Tap dancing in Barcelona

Barcelona is an incredibly rhythmical city that makes people want to get up and move their bodies. Everyone has their favorite sound to move to and some love the click of the tap shoes.

About the dance

The main emphasis of tap dancing is on the sounds made by the shoes percussively striking the floor in rhythm. It has its roots in both African tribal and British clog dances. There are two main styles of tap – Jazz, which focuses more on the musicality, and Broadway, which focuses more on the dance.

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Where can I learn?

There are a few tap dance schools in Barcelona, all from beginners up.

The most popular of these is the Jimmy Slyde institute, named after the famous 50’s jazz dancer. It is located on Calle Nou de Dulce, close to the Sant Antoni subway station in Ciutat Vella. The teacher, Roxanne Butterfly, was a protegé of the great Jimmy Slyde, and has performed and taught all over New York, Paris, Vienna and Barcelona. She gives various beginners classes throughout the week, then more advanced classes on a Saturday. Contact her at: rb.worldbeats@gmail.com to learn more.

Another place to learn tap dance in Barcelona is with the Camut band, located in Poblenou. This project originally began in 1995 with the coming together of choreographers and tap dancers Rafael and Lluís Méndez, and African percussionist Toni Español. They have a unique performance style in which they combine tap dancing with the playing of drums with their feet. The band has since grown to include an additional 4 artists as well. They too offer classes for different levels of ability. Contact them at: info@camutband.com to learn more.

One more venue where you can learn tap is at the Luthier Dansa school, located on Carrer de Balmes, close to Passeig de Grácia. Here you can not only learn tap, but also ballet, jazz, contemporary, urban dances, Irish dance, body percussion, flamenco, to mention just a few. There are a variety of classes on offer, the two most popular ones being the intensive weekly classes, and the longer 9 month programme, with a whole host of special guests making appearances at varying times. E-mail: escolaluthier@casaluthier.com for more information.

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Events

If you’d just like to watch and listen, appreciate the art from the comfort of a seat, well, there are also many events around the city in which you can be a spectator. Each of the aforementioned schools host various events throughout the year in which students, and professionals, get their chance to perform.

There is also the yearly Tap on – an international tap meeting which takes place in Barcelona, bringing talented performers from all over the world. This year’s event will take place between 25 – 31 st July 2016.

So, if it’s tap you want, here you have it!