Miss Kimberly Takes on Tap

 

Hello CVDA family!

My name is Kimberly and I will begin teaching tap classes at CVDA starting in the summer session. I started taking tap as a six year old and was in regular tap classes into my twenties. I also competed as a tapper. I taught recreational and competition tap classes at CVDA for 7 years, and now, after having a two-year break from teaching tap classes, I feel refreshed, renewed, and more than ready to come back full swing. My main goals for the tap program are to promote coordination, confidence, structure, and a love for tap.

There are many benefits gained from taking tap classes. Tapping is very similar to playing a musical instrument in that a person must keep a certain rhythm and stay within a particular tempo. It stimulates the math brain as well as the artistic brain and does wonders for a person’s coordination and musicality. There is a place for everyone in tap, even if you feel inflexible, out of shape, or uncoordinated. Along with the individual benefits of tap, working with a group to attain a certain beat is challenging and helps to develop an ear for rhythm and timing.

In each tap class, I plan to incorporate many different teaching styles to accommodate different learning types. I will integrate various tap techniques including echoing, drill time, freestyle, rhythm, speed, aerobic work, and ambidextrous movements. Students will get one on one attention as well as working within a group. They will have time to work independently in order to master steps they feel less comfortable with and to be able to ask questions they may feel nervous to ask in front of a class.

I am very excited about teaching tap classes again at CVDA, and look forward to putting my new ideas into play. I hope my love for tap will encourage others to give it a try, so they can gain as much from it as I have. So let’s tap, everyone!

 

Sincerely,

Kimberly Kjersten