Discover ourTap Classes

What the class sounds like

You can hear a tap room from the plaza lot once the shoes are real. The first classes are about making a sound on purpose: a shuffle, a stamp, a time step when the feet are ready. Combinations get longer. We do not start with a two-minute recital dance and call it technique.

Wear comfortable dance clothes, a leotard with shorts or leggings, and hair tied back. Tap shoes come after you know they will stay in the class. For the trial, street shoes that stay on their feet are fine. Do not buy character heels for a child.

Tap is offered inside weekday evenings and Saturday mornings. The building hours are Monday–Thursday 4:00–8:00 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m.–noon. Delaney Anderson teaches tap along with ballet, jazz, contemporary, and lyrical. The rest of the faculty is the same studio, not a traveling tap company.

Who should start, and who should wait

Tap starts at age 3, when a child is ready to follow a short combination. If they are two and still glued to you, use preschool dance or mommy and me first and move to tap when the teacher says the feet are ready.

Tap pairs well with ballet. Ballet gives the posture. Tap gives the rhythm. We will not sign a kindergartner up for tap, jazz, and lyrical in the same week just because the cart allows it. Say the other classes on the trial call.

Shows: tap numbers show up in the Summer Showcase and sometimes in community performances. The Nutcracker is primarily a ballet production. Ask whether the current tap class is in a given show instead of assuming every style is on the December stage.

The shoes are the instrument

Tap is a sound. Tap shoes help students learn the sound of each step. After the trial, buy tap shoes that fit that week, not a size they will grow into by spring. Jazz sneakers, ballet slippers, and character heels are the wrong object. For the trial itself, shoes that stay on are enough. Wait until after the trial to purchase tap shoes.

Age 3 is the start if they can stand through a short combination. Younger than that, use preschool dance or mommy and me and move when the teacher says the feet are ready. The first skills are a shuffle, a stamp, and a time step when the coordination is there. Combinations get longer. We do not open with a recital dance and call the rest of the year a review of that dance.

You will hear the room from the plaza lot. That is normal. If you are bringing a sleeping sibling, plan for a lively, noisy class.

Schedule, pairing, and shows

Tap sits in weekday evenings and Saturday mornings, inside the studio hours of Monday–Thursday 4:00–8:00 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m.–noon. Delaney Anderson teaches tap along with the other styles. The exact level is on the live schedule, not printed here, because a Tuesday 5 p.m. class this month may not be the Tuesday 5 p.m. class in January.

Ballet plus tap is the pairing we see most. Ballet gives the posture and the standing leg. Tap gives the rhythm. Adding jazz and lyrical on top, in the first season, is a lot of evenings for a child who just learned to tie the tap shoe. Tell us the soccer night and the piano night before we fill the week.

Tap numbers belong in the Summer Showcase and sometimes in a community performance. The Nutcracker is a ballet production. Do not assume the tap class is in the December show. Ask when you enroll. Tuition is quoted at 916.276.8408, billed on the 1st, and not refunded for a missed week or for the two-week summer and winter breaks. Notice to stop is 30 days, in writing, to [email protected] or however the office confirms written notice that month.

All tap classes meet at our Roseville studio. Suite P, Harding Plaza, next to Sherwin Williams, Roseville. Park in the plaza lot. Walk to Suite P. There is not a tap annex in Lincoln or Folsom.

Buy tap shoes from a dance shop, not from a costume aisle that sells a shiny shoe with a thin sole. The shoe has to make a sound on our floor and stay on a foot that is still growing. If the buckle or the tie is a fight, practice it at home before the second class. Practicing fastenings at home helps dancers get ready for class. Elastic laces are a parent decision. A shoe that flies off mid-shuffle is a class problem.

Rhythm shows up in children who do not look like “dancers” yet. A child who drums on the table may take to tap faster than a child who already looks tidy in a leotard. We do not require a ballet year before tap. We do require that they can stay with a short combination. If the trial is mostly tears and the floor, we will say wait or move them to preschool. The teacher can help you find a class that suits their readiness.

Bring a second pair of socks in the bag if the new shoes rub. Do not put bandages on as a permanent fit. A shoe that needs a bandage every week is the wrong size. Tell the teacher if a step hurts rather than telling the child to be tough. Tap is loud. It is not supposed to hurt the skin.

When you call, say “tap,” the age, and whether they have tap shoes already. If the answer is no, do not apologize. The trial does not require them. If the answer is yes, say the size and whether the shoe is a lace or a buckle, because proper fit helps the child move comfortably. Also say if they are already in ballet here. We will look for a tap time that does not stack on the same evening as a class they are already tired from, when the schedule allows it.

Practice at home is a shuffle on the kitchen floor, not a full lesson copied from a video. Two minutes is enough. A long home practice on a concrete patio is how a new shoe blister starts before the second week. The studio floor is where the combination lives. Home is where the shoe starts to feel normal.

If a grandparent is the one who will do pickup, tell them Suite P is next to Sherwin Williams, not “the dance place in Roseville.” Harding Plaza has more than one door. The phone in the car is 916.276.8408 if they are in the right lot and the wrong suite. Call if you need help finding the suite.