An entry · Work · Life
Tap Dancer
A dancer who is also the drummer, writing rhythm on the floor with two feet.
Why the human is the point
A tap dancer is a musician who plays the floor. The metal plates on the toe and heel turn every step into a note, so the body becomes both the melody and the beat at once. It looks loose and easy, a grin and a shuffle, but under it is years of practice getting each sound clean and each rhythm exactly on time. In a jam, tappers and a band trade phrases back and forth, feet answering horns, everyone listening hard and pushing each other on. The joy of it is that you hear the dancing as much as you see it, made right there on the boards by a person having the time of their life. Heel, toe, brush, and the whole room grinning along.
Work it
Do the work.
Jobs, apprenticeships, and training that put a person in the room.
On now
- Certification
Tap Teacher Training Certificate
American Tap Dance Foundation · United States
Experienced dancers can train in the Copasetic Canon and earn a respected certificate that prepares them to teach rhythm tap well.
- Certification
ISTD Tap Dance Examinations and Qualifications
Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing · United Kingdom
The UK's Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing sets the internationally recognised Tap syllabus, examinations, and teaching qualifications for tap dancers.
Ways in
- Course
Train in a dance studio
Tappers usually start in studio classes, drilling time steps and technique from beginner grades upward.
- Route in
Learn from the hoofers
Much of tap passes hand to hand at workshops, festivals, and jams, where older dancers share steps and styles directly.
- Company
Shows, companies, and teaching
Working tap dancers perform in musicals and tap companies, busk and gig, and teach the classes coming up behind them.
Ways in, gathered by hand.
Add yours to the atlasLive it
Live the hour.
Experiences, classes, and places where the presence is the whole point.
On now
- Class
Tap Classes for All Ages
American Tap Dance Foundation · New York City
Drop into year round tap classes for every age and level and learn America's own rhythm art in a warm supportive studio.
- Class
Drop-In Tap Classes
Broadway Dance Center · New York, New York · Daily drop-in classes
Show up any day and join a tap class among working dancers in the heart of the theater district, with no membership needed.
- Workshop
Rhythm World Tap Festival
Chicago Human Rhythm Project · Chicago, Illinois · Annual, summer
Spend a week studying with living masters of American tap at the oldest and largest festival of its kind.
Ways in
- Class
Put on tap shoes
A beginner class will lend or point you to shoes and have you making real sounds within the first hour.
- Gathering
Catch a tap jam
Look for a tap festival or a show where dancers trade rhythms with live musicians, and listen as much as you look.
Ways in, gathered by hand.
Add yours to the atlasKept nearby
