Hello Reader,

Happy September! (...gosh, it's September).

I’ve been thinking recently... what makes a 'good' tap dancer?

Over my years as a tap dance teacher, I've found that people often arrive with a list of things they believe they should already be able to do. Or perhaps, things they don't believe they have enough of.

'I don’t have enough rhythm.'

'I’m not very coordinated.'

'My balance isn’t great.'

'I’m terrible at remembering steps.'

'I’m just not naturally good at this.'

I've heard it from tap dancers of all ages and all levels. Honestly, I've felt all of these myself, at times.

But here's something else I've realised...

When it comes to tap dance, rhythm, coordination, balance and confidence are not entry requirements.

These are things we build.

You don’t need to arrive ready. Becoming ready is part of the process.

In my experience, the best tap dancers (regardless of 'level') aren't necessarily the ones who pick everything up immediately, seemingly without any effort whatsoever.

The best tap dancers are the ones who remain curious, and are willing to follow that curiosity. They're the ones willing to slow down, repeat themselves and make plenty of imperfect sounds along the way.

Anything worth doing takes effort, time, and at least a little discomfort.

Sometimes, the biggest challenge isn’t mastering the tricky step, achieving lightning-fast speed or reaching some vision of technical brilliance. It's the willingness to show up in the first place – and allowing yourself to be a beginner.

Being a beginner means you’re learning, and giving yourself permission to do something you don’t know how to do yet.

As adults, that can feel surprisingly uncomfortable. We become accustomed to knowing what we’re doing – or at least appearing as though we do. Tap dance, in all its intricacy, can be especially humbling in this way.

But the thing is: we're all beginners.

Even after decades of tap dance, I regularly find myself back in that wonderfully awkward place of knowing what I’d like my feet to do – and discovering that they haven’t received the message.

No level of experience exempts us from the awkward first attempts. And nor should it – those are the moments where learning actually begins (and continues).

We may struggle with something today, but that struggle may be exactly what carries us forward tomorrow.

So, if learning – or 'perfecting' – something feels beyond you, let's take a step back. Let's make the goal a little smaller.

Slow it down. Break it apart. Find one sound you can make, then build from there.

After all, advanced tap dance doesn’t always mean more steps. I believe it means having greater control and more choices within the simplest ones.

You don’t have to be good at it today. You just have to be willing to begin.

And then begin, and begin again.

That's it for today, friends.

But I’d love to hear your thoughts: What do you think makes a “good” tap dancer?

Hit reply and let me know. As always, I read and appreciate every response ☺️

Big love to you, and I hope you have a wonderful September.

Bill Simpson
​Co-Founder | CEO | Janitor
​Taptopia.Net​

P.S. If you’ve been thinking about learning (or re-learning) tap dance from the very beginning, keep an eye on your inbox. We’re putting together something special for October – a chance to work with me directly over several weeks, with plenty of guidance and support to help you build strong foundations from the ground up. More soon 👞

​​

​
​TAPTOPIA.NET​
​
​