I am a tap-dancer. Although I don’t really do as much tapping as I would like to do anymore, I still label myself as a tap-dancer because of the joy it has brought me throughout my life. I have been a tap-dancer ever since I clicked my first pair of tap shoes together one rainy night at the start of Kindergarten. I didn’t love tap at first, but by the end of 7th grade, I had fallen in love with this style of dance. I don’t know what it is, but whenever I slide my tap shoes on and shuffle my feet, I feel as happy as can be. A lot of others feel the same way. Here are 15 things any die-hard tap dancer will relate to.
1.You go ballistic any time a person claims that they are a “tap dancer” and then proceed to just stomp their feet like a two-year-old having a tantrum.
Really, tap-dancing is not that simple.
2. Your shoes are your children, and you will do everything in your power to protect them.
3. Anytime a tap piece wins a competition, it feels as if you have won as well.
4.Honestly, anytime there is a tap piece in a competition, you can’t help but get excited.
Contemporary is all of the rage these days, so you can’t help but get a little over excited when a tap number breaks the sea of a gazillion contemporary and lyrical dances.
5.You idolize Bill Bo jangles and Gregory Hines just as much as others idolize Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian.
I mean cmon, their footwork is gorgeous!
6.When people don’t know who these famous tap dancers are, you get a little disappointed.
7.Marley flooring is your worst enemy
Marley dance floors, while great for turning and leaps, is well-known for frustrating all tap-dancers for its great ability to muffle and mute all of your sounds.
8.Those judges who critique just your arms and facials for your tap solos are the worst.
I did not spend hours upon hours perfecting my rhythms just for you to tell me that I should "do more" with my arms.
9.The sides of your ankles are permanently bruised from missing a few too many heel clicks.
Hitting your heel with your tap shoe hurts worse than stepping on a lego.
10.You have the most defined foot muscles.
Your feet muscles are hyper-articulated thanks to the constant use of the tiniest muscles in your feet to make those beautiful sounds.
11. When Gaby Diaz was the first tap dancer to win "So You Think You Can Dance," you couldn't help but gloat to your dance friends.
12.You wish Operation Tap can come teach you in person every day.
You just have to settle with one of their many Technique Tuesday videos until the one day you can take a class from Anthony Morigerato, Mike Minery, or Ayodele Casel in person.
13. The grocery store is the perfect place to practice all of your tap combinations.![]()
The long aisles are perfect for practicing buffalos, time-steps, and pullbacks to name a few.
14. That moment of fiery anger you feel when certain kids skip out on tap class at a convention.
We can survive your complicated jazz, lyrical, and ballet classes; please, just force yourself to make it through this one hour of tap.
