TAP (Ages 6 & Up)
Beginning dance for ages 3 and 4 incorporating Ballet, Tap and Tumbling. These dancers will need pink leather ballet slippers, black patent leather tap shoes, black leotards, and pink ballet tights. (No tutus or skirts.)
Tap dancing is a style of dance incorporating the dancers’ feet as a percussive instrument. It requires special shoes that have metal pieces on the heels and toes. When a dancer taps his or her foot on the floor, it makes a sound. Watching a tap dancing performance is a sensory experience for the eyes and ears.
Children age six years and up can begin learning the art of tap dancing at Dance Makers, Inc. The introductory class incorporates a bit of ballet and tumbling in addition to the basic tap dancing movements. Children enrolled in tap dancing class can expect to work hard, have fun and learn new skills. Tap dancing offers several other benefits for growing children.
- Music Appreciation: Tap class gives kids the opportunity to listen to a variety of types of music. It’s common for children to relate to the world through music. As they grow, kids often learn songs to teach basic concepts, like the ABCs, counting and shapes. In tap class, teachers will continue to broaden children’s horizons by exposing them to different types of music and how it relates to movement.
- Rhythm: Tap teachers not only expose kids to music, but teach them how to recognize and move to different rhythms. Children will have fun learning to discern between slow and fast beats, upbeats and downbeats and more.
- Cooperation: Kids in tap class find their selves in a small group of children sharing a common goal. Dance teaches young children how to work together as a group as they practice important life skills like waiting a turn, recognizing others’ strengths and working together to accomplish a task.
- Listening Skills: Tap class gives children the opportunity to listen to an adult other than a parent or school teacher. It gives them practice at listening and following directions which are crucial skills as they grow into adolescence.
- Body Awareness: With regular sessions of music and movement, children slowly realize the connection between movements and the body. They will learn to isolate movements or how to make them slow, fast, jerky or smooth. Soon, they will have an awareness of how the body relates to itself and to the brain.
- Self-Confidence: A child’s sense of accomplishment is nurtured with dance. They learn that practice and hard work pays off over time. Through performances, children develop self-confidence in their abilities and a pride that will stay with them as they continue to mature.
Tap Dance Classes in Prince George’s County, Maryland
Tap dance class can be a positive thing for any child interested in a high-energy physical activity. Dancers at Dance Makers, Inc. need pink leather ballet slippers, black patent leather tap shoes, a black leotard and pink ballet tights. Please, no tutus or skirts.
Conveniently located in Lanham, MD, we draw students from all across Prince George’s County and the Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD metro areas.