Tap Dance Teacher Blog

Knowing When to Cut Your Losses or Let's Try Something Else

2012-01-22T01:40:00.000-08:00

Over the years I've learned a valuable lesson about abandonment. In tap, especially choreography, it's a good thing. Sometimes, despite your best intentions, you just can't create choreography you love. Sometimes you've spent hours brainstorming and have an incredible idea but when it comes to actually making it real, it just seems to flop. When this happens you have two choices. Keep going or scratch it and start anew. Most times I think starting anew is the best way to go.

I remember I had a brilliant idea for a tap piece that would be done almost entirely behind a large piece of fabric. To create visual interest, since you couldn't see the tappers' feet, I was going to have them use objects to push against the fabric to basically tell a story of sorts. I spent many hours planning this and at our first actual rehearsal we gave it a shot.

Total Failure.

Due to a variety of factors the shapes were not at all distinguishable from the audiences perspective. It went from brilliant idea to total flop in a matter of minutes. I spent a little time thinking of how I could save it, but realized that in this case it was better to scrap it, which I did.

Best decision ever!

The song I was using was "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap with a back beat I had added to give it a little more oomph. I decided to play off that title and have them popping out from the fabric and then hiding back behind it. Sounds simple and cheesy but it actually read exceptionally well. To this day I am super proud of that routine and so glad I made the decision to start anew.

So as I come upon my third week of working on a certain recital dance, once again I find I'm faced with the decision to keep going or start anew. I think I know what I'm going to do.

Rod Howell http://www.unitedtaps.com

Giving Students Power or "This is Harder than I Thought"

2011-04-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

So sometimes students need a little motivation. A goal of some kind. Kids are naturally competitive so I try to harness that trait and direct it in the direction of hard work and improvement. I often have little contests. It's me versus the whole class (this keeps them working together as a team, and of course they would just love to beat the teacher). Now of course this isn't fair, and I tell the kids that straight out. But I also tell them how incredible they would be to beat me when the odds are stacked against them (they do win more than half the time). Some groan of course, but most are up for the competition. Basically I do whatever step we need to work on by myself, and then they do it all together after me. If they are exactly together and do it right (heels up etc.) they get a point. If they are almost all together, it's a tie and no one gets a point. If they aren't together or do it wrong, I get a point.

They generally lose the the first 2 or 3 points right off the bat, but their competitive spirit really kicks and magically they suddenly "get better". Wanting to do something well is half the battle to getting better. When you unlock that drive, great things happen.

Well it's not always smooth. Sometimes they just can't stay together as well as they'd like and I pull far ahead. Predictably, they begin to call foul and claim I'm biased towards myself and that's why I'm winning. Usually at that point I explain that my deepest hope is for them to beat me. I tell them if they beat me, that means I have done a good job teaching them. Today however I took a different approach I've never done before.

I offered one of the kids the opportunity to be the "judge" of who gets a point. My only requirement was that she was totally honest. I think she was a little taken aback by the sudden possibility of all that responsibility but like a brave little youngster she stepped up and did it.

The first round of her judging was a tough one and I think she called it a tie (it was a fair assessment from my point of view). After that we tied a few more times and then she awarded a point to me. The rest of the kids were not quite so pleased with this and some complained and encouraged her to give them a point (granted they weren't the ones holding the dry erase marker and responsible for giving an honest score). After that she quickly decided to pass the role of score keeper on to someone else. Of course about ten people immediately surrounded her all dying to get the marker and thus the role of score keeper. She was having trouble deciding who to give it to so I made the decision for her. The next girl also started out giving a tie or two. But after 2 rounds she gave the winning point to me.

Again some of the other students groaned but she just shrugged shoulders as if to say "hey, fair is fair".

And so that was the highlight of my teaching day. I felt bad for winning of course (sometimes when they get really far behind I make one round of competition worth 5 points if they win and only 1 if they lose - that helps them catch up). But it was really interesting to see how they handled having the responsibility of who gets a point and how honest they were once they had that power. I think everyone had their perspectives broadened.

Rod Howell http://www.unitedtaps.com

Computers Make My Job Easier or No They Don't

2011-01-31T14:42:00.000-08:00

Everyone is aware how much computers have worked their way into nearly every aspect of our lives. Teaching tap is no different, at least for me. Granted I'm a bit of a tech-nerd, but nevertheless some of the tools available are REALLY helpful (and occasionally hurtful).

Currently I use a macbook when I teach for a variety of reasons.

1. Speed control - There is an app called Djay (See the sidebar for a link) that allows me to control the speed of the music I play which is very helpful to adjust for students who need to go slower or want to go faster. It also has cue points which allow me to jump into any specific spot in the music just clicking a button. In addition to that it automatically calculates the BPM of each song and allows me to sort by it so I can make up a combo and then look at the BPMs to find music with a speed that would work well.

2. Garageband - I use this for choreographing and rehearsing routines. It is not the best music editor BUT I can still do the edits I need to and more importantly I can instantly control what part of the music plays and whether or not it repeats. This is great if there is a section of a dance that needs a lot of work. I quickly (quickly is key here!) set the start and end point of the section of music I want to play and put it on repeat. This allows me to go watch the students closely and help individuals having problems without running back to stop and start the music. It seems like a little thing, but once you are able to do that, you'll never want to go back to stopping and starting the music each time you want to run a section over and over with music.

The next great thing about Garageband is that I can record my voice saying the steps over top of the music. This is helpful in so many ways. First of all it helps me remember the choreography quickly and hear how it goes with the music. Secondly it helps the students learn the names of the steps and helps them to hear how they go with the music. Granted I can shout the step names over the music over and over, but it's so nice to record it once and then have it play when I want (one button click can shut off the voice playback so you can easily choose when you want your voice heard and when you don't).

You can also record the actual tap sounds over the music so the kids can hear and understand the timing and shading even better. This has proved to be a very effective tool.

3. iMovie - Video notes are the best. I used to write out my dances in short-hand which was good for feet but occasionally left me without knowing the actual rhythm and often without knowing the upper body movements. iMovie fixes all that. My Macbook has a built in webcam which allows to me record straight into iMovie without the need for a separate camcorder. Once the video is in iMovie I can scan it quickly by running my mouse over the clip. This is key because I can scan the video very quickly to find the spot I need as opposed to just playing it normal speed or fast forwarding/rewinding. Also when a student misses class they can ask me to send a video of the latest part we learned. All I have to do is export the video and send it. Very easy.

So what's the downside?

1. Djay - you HAVE to have iTunes and have all your music in there. For most people with a Mac that's not a big deal, but it leaves you no choice about using a different music program. (The reason you need iTunes is that Djay uses the music database from iTunes instead of generating it's own...it's complicated).

2. Garageband - There's nothing like being halfway through a routine and the music just stops! As a newer version of Garageband gets released it tends to run slower and slower on older Macs which sometimes leaves you without enough power to get through a song. Granted this is about 3% of the time and simply starting the song over fixes it (don't ask...I can't begin to know why something doesn't work and then 3 seconds later pushing play again makes it work). Also keep in mind I push my machine hard - because of my editing and extra voice and tap tracks I end up with 15-20 tracks of audio all playing at once.

3. iMovie - Dropped frames. In other words sometimes when it records it drops out a few seconds. No big deal unless those few seconds are the intricate footwork you need to see. Again there are probably several reasons for this such as using an older Macbook, using the newest version of iMovie, unrelated (I've stumped the guys at the Apple Genius Bar more than once!).

There are other issues as well but that covers the basics. Don't get me wrong the benefits FAR outweigh the drawbacks but there are always glitches to deal with (some of you with iPods have experienced issues so you know what I mean).

So right now I'm trying to convert to using a new music program called Reaper (morbid name I know). So that requires shifting all of my audio files into the new program! Why would I do that? The app is faster and more stable than Garageband on my Macbook. It allows instant speed change which is great for rehearsal (yes Djay does speed control but I don't really want to be using Garageband and then have to switch to Djay to get speed control, especially if I've already set a specific section to repeat in Garageband). It allows me to edit music more easily as well. BUT...I basically have to learn how to use it (300+ page manual...oh boy!). I also have to transfer out all of my garageband files - music, voice, and tap into separate tracks for Reaper.

Stay tuned and I'll tell you how it goes.

Rod

The Element of Surprise or "Awww man..."

2010-12-05T12:51:00.000-08:00

In order to shake things up a little in class and make things a bit more interesting I tried something new this past week. I had each student make up their own "step" which had to consist of 7 sounds with the counts 1 & 2 & 3 & 4. Furthermore, it had to start on the right and end on the left and be repeatable. Other than that they could do whatever they wanted with it and many did some really cool and creative things (after teaching over 20 years it's nice to see other people's creativity, especially students). I gave them some time to work on it and get it down and helped a few kids that were stuck. For those kids I simply tell them to make a sound, any sound. If they stamp their feet (for instance), then I tell them to give me a number between 1-4. If they pick 2, then I say "there's your first two sounds, stamp stamp, now make another sound and pick another number." That usually gives them a start.

So once they get their "step" down I give them the bad news. "Students, the "step" you've just created is actually a turn!" Cue the "Aww man..." comments and the bulging eyes as they contemplate how in the world they are going to turn their "step." Many need help with the mechanics of when to spot but they eventually figure it out and end up with their very own turn.

It's a fun exercise (at least for me) that throws a little element of surprise in there to keep them on their toes. If any of my fellow tap teachers have cool surprises they spring on their students I'd love to know about them.

Rod Howell @ http://www.unitedtaps.com

The Right Combination or Making Easy Steps Seem Hard

2010-10-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

So I've been in a "back to basics" mode this year trying to strengthen my students' basics skills like shuffles, buffalos, cramp rolls, etc. In so doing I've found that if you manage to put some of these simple steps in just the right order your students will end being really challenged by them (depending on level of course). For instance in one class I did buffalo shuffle ball change cramp roll flap ball change. Sounds pretty easy. But for some reason the brain wants to do a flap ball change after the buffalo not a shuffle ball change, especially on the 2nd or third repetition of the pattern (I do this across the floor). I also like this because it allows the kids to practice differentiating shuffle step and flap. Some kids never ever have a problem confusing the two but others never seem able to internalize the difference. I have tried a couple of tricks like:

Flaps go Front, Shuffle go Side (usually) noting the letter F in flap and front and the letter S in shuffle and side.

They all "get it" when I write this on the mirror, but two weeks later it seems to be gone again and once again a shuffle has been mistaken for a flap (or vice versa). Anyone have a great way to tackle this problem?

Rod @http://www.unitedtaps.com

Computers Rule the Future or I'll Be Obsolete

2010-09-22T03:47:00.003-07:00

It's a bit cliche, but we often hear about computers someday taking over the world. So how will they affect the world of tap dancing? Well I hope to be leading that charge in a positive way. I've been working with a software programmer for a while and if all goes well I may end up with a computer program than can "hear" a students feet and draw their sounds onto a video screen in the exact way they tapped them. Thus showing them visually when a sound was missing, early, or late. It's not a substitute for listening to their own feet, but I think it will help train their ears to be better able to pick out "off" sounds.

That's step one of course. Step 2 is the computer understanding what mistake they're making and then telling them how to fix it. Truth be told, if I had the money to hire as many good programmers as I need I could make that software right now. So mark my words that's coming down the pipeline.

Now don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to create a bunch of tapping robots here. The computer is meant as tool to help the kids, not as a be-all end-all for tap dancing. Think of how much guitar hero has gotten kids into music they might otherwise have no interest in. Maybe computers can do that for tap dancing someday. I'm hopeful and I'll keep you updated.

Rod Howell at http://www.unitedtaps.com

First Day Back or Here We Go........

2010-09-04T00:09:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day back for normal fall lessons. Luckily for me it was only two hours which makes for a nice easing-back-into-things start to the new season. The kids were were attentive, eager, and in good spirits and who doesn't love to teach to that? These classes are at a studio I'm relatively new to (just started there about 2 months ago) so the kids are still learning my terminology.

I find the terminology a tough thing. I tell the kids to learn and remember as many names to steps as they can because that way when they take from someone else they'll hopefully be prepared for their terminology. However regardless of how hard I try to teach new students who have had other teachers my terminology, they tend to still revert back to the very first names they learned for steps.

Anyone got a solution to that?

Rod at http://www.unitedtaps.com

The Rise of Technology or There's Four of Me!

2010-08-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I made an ambitious attempt to replicate myself 3 times through the magic of modern technology, and it worked! Here's the story:

I was scheduled to teach a production number at one of the studios I work at and all the kids were coming at the same time (as opposed to splitting them into groups and working with one group at a time). Well I didn't want 3/4 of the kids just sitting doing nothing while I worked with one of the subgroups within the production, so I replicated myself. The night before I was scheduled to teach I video-taped myself teaching the choreography for three of the groups. The next day I put three of the groups each in separate rooms with a tv and had them learn the choreography off of the video while I worked with the fourth group "live." I did have an assistant overseeing my youngest group that was learning from video. So how did it go?

Splendid! Worked like a charm! So in the amount of time it would have taken me to teach one group one section, I taught each of four groups their own section. Granted it was a ton of work filming and editing the video the night before (didn't get to bed until 5 a.m.). It was definitely worth it though. The kids really appreciated having some choreography to learn instead of sitting around watching the other kids work on their sections. Also with the ability to pause the video when they needed to they could adjust the pace of learning to their needs. Also, the group I was working with "live' had to leave early, so after they left I was able to hop form room to room to answer questions and give corrections while the kids were learning from the video. I was sort of like my own assistant. It was great having that freedom to roam and correct without being tied down to one room. I felt I could get a lot more done.

Score one for technology!

Rod Howell at http://www.unitedtaps.com

The Joys of Being New or Enjoy it While it Lasts

2010-08-11T23:29:00.000-07:00

So throughout my many years of teaching I've taught at many different dance studios. Teaching at a new place can be exciting and slightly intimidating all at the same time. One of the perks however is that for a brief moment in time you're the "new guy" and the kids are genuinely excited to take class from you and learn all the great things you have to teach.

Like all good things though, this soon comes to an end. Not that the kids suddenly don't like your class anymore, it's just sort of like that new toy that was the coolest thing ever when you got it and then a few weeks later it's just another toy.

Nevertheless those first few weeks are a real joy and can really remind you why you got into teaching in the first place, or perhaps why you haven't left.

Have you had the same experience?

Rod Howell at http://www.unitedtaps.com

Set Warm Up? or When Does Autopilot Kick In?

2010-08-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

So invariably at some point I usually do a set warm-up. It has changed throughout the years and most recently it has taken the form of some prerecorded "tap-like" sounds making the right rhythms over top a nice back beat. This way the kids can hear how the rhythm of a step is supposed to go and then "copy" it as they do the step. Humans are natural born imitators so why not use that to our advantage?

So what's the downside? Well, it depends. Some kids get bored of repetition fast and others can handle a lot (unfortunately I can handle extreme amounts so my perspective is always skewed towards more). There's no doubt that repetition has a place in tap training. It's quite valuable to have the muscle memory to pull off a wide range of steps without having to think about it. On the other hand, at some point their brains will shut down and they'll just go through the motions without really trying to make everything sound good.

So what I try to do is use the set warm up for a couple of months or so (maybe longer or shorter depending on the group of kids I teach) and then do some "live" warm-ups. There's no doubt that after doing set warm-ups for a while the kids are not as quick at picking up new patterns in a live warm-up, but the quality of the steps they're doing has usually improved. So it's basically a balancing act.

Do you use a set warm-up and if so for how long?

Rod Howell at http://www.unitedtaps.com

Kids Love Games or Water is Wet

2010-08-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

So for one of the studios I teach at today was their last summer class. On special occasions like that I have some fun tap games I like to play.

"What step am I?" - I split the class into 2 teams and one person from each team steps forward. I begin describing myself as if I were a tap step (often using non-related tap descriptions) and the first person to figure out what step it is and do it gets a point for their team. For instance I might say - "You might find me on an envelope." The first person to do a stamp gets a point for their team.

"Guess by sound" - I make all the kids turn away from me and close their eyes. While their eyes are closed I do a step like Buffalo. Then they all turn around and each student tells me what step they think I did based upon the sound of it. If they guess correctly they remain in the game if they guess wrong they're out. If everyone guesses wrong we do the step again. Also, if some people are out and the rest of the people still in all guess wrong on a step 3 times in a row, the people who are out get to come back in.

What games do you play?

Rod howell at http://www.unitedtaps.com

New Shoes or Am I Crazy?

2010-08-04T18:24:00.000-07:00

I finally got my new Capezio K360 Pros from http://www.dancingfair.com/ all set up with taps and rubber. They are apparently better made than the standard K360's as they are double soled and made in America.

Up until about 2001-2002 I used K360's exclusively, but I developed tendonitis in my ankles and frankly they just weren't that comfortable for tapping 5 or 6 hours in a row. So I switched to the Capezio Tap Sneaker. The taps on those were horrible. They were so curved that only a tiny part of the tap (especially the heels) touched the floor at any given time which resulted in really quiet heel sounds. But they were comfortable. Mostly. You see, they actually had NO arch support at all. After many years in those I developed a toe problem on my left foot. I though it might be the shoe so I made my own tap sneakers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HEzaQYcw9g - the shoes are shown at about a minute into it). They worked okay but the toe problem remained so I turned a pair of dress shoes into tap shoes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA1q5p4UX84) but they developed their own problems such as the bolts holding the taps on breaking and the head of the bolts popping out. So I decided to go back to the tried and true Capezio K360's.

Now lately I've been having some issues with my back so I kind of feel like I must be crazy to be going back to a shoe that has almost no cushion at all. Granted I did stick some Dr. Scholls cushions inside and they do help. I only taught an hour today so I decided to try out the new shoes.

Bottom line: I like them! They felt good, and light, and perfectly suited for tapping. That may sound silly but after having several shoes that weren't really made for tapping it's nice to have a pair that are. Time will tell how well they hold up and how well my back holds up using them, but I will keep you posted from time to time as to how they're doing.

What tap shoes are you using and how do they hold up to extended use?

Rod

One at a Time? or How to Make Your Whole Class Bored

2010-08-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

Tap teachers face an age old dilemma. Check the students' feet one at a time or not? Sure you can go in medium sized groups or even twos but with several kids tapping at once it can be challenging for me to hear the flaws and often even more so for students who haven't spent their entire life listening for them. Tapping solo in class reveals everything and students are often surprised at what they hear. The good news is that they get instant, clear feedback on the quality of their sounds in addition to my full and immediate attention telling them exactly what to fix and how to fix it. The downside of course is that the rest of the class is left with no choice but to watch as the same step is attempted over and over. Sure, for the first couple of kids everyone pays close attention to learn a thing or two, but by kid number 7 they're just plain bored.

And there's also the question of how long to spend on each kid. If a student still hasn't gotten the step after a minute or two do I just move on regardless? There's a big part of me that hates doing that because I feel that time has been wasted if they didn't improve. On the other hand I could burn up an entire class if I worked with every kid until they got it right (not because they're not good tappers, but because there's a good many of them, and some simply make adjustments faster than others).

I generally do move on after a minute or so just to keep class moving. Despite the boredom, I do think there is value in having them tap one at a time. If anyone has a great idea on how to keep the rest of the kids interested/entertained while each kid goes, I'm all ears.

Rod Howell at http://www.unitedtaps.com

Community Combo or My Back Hurts

2010-08-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

So my back was hurting during teaching tonight (it hasn't totally locked up yet, but it's getting close) so I tried something new for a combination. I had the kids stand in a line and asked each one to give me a step. As each person gave me a step, we added it to the combination. I kind of coordinated and clarified the rhythm as we went, but it worked out great and we ended up with a combination that was definitely different than anything I would have normally given them. Give it a try and let me know how it goes for you.

Rod at http://www.unitedtaps.com

Tap into the Network or Combination Burnout

2010-08-01T02:06:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of teaching a class at Gregg Russell's tap intensive called Tap into the Network. I taught a combination to an Eminem song (it was the clean version I promise). I was VERY excited and a bit nervous to teach it. I had created it a week before specifically for this occasion, and I was really feeling it.

Sometimes as a tap teacher you don't always really feel every combination you create. Granted I always try to create something I like, sometimes you're just more inspired (or less fried?) than others. Of course it's always nice when you get inspired before a big class/event like this.

One of the challenges for me since I teach at 3 different studios is "combination burn-out." I like to create my combinations ahead of time, but I learned long time ago that it was a little crazy to have completely different combinations for every level at every studio. Even with notes (which I use - more on that in another post) trying to load your brain with completely new information for every class can have you spinning in circles. I've found it's best to create 2 or 3 core combinations that can then be adjusted to the level of each class.

The upside is that after you've taught the combination once, you've got a good handle on it and it's in your brain so you really don't have to reference your notes very much. The downside though is that after doing it a few times with a few classes you get tired/bored of it. Now I'm the first to say if you're bored with it, spice it up with harder feet or style. That's not a problem for a student, but as a teacher I can't just go and add a bunch stuff to a class that's just trying to get the core choreography.

So how does this relate to teaching at Tap into the Network? Well I always want to be well-prepared (perfectionistic tendencies are stubborn things) so I rehearsed the combination a lot and even did a dry run teaching it (to imaginary students of course) to make sure I had all the counts down and so forth. Well the morning of the class I was concerned I had over-rehearsed it and would be bored (combination burnout) but it actually turned out just right. In fact I was very glad I had done the teaching dry run because it was very helpful to have the counts already worked out.

On a side note, I don't choreograph counts, I choreograph rhythms and then figure out how to count them (usually).

So I'd love to hear from some fellow tap teachers out there how you deal with combination burnout?

Rod Howell at http://www.unitedtaps.com

Welcome!

2010-08-01T01:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome tap dance teachers! My name is Rod Howell and I've been teaching tap for a little over twenty years. I started assisting at about age 12 and began teaching at age 14. Teaching tap dance is what I do. Day after day I'm in the studio either creating routines or teaching students how to shuffle. It's an interesting and challenging career to say the least!

I was fortunate to receive excellent training from Gregg Russell and I wanted a way to give others a little bit of what I received. I decided to do this through a website at http://www.unitedtaps.com. There you'll find a free tap dance video dictionary and syllabus, free online lessons, as well many other resources. It has taken me years of work to create, and I do all the work myself so I hope you enjoy it.

From here on out this blog will serve as a forum for me to share my thoughts on teaching tap dance. I'll share the good and the bad and any great new ideas I come up with. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you'll return again soon.

Rod Howell