Dance Styles offered

• Acrobatics
• Babies/Preeschool
• Ballet
• Contemporary
• Hip Hop
• HSC Dance
• Jazz
• Modern Expressive
• National Character
• Pilates
• Private Lessons
• Singing
• Stretch
• Tap

Tap

At Joanne Grace School of Dance the Tap Syllabus that is taught is the Les Griffith Tap Dance Academy Syllabus. It is considered to be a technical and challenging syllabus consisting of a total of 15 Grades. The LGTDA Syllabus is updated every year and they have recently updated all the music to include more modern music with words that the children really enjoy.  

Pictured: Tap Troupe 2010
Photography by WinkiPop Media

Tap dance is a form of dance characterised by a tapping sound that is created from metal plates that are attached to both the ball and heel of the dancer's shoe. These metal plates, when tapped against a hard surface, create a percussive sound and as such the dancers are considered to be musicians.  

Early tappers like Fred Astaire provided a more ballroom look to tap dancing, while Gene Kelly used his extensive ballet training to make tap dancing incorporate all the parts of the ballet. This style of tap led to what is today known as "Broadway style". The best examples of this style are found in Broadway musicals such as 42nd Street.  

LGTDA Tap - The Les Griffith Tap Syllabus was the first syllabus to have double beats. Dein Perry and the original Tap Dogs were trained by the renowned Les Griffith. This syllabus has also produced musicals such as “Hot Shoe Shuffle” & “Tap Dogs” which are now highly acclaimed on Broadway & London’s West-End stages.   Joanne Grace School of Dance has a 100% pass rate in all tap examinations. The L.G.T.D.A. Tap Syllabus teaches children excellence in timing & rhythm as well as ensuring that all students learn great stage technique & dance quality.

Joanne Grace School of Dance tap students progress through early training in flexibility of ankle & knee joints, gross motor skills & hand-eye co-ordination to advanced levels of musicality, timing differentiation & improvisation. Each year we enter the students in their grade exam, which are held on location at the studio. Successful candidates receive a certificate along with their grade medal.