it is slower, does not use metal taps, and creates a bluesier mood, how can soft shoe still be tap? Soft shoe was a creation in the United States and grew from tap styles which already existed. Famous tappers like Ray Bolger used soft shoe alongside their regular tap routines to broaden their scope of ability. Soft shoe never stole from another dance style and still utilizes many of the same steps seen in other tap dances, such as shuffles, flaps, ball changes, and cramp rolls. Although soft shoe’s place in tap has had its controversy, for the way it came into creation and has carried itself, soft shoe has always been a part of tap.

Rhythm Tap

The last style, rhythm tap, emphasizes percussive intricacy and placing the tapper’s sounds at the forefront of importance rather than the performative qualities of the dance. Rhythm tappers frequently dance acapella in order to showcase the sounds they can produce with their feet. As a style buttressed by the tapper’s sounds alone, rhythm tap tends to be one of the hardest styles to learn because dancers must be confident enough in their tapping to let it be heard standing alone. The music has no place to act as a crutch for a rhythm tapper. This style, a fairly newer style, shows that tap is still alive and well. Rhythm tap festivals, workshops, and classes are popping up around the United States and the rest of the world. The tappers at these gatherings would more than likely laugh if told tap is a dying art because it is not dying, tap is adapting. While Broadway and soft shoe may be left in the shadows, and jazz holds onto old roots, rhythm tap keeps tap going in a fresh direction.

Acknowledging the different types of tap dancing gives a better image of where its place in the dance world lies. Without appropriating styles which have come from other cultures, Broadway, jazz, soft shoe, and rhythm help place a steady footing for tap to rest on.

It would be nearly sacrilegious to run a tap blog without mentioning the beloved Shim Sham. Tapper Leonard Reed had at one time claimed to be the sole creator of the routine back in the 1920’s, but as dance preservationist Rusty Frank states, “At the time, Reed was part of a tap duo with Willie Bryant. Reed and Bryant created the Shim Sham with the Whitman Sisters, a song-and-dance troupe who directed their own shows.” In 1927, the Whitman Sisters asked the duo to form a finale routine easy enough for the sisters and their entire cast to learn. With the combined brainpower of Reed and Bryant, the Shim Sham was created. While Reed may not have been the lone proprietor of the dance, nearly a century later the routine still holds a solid footing in the tap community.

With steps for tappers of all ages and levels, the Shim Sham is a relatively easy dance to pick up, and following a 4/4 time signature, it can be run with nearly any steady-rhythmed song. The routine consists of four tap sequences connected by breaks. First comes the Shim Sham Shimmy, then the Crossover, the Tack Annie, and finally the Falling-Off-The-Log. What makes this dance especially unique, however, is that it is repeated twice and ends with a freestyle. The second time, the breaks are swapped for a pause and an optional wiggle for dramatic effect. By the end, dancers have the option to add their own style and flair to the dance, leading to a pandemonious outburst of percussive clicks.

Within almost every tap class, students learn the Shim Sham, and outside of the classroom, they are connected to the tap community as a whole. For tappers, the Shim Sham serves a great deal of historic and cultural value. Watch the video above for a rendition of the Shim Sham by yours truly!