TOP TEN MISTAKES IN TAP DANCE
Mar 12, 2010 TAP DANCE - Tips & Advice
TOP MISTAKES IN TAP DANCING – HOW TO AVOID MISTAKES
It’s time to review those common errors that keep us tap dancers from performing at our highest level. Check off the listings of mistakes you have corrected.
o Dropping heels when they shouldn’t be dropped is a nasty habit that shows up all of the time in tap dancing. It can lead to unwanted sounds & improper weight transitions.
o Also, an unnecessary “Stamp” can ruin the music in a tap step by changing its intonation.
o There is as much difference between a Step and a Stamp as there is between a Shuffle and a Flap. Don’t treat the two as interchangeable, as it only robs each of its unique flavor and your dancing of some of its range.
o Most of the problems that we have learning new tap dance steps are due to placement of weight. If your weight is on your right foot and you need to lift it, chances are you’re not lifting it.
o Also, dancers sometimes have a tendency to lean back too much when tap dancing. This causes you to lose your center of gravity and increases the likelihood of falling down.
o Incline your weight forward when tap dancing. Primarily you should be balancing on the balls of your feet, with your heels up and available. And when learning a step, pay just as much attention to where your weight is, as you do to the order of the steps.
I mean who can resist the temptation to blind others with blazing speed and a wall of sound. The problem is, as soon as speed enters the room, cleanliness often heads for the exit.
To be frank, speed without clarity is just mess! You may feel like speed hides your mistakes but, in reality, it only pushes them closer together.
o First – SLOW DOWN! Getting faster with a tap combination is usually a process. Plus, remember that speed is not everything. A clean combination speaks. A combination that is not is hard to understand.
Often, we tend to overuse our ankles when trying to execute steps more quickly. Nerves can add to this effect leaving us unable to execute anything on stage.
o We tap dance using our legs, starting from the hip. The more you limit your movement to the ankle, the more shut out the very muscles that make tap dancing easier.
o One secret to speed (and cleanliness) is relaxing the ankles. For the fastest tap dancers, the ankles are almost completely removed from the equation. Practice allowing your legs to do the work, and imagine the feet just
o Tap dancers experience the rhythm of the music and the dance in a very special way. When performing before an audience, it can become very tempting to turn inward and focus on the “experience” of tap dancing. This approach is not always appropriate and can lead one to forget to engage the audience.
o Obviously, the solution is to engage the audience. This can be accomplished with eye contact or a smile. You can also find other ways to interact with them and respond to their reactions. A lot can be accomplished by just remaining conscious of the audience and directing your attention and energy toward them.
Becoming a better dancer is not just about adding speed or tricks to the repertoire. It’s also about reducing the number of basic mistakes you make. Problems that start out small can become major stumbling blocks as you continue to grow as a tap dancer.
TAP DANCE - Improving Pick Up Tips
Mar 12, 2010 TAP DANCE - Tips & Advice
TAP DANCE PICK UP TIPS
For most of us, a Pickup (also known as pull backs) is a light, hopping step that has two sounds, done on the ball of the foot. For standard pickups, both feet take off with a brush back. Then you land on the balls of your feet at the same time. With practice, a pickup can also be done standing on one foot.
There are variations of the step of course, just like any step in tap dance. Four count (I’ve also heard them called delayed pickups) happen when one foot makes a brush, followed by the other. You then land on the first foot, and the other quickly lands after it.
However, you’ll discover the above technique has two major flaws.
The first problem? That brush back adds a “scrapey” sound. If you’ve been tap dancing for a while, you know the difference between a clear brush and a scrape. Listen to your shuffles; your taps should resonate with a crisp sound.
QUESTION: Make absolutely sure you know the difference between scraping and tapping. Do you know the difference?
The second problem?
Psychologically speaking, once you brush back, your body wants to put the foot down BEHIND you, instead of landing on your start position. This makes you travel backward (ever learned pickups traveling across the floor?) and makes it much more difficult to stay on the spot.
So how to avoid traveling, and make cleaner pickups? Follow these three steps:
* FIRST: Take lift off. JUMP. Don’t even think about the brush back. Spring off the balls of your feet, and only jump straight up in the air.
* SECOND: Once you’re in mid air, quickly tap on the way DOWN. You need to time that split second before gravity pulls you back down. Tap in the space before you land.
* LASTLY: Land on balls of your feet, making sure to bend your knees. NO HEELS! Always keep your weight on your toes.
This most likely involves reprogramming the physics that you’ve learned from previous teachers. Because tapping on the way DOWN requires a bit more stomach, thigh and shin muscle strength, as well as perfect timing. But it can be done.
Try this today, and make it a habit from now on.
The best way to perfect this is to sit in a chair, lift your feet off the floor by pushing off the balls of your feet, then tap, then land. Repeat. Once you get it, you’ll immediately hear and feel the difference in your technique.
HOMEWORK: Try the tip and exercise stated on this article. Have you noticed any difference in your tapping and pick up?
