THE DREADED……..Tap jam session. Why does it scare us? PART 2

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 06:54:16 +0000

Despite all of the obvious benefits to tap jamming, it’s often extremely difficult to round up enough people to begin a jam session, with most people and even some professional dancers saying that they “don’t do” jamming.

Why?

Fear.

Of course, it’s totally understandable. Getting up and improvising solo can certainly be an extremely nerve wracking experience, as most who have given it a try will admit. As with any skill, practice makes perfect. Nobody was born with the ability to jam, just as nobody was born with the ability to ride a bike.

The most memorable moment of the whole jam experience at the Playhouse was the 6 & 7 year old kids, who with 10 months of tap experience to their credit, threw themselves into a completely professional adult tap jam session without a hint of fear, determined to give it a go, and have an awesome time in the process. We all had to take our hats off to those kids.

The moral of this little story is that while many people think:
They don’t jam because they can’t jam,

The truth is actually the other way round:
They can’t jam because they don’t jam.

Our advice: Just go for it, and don’t judge yourself harsh the first time. Take any opportunity you can to practice, by yourself or in a circle. You’ll gradually get better, and discover a joy to be found in tap dance that you never knew was there!

…..Check out part 1 here…….

RED HOT RHYTHM hold adult tap dance classes, and kids tap dance classes in Ashgrove, Brisbane. For all the information, visit the classes page of the website:

Dance Classes Brisbane – RED HOT RHYTHM

RED HOT RHYTHM also perform tap and Irish dance, as well as a range of other styles at events all over the world. For all the information, visit the corporate page of the website:

Corporate Entertainers – RED HOT RHYTHM

THE DREADED……..Tap jam session. Why does it scare us?

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 06:44:08 +0000

Tap Jamming and improvisation – why does it scare us?

In November 2009, both the Red Hot Rhythm performance troupe and the students from Red Hot Rhythm’s kids and adult classes performed in an end of year concert at the Playhouse at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex. While the performance went over tremendously with the audience and was enjoyed by all, it was the events that took place backstage in the rehearsal room which turned out to be the most interesting and note-worthy of the occasion.

As one would expect when you get a group of professional tap dancers, Irish dancers and other ‘rhythm junkies’ in a room (with a wooden floor) together, improvised jam sessions will often spontaneously erupt. In these jam sessions, the dancers form a circle, and take 8, 16 or 32 counts each to improvise a small combination of moves one at a time. The process repeats around the circle for sometimes hours on end.

This is exactly what happened in between shows, in the rehearsal room of the Playhouse.

There are ridiculous amounts of benefits to tap jamming, including helping with confidence, technique, general performance & improvisational skills, as well as offering the chance to learn new steps & tricks from other dancers. Apart from this, a jam session can be one of the most enjoy things you can do in a pair of tap shoes.

AND YET!

Despite all of this, it’s often extremely difficult to round up enough people to begin a jam session, with most people and even some professional dancers saying that they “don’t do” jamming.