An entry · Work · Life
Tap Dancer
A dancer who is also the drummer, writing rhythm on the floor with two feet.
From curious to committed
Your first steps.
A first visit can be enough. It can also be the beginning.
Meet the craft
A beginner class will lend or point you to shoes and have you making real sounds within the first hour.
Explore experiences →Give it another afternoon
Notice what you want to come back to. Ask the teacher what regular practice would look like, and what support you would need.
Keep a note for next time →See the working day
Tappers usually start in studio classes, drilling time steps and technique from beginner grades upward.
Explore ways into the work →These are starting points. A workshop is not a professional qualification. Entry requirements and recognised training depend on the work and the country.
Before you walk in
A few things worth asking the host before you book.
- Is this session suitable for someone who has never tried it?
- What should I bring, wear or prepare?
- What is included, and are there any extra costs?
- Can you accommodate my access needs?
- What could I try next if I enjoy it?
Teach this craft? Share what beginners ask you →
Showing Chicago, and 4 elsewhere are hidden
Show every city →Work it
Do the work.
Jobs, apprenticeships, and training that put a person in the room.
Places to begin
- Certification
American Tap Dance Foundation
Tap Teacher Training Certificate
United States
Experienced dancers can train in the Copasetic Canon and earn a respected certificate that prepares them to teach rhythm tap well.
- Certification
Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing
ISTD Tap Dance Examinations and Qualifications
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.
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 atlasWhy 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.
Kept nearby
