Friday, August 10, 2012

Why Take Tap Dancing Lessons?

Tap is an invigorating form of dance in which dancers put on special shoes equipped with metal taps. With their feet, tap dancers create rhythmic patterns and timely beats. The term tap dancing is derived from the tapping sound produced when the small metal plates on the dancer's shoes touch a hard floor or surface.

If you or your child is interested in learning to tap dance, you may be wondering what to expect from your first tap class. A beginner's tap class will focus on learning basic tap steps. If you are fairly coordinated, you should be able to pick up the basics rather quickly. Most tap classes begin with a short warm-up to prepare the feet and ankles. You will probably be asked to perform a few stretches to loosen up your legs. For there, basic steps will be taught, and soon you'll be stringing these basic steps together into a whole routine.

Tap dancing is one of the best cardiovascular exercises you can get. In fact, one 45 minute tap dance lesson, twice a week is enough to improve your heart's health. When you tap dance, you are making very small steps at an increased speed. When doing so, your heart rate goes up and is worked a lot more than it might be use to. As you build endurance, you are building muscle and making your heart muscle stronger and stronger.

Tap dancing burns approximately 315 calories per hour. If your child takes part in a two-hour tap dance class, that is equal to burning about 630 calories. If they're enrolled in several tap dance classes for two-hours per class, five days per week, that's almost a full pound of calorie-burning activity.

Tap dancing is a great way for adults to work off extra pounds too. The quick movements you will experience while tap dancing are sure to make you work up a sweat. If regularly attended, you can burn up to 800 calories a week during your tap dancing lessons. When your body burns calories, you are burning fat.

Another benefit to tap dancing is that the dancer is participating in a high energy exercise which works the leg muscles and others throughout the body. As your heart rate goes up, your body requires more oxygen. With this extra oxygen intake, your muscles are able to get the work out they need in order to strengthen and tone. More muscle tone means less body fat.

About Wagner Dance and Music


Since 1989, Wagner Dance and Music, a performing arts school, has been teaching East Valley students. Our 3600 square foot Gilbert facility is conveniently located on the southeast corner of Gilbert and Guadalupe in the Big Lots plaza. We offer classes for ages two to adult in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop, Lyrical, Tumbling, Cheer, Musical Theater and Voice as well as adult classes. For more information, or to sign up for a class, visit http://wagnerdancearts.com or call 480-892-7179.

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