Weekly classes · Tap for Adults
Tap Dance
Classes in
Plymouth.
Weekly tap dance classes in Plymouth city centre for adults who always fancied it and never got round to it — shuffles, ball changes and your first time step, taught one sound at a time until your feet are making music. No experience, no shoes yet, no problem. Pay £10 a class as you go, or £32 for a four-week block, without signing up to anything.
Tap is a drum kit you wear. We teach you the rhythms; your feet supply the noise.
Adults welcome · beginners first · rhythm over speedJoin the class
Make your first
sound this week.
Fill in the form and you'll hear back with the current tap timetable, where in the city centre we meet and what to put on your feet for a first go.
- £10 per class or £32 for a four-week block — no contract
- Trainers are fine to start — no tap shoes required for a first go
- A reply within 24 hours, often the same afternoon
Class details
Tap,
every week.
At a glance
- Location Plymouth City Centre
- Day Sent with your timetable
- Time Evenings
- Level Beginner-friendly
- Age group 17 – 75
- Partner needed No
About tap dance classes in Plymouth
Tap is the only dance where you're also the band. Every step makes a sound, and the pleasure of the class is hearing a room full of adults go from scattered clatter to one clean rhythm over the course of an hour. Our Plymouth class is aimed squarely at grown-ups: the ones who did it at seven and stopped, and the ones who've never made a sound and would quite like to. We build from single sounds — a tap, a step, a heel drop — into shuffles, ball changes and, by the end of a first block, a proper time step.
Tap sits alongside jazz on our Plymouth dance classes timetable and shares a lot of its musical DNA — swing, syncopation, a bit of showmanship. Plenty of tappers do both. It's kind to knees and hips too, since everything happens close to the floor. The other thing worth knowing is that tap is a genuinely social class: waiting your turn to travel across the floor means a lot of chatting, and the shared struggle of getting a shuffle clean bonds a room faster than most styles. Bring a sense of humour and a willingness to make some noise.
How the class is structured
The hour starts with rhythm exercises to a metronome or a slow swing track — clapping first, then feet — so everyone is counting the same way. Next comes technique: the sound of the week, drilled slowly across the floor until it's clean rather than fast. Then we build a short combination that grows across the four-week block, adding a new bar each session, and finish with the whole room dancing it to music. Level is managed inside the class, so returning dancers take a harder variation while a newcomer stays on the base steps. If you miss a week the base steps are recapped, so you won't be lost. Couples occasionally borrow a tap break for a surprise moment in their first dance; it goes down very well.
Where it goes
From first tap
to time step.
Tap progress is audible — you can hear yourself improving. Here's a typical first block from single sounds to a time step.
Single sounds
Taps, steps, heel drops and toe drops — the alphabet of tap, learned slowly and cleanly before any of it speeds up.
Shuffles and ball changes
The two building blocks of almost every tap step, plus counting in swing time so the rhythm sits where it should.
Flaps and the time step
Flaps travelling across the floor and the classic single time step — the first thing that sounds like real tap.
The combination
A sixteen-bar routine to a swing track, danced together as one sound — and usually a lot of grinning.
Side effects
Tap does more
than make noise.
Beyond the steps — the things tap regulars say they didn't expect when they first turned up.
- Rhythm and timing that improve every musical thing you do
- Low-impact fitness that's gentle on hips and knees
- Sharper coordination and quicker reactions
- Memory training — tap combinations keep the brain busy
- Calf, ankle and foot strength you'll feel on hills
- A cheerful, chatty adult room with no competitive edge
- An instrument you can practise in the kitchen
- The rare joy of a whole room landing one beat together
Tap questions
Ask us
about tap.
Ten no-nonsense replies for anyone in Plymouth wondering about tap. For anything else, the form above will find us.
01Do I need tap shoes to start?
Not for your first few drop-ins — flat, hard-soled trainers or shoes are fine while you decide whether tap is for you. Tap shoes are your own to buy when you're ready, and we don't supply or lend them. The teacher can point you to sensible beginner pairs.
02I've never danced — is tap realistic for a beginner?
Yes, and tap is arguably the friendliest style to start as an adult because it's built from single sounds. The class begins at the very beginning every time a newcomer arrives, and nobody is expected to keep up at speed.
03I did tap as a child — will this be too easy?
Unlikely. Your feet will remember more than you expect, but the base steps are taught cleanly and returning dancers get harder variations of every combination. Many of our regulars came back to tap after twenty years away.
04What do I wear to tap classes?
Comfortable clothes you can move in, and either your own tap shoes or flat, hard-soled footwear for a first session. Avoid soft running trainers, which muffle the sound. We don't provide shoes or any other kit.
05Is tap noisy — will I be embarrassed?
Everyone makes noise, that's the point, and beginners' mistakes get lost in the room. Within a couple of weeks you'll hear your own sounds tightening up, which is one of the most satisfying parts of learning tap.
06What will tap classes cost me?
£10 per class if you pay as you go. If you take a four-week block it's £32, which shaves it to £8 a session — and beyond your own tap shoes, when you get them, there is nothing else to pay.
07Where in Plymouth does the class run?
In a hired studio in Plymouth city centre with a floor that can take tap shoes — the station, bus stops and car parks are all within a few minutes. The precise venue and room come with your timetable when you enquire, as the studio we use can vary from term to term.
08Is tap hard on the knees?
No — it's one of the gentler styles for joints, because the movement is small, close to the floor and mostly in the ankles. People with dodgy knees often find tap easier than styles with jumps or deep lunges.
09What music do you use for tap?
Swing and big-band classics for the most part, because the rhythm sits naturally in tap steps, with slower tempos early on. As the class gets cleaner we bring in funk, soul and the odd modern track for the combination.
10Can I have a go before buying a block?
Absolutely. Come along once for £10 in whatever flat shoes you own, make some noise, and decide afterwards. If tap turns out to be your thing, a four-week block can start the next week; if not, you've lost an hour and gained a story.