Sole Tap

Tap Dancing is a Great Way to Keep Fit!

Obesity in modern day society, particularly among young adults and children, is a growing problem. Motivating this generation to exercise regularly instead of spending a significant amount of time in front of a computer or television is very challenging. However, tap dancing is a great way to encourage this! The chances are there is a dance class eager to take on new students not far from your own home.

Unlike drearily jogging around the streets in the rain, tap dancing is certainly not monotonous! It gives young people – or anybody else for that matter – a great opportunity to learn a new skill that will challenge them both mentally and physically. It's also a great way to meet new people and make new friends! Much more interesting than pumping weights in the gym!

If you have a natural sense of rhythm you'll find tap dancing particularly fun. This is because its main focus is making percussive sounds using the soles of your shoes that synchronise with the music. This clicking or tapping sound is created by a specialist type of shoe called a tap shoe which is designed specifically for the tap dancer. The soles of these shoes are relatively rigid and have a metal plate called a toe tap attached to the front, and another plate called a heel tap attached to the back. The clicking sound that the tap shoes make as the dancer moves around the performance space opens creates the potential for some highly exciting dance routines that synchronise perfectly with the music.

If you choose to take up tap dancing – or you're a parent who is thinking of encouraging your child to take up the hobby – you don't need to worry about spending a fortune on tap shoes. This is because you can now buy cheap tap shoes from some very high quality brands. Some great tap dance shoe brands include Dance Gear, Roch Valley, Bloch, Capezio, So Danca and Leo's Dancewear. All of these brands have been supplying tap dance shoes to dancers for many years. In fact, Capezio have been supplying dance shoes for well over 100 years so they're extremely well versed in understanding the needs of the individual dancer.

Tap shoes are available in a huge choice of colours, fabrics and styles. They're usually made from canvas, soft leather and sometimes PVC. Canvas and soft leather are the most comfortable due to their flexibility but PVC can offer a slightly cheaper alternative if you're not sure whether you're going to enjoy it. What many people do who dance as a pastime is have a pair of slightly cheaper tap shoes for dance class and rehearsal, and then a pair of slightly more expensive tap shoes to perform in. If you're not sure exactly which ones to go for, have a chat to your dance teacher who should be able to give you some guidance on which tap shoes they like their students to use.

About the Author

Dance Gear Direct are experts in providing dance wear with over 30 years experience. For more information about our extensive range of tap shoes please visit our website www.dancegeardirect.co.uk.

New tap shoes Problem?

I just bought my first pair of tap shoes. They are Capezio with a full sole and teletone taps...They are really hard to dance in! Besides the heel, the main thing is that they are very slick so I slide instead of making a clear "tap" sound. Do they just need breaking in or is there something I can do to change this? Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

eww. I hate when that happens! I would break them in, for the slickness, do shuffles on concrete to put some texture on the bottom. It will help you not slip as much

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