Tap dance technique makes frequent use of syncopation

Syncopation

In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...

. Tap dance

Tap dance

Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...

  choreographies typically start on the eighth beat

Beat (music)

The beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove...

, or between the eighth and the first count.

Another aspect of tap dancing is improvisation

Improvisation

Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...

. This can either be done with music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

 and follow the beats provided or without musical accompaniment, otherwise known as a cappella dancing.

Hoofers are tap dancers who dance only with their feet, making a louder, more grounded sound. This kind of tap dancing is also called "rhythm tap". Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...

 provided a more ballroom look to tap dancing, while Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly

Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...

 used his extensive ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 training to make tap dancing incorporate all the parts of the ballet.

Tap was formed from other types of dancing, such as ballet, jazz and contemporary clogging.

Steps

There is no universal terminology for tap techniques and steps. The following includes descriptions of steps that are well known, although the names may vary.

Steps with one sound

• ball tap: strike the ball of the foot on the floor and release it immediately, using an ankle movement.
• heel tap: strike the heel of the foot on the floor and release it immediately.
• step: place the ball of the foot on the floor with a change of weight.
• touch place the ball of the foot on the floor without change of weight.
• stamp: place the flat foot on the floor with a change of weight.
• stomp: place the flat foot on the floor without a change of weight.
• (heel) dig: place the heel on the floor, keeping the ball off the floor (with or without change of weight).
• heel (drop): standing on the balls of one or both feet, "drop" the heel on the floor, with or without change of weight.
• ball (drop):standing on the heels of one or both feet, "drop" the ball on the floor, with or without change of weight.
• toe: hit the floor with the tip of the foot, usually behind the other foot, without change of weight.
• toe stand: stand on one or both tips of the feet. This requires fairly stiff tap shoes.
• hop: standing on one foot, jump up and land on the same foot.
• leap: standing on one foot, jump up and land on the other foot.
• jump: standing on one or both feet, jump up and land on both feet.
• brush: standing on one leg (e.g. the left), the other foot is "brushed out" by striking the ball of the foot (i.e. the right) on the floor in a sweeping motion forward or backward.
• scuff: as a brush, but striking the floor with the heel instead of the ball of the foot,

Steps with two sounds

• shuffle: combine two brushes, one forward and one backward. A faster shuffle can be achieved by making smaller movements that are closer to the body. There are actually many different ways to perform a shuffle. Broadway-style shuffles use knee movement to swing the foot into a shuffle. Hoofers generally execute a shuffle from movement in the upper leg and hip. While a faster shuffle may seem to come from the ankle, it is actually mush easier to get speed and clarity from the hip, which is why this method is preferred.
• scuffle or paddle: combine a scuff with a backward brush.
• flap: brush forward and a step (which is striking the ball of the foot on the floor with a change of weight; similar to a walking step, only done on the ball of the foot—the heel does not touch the floor). The flap is often counted as "& 1." It is similar to the shuffle, but instead of brushing the ball back after the brush forward, the dancer steps (i.e. brush step instead of brush brush, as in a shuffle).
• slap: brush forward and a touch, similar to the flap but without change of weight.
• pickup: standing on the balls of one or both feet, jump up, hitting the ground with the ball(s) of the foot/feet, and land on the same foot (or again both feet)
• pullback: standing on the ball of one foot, jump up, hitting the ground with the ball of the foot you stood on, and land on the other foot.
• riff: standing on one leg, swing the other leg to the front, first hitting the ground with the ball of the foot, then with the heel.
• ball change: two steps on alternating feet. The first step does not get full weight.

Steps with three sounds

• riffle: a riff combined with a backward brush.
• slurp: one foot is placed on the floor with or without weight, first hitting with the ball, then with the heel, then again with the ball. This step is usually very fast and often intentionally unclean.

Steps with four sounds

• cramp roll: Steps and heel drops can be combined to make a cramp roll which produces a rolling sound like a horse gallop
  Gallop
  Gallop is an asymmetrical gait used at high speeds by quadrupedal organisms such as the gait seen in the horse.Gallop may also refer to:*Conductor gallop, wind-induced low frequency oscillation of overhead transmission lines...
  
   or a drum roll. It is performed by doing two steps (right then left or vice versa), followed by two heel drops (right then left or vice versa), releasing the first heel immediately upon completion. In other words, it is performed as "ball (R) ball (L) heel (R) heel (L)" and is often counted as "1 and a 2." It may be preceded by a brush (counted as "& 1 & a 2" and known as a flap cramp roll or 5-cramp roll) or done double time, known as a "bite cramproll" and counted as "a & a 1."
• paddle and roll: a scuffle, followed by step heel, all on the same foot.
• riff walk: a riff, followed by a dig-ball on the same foot. Can be extended to a 5-sound riff walk by inserting a heel on the other foot between the riff and the dig-ball.

All tap dancing steps are a combination of simple movements that build upon each other. Most movements, simple and complex, include "taps", "drops", "brushes" (including shuffles and flaps), and "steps". For example, "shuffle ball change" is a shuffle followed by a ball change

Ball change

Ball change is a dance move that consists of two steps: a partial weight transfer on the ball of a foot , followed by a step on the other foot...

. Tap dancing steps may be learned and mastered by children and adults alike and are a good way to express/learn rhythm, dance, and percussion.