Hey everyone here is the thread to post your lessons in, anyone else want to get involved? See this thread: www.dance.net . . .

I'll post mine as soon as I have written it.

Abbie

Here is The Irish Lesson
www.dance.net . . .

if you have any qestions pm me.

Look, I finally wrote my tap lesson:

Beginner Tap

Hello everyone, and welcome to beginning tap, I’ll be your teacher Abbie.
Today we have some exchange students coming from various other dance forms, so if everyone could be extra nice to them, thanks.

I realize that all the exchange students won’t have tap shoes, and I’m not suggesting you buy some just for this lesson, so if you do character then wear your character shoes, Irish dancers can probably wear their hard shoes, anyone else just wear what ever shoes you have.

Okay, now before we get dancing we need to warm up, so if you can all get into two rows, facing me, make sure you have enough space to dance.

First we will do four knee bends, followed by four little jumps, four springs changing feet, and four tap springs* then repeat four times.

* A tap spring is like a regular spring but you brush the floor with your toe before you land, here is a video to help you understand: (Yes I am dancing on carpet; I didn’t have any other space available)

Now if the back row all turn right and the front row turn left, then we have a circle.
I’d like you to do four walks, four tap steps*, four skips, and two step ball changes*, repeat four times traveling in the circle.

*Like a regular step, but in the same way as tap springs, you brush the floor with your toe before placing your foot down.

* Step ball change – step on your left foot, lift up and place your right foot down, then lift and place your front foot, again here is a video:

I think we’re probably all warm now, so we’ll learn some basic steps used in all tap dancing, then at the end of the lesson we will do a simple combination.

1. Shuffles
Could everyone please move over to the bar, and face me, putting your left hand on the bar.

Now put all your weight on your left foot, lifting your right foot off the floor.
Slowly swing your right foot forward so the toe brushes the floor, now swing the foot backwards brushing the floor again, this is one shuffle, repeat trying to make the shuffle smaller:

Now turn around placing your right hand on the bar, and have ago at shuffles with the left foot.
Well done
Now try doing shuffles out to the side rather then to the front.
Got that? Here is a shuffle exercise for you to do:
Left hand on the bar, right foot: two shuffles forward, two to the side, two more forward, then step, turn step, to be facing the back, right hand on the bar, and repeat with the left foot.

That’s great; please move back into the centre again.

2. Toe taps
Now these are pretty simple:
Stand on your left leg with your right bent in passé, then relax the leg slightly so the toe taps on the floor – told you they were simple, try on the right leg, then do this exercise:
Four toe taps with right leg, step turn step to face the back, four toe taps with the left leg, step turn step completing the turn. Repeat.


3. Tap posture
In tap, we stand up straight as in all types of dance, but we have our knees slightly bent, and our heels slightly off the floor, can everyone try that, good.

Okay, you’ve all done really well, so I think that’s enough work for one day, and we’ll do a little combination, this travels forward, so I need you to move to the back of the room.

Right foot: 3 shuffles and place together, 2 tap step ball changes starting with the left foot, Left foot: 3 shuffles and place together, 2 tap step ball changes starting with the right foot, right foot; 4 toe taps, 3 shuffles to the side and place together, left foot; 4 toe taps, 3 shuffles to the side and place together. Repeat.

Great class everyone thanks, any questions feel free to pm me, or ask in a reply, and if people are interested I could do a few more lessons.

Ballet_Baibe

^great lesson, I really learnt alot.