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Sunday, June 18, 2006

Jason Samuels Smith tap class

Watched a bit of the tap class Saturday. Jason Samuels Smith taught the "BS Chorus" and the "Shim Sham," both classic dances.
Smith called the "Shim Sham" the "international anthem of tap, something every dancer should know." Swing dancers in the Triangle know it well, too. They do it at every Triangle Dance Society armory dance (1st and 3rd Saturdays, if you want to see it. With a couple hundred dancers all doing it at once, it's pretty amazing.) Or here's a link to a video. I don't know the two dancers in the video, but I think the Durham swing-dancers do it far better: http://www.1newgroove.com/video.asp
Smith urged the dancers to nail the two dances, so they can whip them out anytime for a quick solo, or a duet that whoever they're dancing with is sure to know.
The students picked the moves up admirably. And Smith was a patient and precise teacher, working the combinations over and over again until the whole room moved in a crisp unison. I bet his instructional DVDs are structured well.

Here are some photos:
 

 
Posted at 11:15 pm by Orla Swift in ADF
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