Tips for New Tappers

Written By Rocky Mountain Rhythm

What to Know Before Your First Tap Class

Tap dance has many steps, but we would argue that the hardest step is the first one: showing up to try it out!

If you’re reading this and you’re thinking about taking your first tap class or picking it back up after a long break (like...multiple decades long), congratulations! We are already so excited for you to start dancing.

But we know it might sound intimidating. How does one go about learning how to tap dance? Here’s some of our favorite advice for getting started.



You’re only a beginner once. Embrace the process!

It’s hard learning something new in public. You’re putting yourself out there! But you only get to be a beginner once, so enjoy this moment. It’s only up from here, and you’re in that magical first stage of learning a lot at once. You’re not an expert yet, and that’s a fun place to be.

“Don't expect to be perfect!” said Michelle Farrell, a founding RMR company member. “Try hard not to compare yourself to the other people in class. You might be the weakest, but that means you can grow the most. Trying new things is really brave.”

Remember: Everyone is on their own tap journey, focusing on improving different things. Whether you’ve been tapping for ten years or ten minutes, everyone’s got something to work on.



RELAX.

Speaking of things everyone is working on: Relax! 

Yes, WAY easier said than done. But here is a big secret of tap: Most of the movement comes from your legs, not your feet. Your feet need to chill.

When you’re doing tap steps, your instinct will be to stiffen up your feet because you’re working hard to hammer out that shuffle. But this actually makes it harder to do the step. It’s counterintuitive, but you need your ankles to be loose.

So practice a few shuffles with relaxed feet. If you feel like you’re shaking out your leg, you’re on the right track!



Stay grounded (literally) as you work on new steps.

You’ll start out by learning foundational steps like shuffles, paradiddles, and cramp rolls. But things get a little crazy when you start putting things together, going faster, and trying more complicated moves like pullbacks.

The key is to get lower to the ground. As company member Kaitlyn Sanchez advises, “If you’re not getting all of your sounds, bend your knees more. If you need to make a step faster, make it smaller!”

You’ll also need to stay balanced as you progress to trickier steps. RMR company member and dancer representative board member Gabbie Lindsly recommends practicing with a barre for support. 

“If you’re working through a tougher step that involves jumping or balance (e.g., wings, pullbacks, etc), try using the ballet bar to support some of your weight and to give your brain an idea of what the step will sound like. If you’re at home, try using a countertop or sturdy table.”



Let’s talk tap shoes: It’s more fun when you have them.

Luckily tap isn’t like skiing, which requires a million different pieces of equipment. All you need for tap dancing is a pair of tap shoes! Tap shoes have metal taps attached to the soles to make the sounds. 

But where to buy tap shoes? If you visit a dance store, you’ll get help picking the right pair and size. Here are a few local stores where we recommend buying a pair:

You can also find basic tap shoes online if that makes it easier to get started. For more affordable entry-level options, we suggest Freedom Dance, a retailer that sells through AliExpress. Discount Dance Supply is another online option.

Not quite ready to buy tap shoes yet? You can try a class in barre socks that are friendly to the studio floor (many dance studios don’t allow street shoes) and grippy enough to dance in. But the class will be much more fun if you can make sounds! This brings us to our last piece of advice...


The whole point is to have fun and make some noise!

“Don’t be shy or timid! You’re literally there to make some noise!” said Bailey Dunning, RMR company member. “You won’t be perfect the first time trying anything, so be loud enough to hear what you’re doing and where you can make improvements.”

Tap class is not the time to be quiet! Imagine going to a piano lesson and not hitting the keys. You are there to take up space and make sounds, so tap away and don’t worry about whether you’re hitting everything exactly right. A joyful dancer is more fun to watch than a precise dancer. “Be as loud as you can, and fake it ‘til you make it,” said Joseph Cassidy, RMR company member. 

Above all, listen to founding RMR company member and rehearsal director Elijah Meader:  “Just go in with the mindset of having fun!”

If it were easy to show up for tap class for the first time, everyone would be tap dancing. It takes a special person to see tap dancing, think, “That would be fun! I wish I could do that!” and then actually DO something about it and show up. That’s the hardest step, and we can’t wait for you to take it.

If you’re ready to tap, check out our community classes! Many dancers in our community classes are just starting their tap journey. Join in the fun. We would be honored to have you!

Rocky Mountain Rhythm