I want rhythm, I want music, I want tap class, who can ask for anything more?

June 26, 2007 5:24 PM

I used to be a dancer. I was never a gifted ballerina, but in recent years, I have come to miss the tap. How do I find a great, easy going, affordable adult tap dancing class in San Francisco?

I took ballet, tap, and jazz classes from when I was a wee girl until I was 15. At that point, unlike the girls I'd been taking with for years, it was clear that it wasn't what I wanted to do for forever, so I quite. Lately, I've been looking for a type of exercize that I won't utterly loathe, and I'm thinking tap might be the answer. I was always much better at that than at ballet, and I really used to enjoy it. I've done the standard google poking around, but I'd love specific recommendations or ideas on how to conduct a more focused search. I want a class for adults (and preferably beginners or nigh-beginners) that doesn't cost a ton. Also, I'd rather do classic, choreographed tap than modern "rad tap," unchoreographed, as fast as possible tap.

posted by mostlymartha to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

In my area, most of the high schools offer nightly Adult Education classes, and most of them include at least beginning tap. Usually the public library has the catalogs of the various classes offered by each school.
posted by Oriole Adams at 5:26 PM on June 26, 2007

Check out the P.E. class offerings by City College of SF. $25 bucks a class for the semester and there is usually an abundance of different time slots and class levels. I was in a similar situation as you having burnt out on competitive tennis 10 years ago and I found the CCSF classes were perfect for getting back into the "swing" of things. I think their web address is www.ccsf.edu. Good luck!
posted by BigBwana at 5:33 PM on June 26, 2007

have you checked out metronome dance center? i took some lessons for my wedding there. seems like they offer a wide variety of dance styles.
posted by gnutron at 5:52 PM on June 26, 2007

I took some hip hop and house dance at ODC Dance Commons, and they seemed like a good place for stuff. I am totally beginnery and I haven't tried a lot of other places so I don't know if it's better or worse or anything, but it's worth checking out.

They have a lot of drop-in classes. Not sure if that includes tap (they do have some tap classes though). Those are great for just trying it out and seeing if you like that particular teacher, which is probably the most important thing about a class.
posted by aubilenon at 6:11 PM on June 26, 2007

My coworker's taking a beginning tap dance class at City College after work 2 nights a week, and he looooves it.

Tap-dancing coworkers are the best.
posted by logic vs love at 8:10 PM on June 26, 2007

ODC has a bunch of classes. Unfortunately, if you have a job - they are tough to get to - a lot of them are during the day. I've liked all the classes I've taken at the San Francisco Dance Center. I'm exactly the same - a lot of ballet classes - never particularly accomplished. If I didn't have a one year old and a full time job- I'd be joining you.
posted by Wolfie at 9:09 PM on June 26, 2007

If you're willing to go to Marin, I adored Carol Butler's classes. She teaches adult/community classes. She's a lot of fun and a great teacher.
posted by radioamy at 8:13 AM on June 27, 2007