TERMINOLOGY OF TAP DANCE

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Different forms and styles
Basics: 1 sound
Basics : 2 sounds
Basics : 3 sounds and more
Classics
Actions

DIFFERENT FORMS AND STYLES

CLOGG DANCE
Origin of tap dance. Irish populair dances danced with wooden
"clogg" shoes.
ENGLISH STYLE A very light and elegant dancing style, quite classical in its way.
SOFT SHOE English style but with out taps. (Often done with wooden taps).
AMERICAN STYLE Very jazzy, down into the floor, lot's of heel work, strongly syncopated.
SAND SHUFFLE
The dancer throws a bit of sand on the floor and dances on it . The working technique is quite different as it's based on hits and slides. Absolutely to see
(23" / 932 Ko) Fred Astaire "The sand shuffle man"
WATER SPLASH Idem as the sand-shuffle but on the water (1 cm).



01    0'13" / 503 ko
STP-SHFL-STP RFF HE SCFF HE BLL HE TOE

02    0'15" / 574 ko
PDDL+RLL CRRL SCFF HE BRSH TOE BRSH CHGG BLL-CH


  BASICS : 1 SOUND
CLAP Clap your hands.
TAP Tap with the ball with out weight transfer.
SNAP Fingersnap.
STEP Step with the ball, (or flat foot) changing weight .
STOMP Full flat foot with out changing weight.
STAMP Full flat foot step with weight change.
BRUSH Hitting the floor with the ball in a pushing motion.
BRUSH BACK
PULL BACK
SPANK
 Brush (spank) back with the ball (pull-bck is also a 4 beat back-jump).
SCUFF Forward brush with heel, end in the air.
CHUG Short slide fwd with a heel-drop
HOP Leaving ground and landing on the same foot. (temps levé).
TOE The pointe of your shoes.
LEAP / JUMP Leaving ground and landing on the other foot. (jeté).
HEEL Heel
PICK UP Brush to top, brush up (lifting the knee).
NERVE TAP / rolls Very fast  taps or  touches   on one foot
   
CRAMP STP-HE
WALK HE-BALL,   double walk HE-BALL HE-BALL
BALL CHANGE Change weight R+L ball-stamp (step-stamp), or stamp-stamp.
SHUFFLE Brush forward and back with ball.
SCUFFLE Like the shuffle but with the heel. ( heel-brush back).
PULL- BACK STP Brush-back step.
CHUGG Glissement avant sur le pied plat.
CLICK (Heel-click ou toe-click)
ROLLS Tap-heel-tap-heel   ( a fast go forward-and-come-back-sequence.)
FLAP Brush forward and down on ball (brush-ball), or tp-stp in a jumping sequence.
SLAP Brush-step sans transfert de poids.
RIFF Brush-heel forward or side.

 

04    0'17" / 617 ko
HE TP-STP HE  turning

05    0'19" / 709 ko
RFF WALK

06    0'19" / 706 ko
Walz-roll


BASICS : 3 SOUNDS AND MORE / mischellaneous

RIFFLE
 
14"-2198 Ko
 Brush-heel-spank .
FLAT RIFF   BRSH-HE-BALL
PULL BACKS   Spank-step right Spank-step left in one single jump
CRAMP ROLLS (single)  
Four steps crammed together;
STP-right,STP-left, HE-right , HE-left,
CRAMP ROLLS (change)   STP-right, STP-left, HE-left,HE-right
CRAMP ROLLS (double)   with flap at the beginning
CRAMP ROLLS (triple)   with shuffle at the beginning
PADDLES & ROLLS   HE brshBCK STP HE, R+L  accent on the end HE
DOUBLE ROLL   SCUFL- SHFL- STP- HE
OVER THE TOP   Go from one leg over the other  also JUMP OVER THE LOG / LEG
FLEA HOP   Slide with the hip R+L (Gene KELLY)
TOE STAND   TOE-TOE STP STP


 
07    0'29" / 1040 ko
HE TP-STP HE crossing
08    0'25" / 898 ko
RFFLE TP-STP HE
09    0'13" / 500 ko
Variation  (military)
 
CLASSICS
TIME STEP
Quick-time
14"-1757Ko
... there are as many time steps
as sweat drops to learn them !
WINGS SHFL STP r+left to the side with one jump (4 or 6 beats).
SHIM SHAM
Quick-time
14"-1811Ko
SHFL STP 3x SHFL BLLCH r+left
SHFL STP SHFL BCH d+g
STMP TOE ST-HP-STP-HP-STP-HP échappé fermé
BUFFALO   STP r SHFL l (leap l)
SUSY Q   STMP TP STP (to the sidel)
WALZCLOGG
Quick-time
14"-1757Ko
STP SHFL BLLCH 1+2+3 4+5+6

MAXIEFORD 		ST-left SHFLright PLLBCK SPR right TO left
TRENCHING   P-BCK STP (difficult to write down ...)
RIFF TIME STEP
(the train)
Quick-time
14"-1757Ko
BLLCH - BLLCH SPNK FLP STAM SPNK FLP FLP
+8+1+2+3+syncp +5+6+7
STEP SHUFFLE HOP STEP
Quick-time
7"-1208Ko
STP STP STP STP SHFL-HO-STP SHFL-HO-STP
STP STP STP SHFL-HO-STP-BLLCH
1 2 3 4+5+6+7+8
1 2 3 4+5+6+7
BOMBERSHAY   STP-BRSH-HE (fast to the side)
     
...more to come!
Quick-time
  


10    0'19" / 692 ko
Maxieford - slow and fast
11    0'15" / 553 ko
CRLL CRLL-STA SHFL-STP SHFL-STP SFHL-STP PCKUP HE TOE
12    0'19" / 706 ko
HE-BLL STP-HE

ACTIONS

SLIDE Slide to the front.
HOLD To hold, stay in suspension.
FREEZE Dont move,stop.
DROP Often used as HEEL-DROP dropping heel of supporting leg.
DRAG Pull your leg behind you
AD LIB Improvise !
DIG Often used as HEEL-DIG , hit the heel strongly into the floor.(HE or STAM)
CROSS OVER / back SHFL HP STP crossing front or back
   


go to video tap-basics


The right terminology ....?
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