Tap Dogs teach new tricks

Three members of the Tap Dogs group, which includes some of the best tap dancers from Australia and America, aim to pass on their skills and passion to a new generation of practitioners.

The workshop will be run as part of the Tap Tour, Australia’s first exclusively tap dancing based touring workshop.

The aim of the workshop is to inspire the most enthusiastic young tap dancers to turn their passion into a career.

Tap dancing is a declining art in much of Australia. Professional dance is a skill usually acquired as a child and then perfected into adulthood.

With so many options available for children in dance, theater and music specialised art forms like tap have been in decline. Tap used to be seen as ‘old persons’ dancing.

The Lisa Clark Dance Centre is hosting a tap dancing workshop aimed at reversing this trend. The Tap Tour is the first of its kind in Australia with the aim is to visit smaller studios and build a pool of fresh talent.

Thanks to efforts like this one tap appears to be experiencing the beginnings of a revival among audiences, amateurs and students. 

The Sydney-based Australian tap dance festival is only a few years old and already attracts hundreds of participants.

The dancers of tomorrow will get their start in small studios dedicated to raising the next generation of tappers.

The workshop will be held in Hume ACT on Saturday July 14, between noon and 5pm.

Lisa Clark Dance Centre has been one of Canberra’s leading dance schools since it opened its doors in 1991.

It has four large studios on two floors, all with sprung floors for safe dance practice, reverse cycle air-conditioning, barres and mirrors.

All studios are laid with Tarkett, a non-slip vinyl specifically designed for dance. The Centre has a piano and full audio-visual services.

Lisa Clark Dance Centre is located at Unit 3, number 73 Sheppard St, Hume. Telephone 6260 2272