April 25, 2024
You've outgrown shuffle-ball-changes and can execute a clean time step without counting under your breath. Now what?
The bridge between intermediate and advanced tap dancing isn't built on speed alone—it's about precision, dynamic control, and expanding your rhythmic vocabulary. These ten techniques represent the core curriculum that separates competent dancers from compelling performers. Master them with intention, and you'll develop the technical foundation and musicality that advanced choreography demands.
1. Flaps
The transition step that bridges basic and intermediate vocabulary
Execute a forward brush with a relaxed ankle, immediately dropping the ball of the foot to strike the floor. The brush's momentum carries into the step, creating a two-sound "flap" (sometimes spelled "flap" to distinguish from the anatomical term).
Key detail: The brush is preparatory and unweighted; the step receives your body weight.
Common mistake: Brushing too aggressively. Control creates clarity.
Practice drill: String four flaps alternating feet (R-L-R-L) at medium tempo, maintaining even dynamics throughout.
2. Paradiddles
The secret weapon of rhythmic complexity
Borrowed from drum rudiments, the tap paradiddle follows a "right-left-right-right, left-right-left-left" pattern. Each foot produces both brushes and taps, creating four distinct sounds per side.
Unlike simpler steps, paradiddles require independent ankle control—your brushing foot stays relaxed while your tapping foot strikes with precision. Start slowly on a single foot before combining patterns.
Weight placement: Stay forward on the balls of your feet; heels remain lifted throughout.
Musical application: Paradiddles excel at filling triplets or sixteenth-note passages where standard steps feel too sparse.
3. Buffalos
The cornerstone step of American tap
This traveling step combines a leap, a shuffle, and a ball-change into one fluid motion. Step side onto the ball of your right foot, shuffle left, leap onto the left foot while kicking the right forward, then land on the right ball with your left foot crossed behind.
The Buffalo teaches spatial awareness and momentum management. Poorly executed, it looks choppy; mastered, it appears to float across the floor.
Correction cue: If you're landing heavily, you're leaping too vertically. Aim for horizontal travel.
Variation: Single, double, and traveling Buffalos each develop different performance qualities.
4. Cramp Rolls
Four sounds, infinite possibilities
Despite the misleading name, cramp rolls produce no circular motion. The classic pattern strikes heel-heel-toe-toe (or toe-toe-heel-heel in reverse), with each sound receiving equal rhythmic weight.
The challenge lies in speed without slurring. At tempo, cramp rolls become a machine-gun burst of percussion that drives ensemble work and solos alike.
Technical focus: Keep your weight centered between feet. Leaning creates uneven dynamics.
Try this: Execute eight cramp rolls, then immediately transition into a single-foot cramp roll (alternating heel-toe on one foot). The contrast reveals control gaps.
5. Pullbacks (Drawbacks)
The first true aerial step in most dancers' training
Jump backward, landing on the balls of both feet simultaneously, producing a crisp two-sound "pullback." The step requires coordinated arm swing, core engagement, and precise foot placement to avoid the telltale "thud" of poor execution.
Preparation: Master the stationary pullback before attempting traveling variations or single-foot versions.
Safety note: Landing through the heels strains the Achilles. Absorb impact through bent knees and forward weight placement.
Progression: Once consistent, add turns, direction changes, or rhythmic displacement (pulling back on off-beats).
6. Maxie Fords
Named for the vaudeville performer, refined by generations
Leap from one foot, execute a toe-tap with the opposite foot in mid-air, then land on the original foot with the other foot extended to the side. The step demands split-second timing: the airborne tap must sound before landing.
Common pitfall: Rushing the leap. Height creates time; time creates clarity.
Stylistic note: Traditional Maxie Fords emphasize the airborne tap's percussive crack; contemporary versions often elongate the line for visual effect.
7. Riffs and Riff Walks
The jazz musician's influence on tap vocabulary
A riff strikes toe-heel (forward brush, backward brush) in quick succession, producing a scuffing sound distinct from shuffles. String riffs together while traveling, and you have riff walks—the walking bass line of tap dance.
Ankle state: Riffs require a looser ankle than most steps. Tension creates scraping; relaxation creates singing tones.
Dynamic exercise: Practice r
