Tap shoes question

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 6/4/11 at 11:47pm

How do performers walk on stage wearing tap shoes, how don't the shoes make their sound when they walk, but as soon as they begin dancing, the taps are quite audible?

I noticed this during The Book of Mormon the other day when the Elders came onstage, and then halfway through the dance, the taps were audible.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 6/5/11 at 12:05am

It's just a matter of how you walk. Taps are typically only on the front part of the foot and the heel. If you keep the majority of your weight on the ball of your foot then you will make little to no sound, since the tap will be making little to no contact with the floor.

It is also fairly common practice to "sweeten" the sounds of taps through floor mics and even having additional dancers doing the choreography offstage somewhere and using microphones to pick up the sound of their dancing.

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 6/5/11 at 12:18am

Thanks, that never occurred to me!

[shrekster224]

Posted: 6/5/11 at 11:15am

Yea, I immediately thought of the floor mics. I guess the first part of AEA's answer applies too, since you could still probably hear it throughout the theater with the mics turned off.