Showing posts with label tapping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tapping. Show all posts

Sunday 25 November 2012

Reflections: My First Tap Jam

It's been a week since my first tap jam, and I must say that it's still an unforgettable experience. Tappers of all levels went in and felt the music that was playing, and basically improvised on rhythms that came as we played to the music.

I love that no matter what your skill level is in tap, you're still able to draw inspiration from each person in the circle. Sometimes during your turn to tap, you may run out of ideas on which technique to employ. But the less experienced one next to you can suddenly come up with a sweet riff that you just have to continue the beat and then add your flair to those steps. I've been inspired by Bryan's syncopated beats - his experimental style and sharp skill makes me want to push my tapping to the next level. My next aim would be to dance "out of beat" and then hit the down beat again at an unpredictable moment.

Tapping is also a dance that I feel is really versatile like West Coast Swing, maybe even more versatile than WCS because there's no restriction on tappers to do only 4/4 songs. I remember my old tap syllabus from ISTD had waltz, 7/4, and even the current Al Gilbert syllabus I'm in has 5/4 time. As long as you're able to count the beats of the song, you're good to go.

All in all, I can't wait till someone plans out another tap jam session - I could really work more on experimenting with syncopation. I found out that my favourite moves were flash steps and toe stands (like en pointe.) Yeah, I'm a flashy showoff. I should tone that down a bit so I don't scare off newcomers!