We’ve all heard of tap dancing, and probably witnessed it at a dance recital or other performance at some point. Making music with your feet through dynamic movements is fun for the dancers, and also entertaining for those watching. Beyond being a super fun past time, tapping also carries unique health benefits (both physical and mental) for tap dancers of any age group.
DAMPA proudly offers an incredible tap dance program, which includes our own Heart & Soles Tap Company. Here are some reasons we are encouraging our current students (and future students of DAMPA) to add tap dance to their repertoire.
- Tap Dancing is FUN fitness.
Tap Dancing builds leg strength, increased flexibility in the lower body, AND is a fantastic aerobic exercise. Tap Dancers who practice three times per week see an immense cardiovascular benefit.
- Tap Dancing improves balance.
Tapping requires a lot of weight shifting. This improves balance, coordination, and core control…which means better posture, less back pain, and lowers the risk of serious injury from tripping or falling.
- Tap Dancing is noisy.
It doesn’t matter your age, being noisy feels good! It’s also an amazing emotional release. Using Tap as an outlet for expression is incredible for improving emotional health and building self confidence.
- Tap Dancing makes you smarter.
Here at DAMPA, we KNOW Music Makes You Smarter, and we say it all the time. Guess what? Tap Dancing does, too! Tap steps are complex and intricate. Learning and practicing tap steps is great exercise for your brain. Studies show that dancing (including Tap!) may help prevent Alzheimers and Dementia later in life.
- Tap Dancing helps you become a better musician.
When Tap Dancers perform, they are the music AND main attraction. One positive result of learning Tap Dance is that you develop into a better musician in the process. Tapping helps you "tap" (HA!) into your inner rhythm and improves your sense of finding the beat and patterns within music.
With such incredible benefits - physical, mental, and emotional - it is easy to see why DAMPA has decided to increase the focus and emphasis that we put on Tap Dance. We have joined forces with the Queen of Tap, Katelyn Harris, and her Rhythmic Souls tap group in order to expand our program to offer more for dancers of all different levels and backgrounds.
Learn more about Tap Dance and other awesome opportunities at DAMPA here: www.dallasacademyofmusic.com, or email us at makemusic@dallasacademyofmusic.com or give us a call at 214-965-8324.
Resources:
http://www.rockettes.com/blog/10-reasons-tap-dance-rocks/
https://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm
http://www.theatredance.com/tap/