The instruction and exercises in this video are intended to be used in conjunction with
the advice of your personal physician.
Because of the differences in physical conditioning from individual to individual, your doctor
should make sure that these exercises are safe for you to perform.
Therefore we strongly suggest you consult your physician before performing this or any
other exercise program.
The creative producers and participants of this program disclaim any liability or loss
in connection with the exercises and instructions herein.
Hi, I'm Donald O'Connor and I'm delighted that you've come to tap.
I think you'll find tap dancing a lot of fun and really a great way to exercise.
And to add to the fun of our instructional lessons and our fitness routines, I've invited
some really great guest tappers to join us.
So get ready for a lively hour of easy to learn instruction.
You'll be tapping to your favorite tunes before you know it.
Are you ready?
Well, get set.
Let's tap.
Let's go.
As you might have noticed, I started tapping a long time ago.
In fact...
Hey.
Hiya, Jesse.
Hi, Mr. Alcarna.
Would you like to dance with me?
Sure.
Okay.
Want to do the heel together?
Sure.
I think you're going too fast for me.
You know, I don't care what age you are.
Unless your doctor has warned you against aerobic exercise, tap dancing can offer tremendous
physical benefits.
So if you think you might be too old to start tapping, well, stop napping and start tapping.
Well, Fayad.
Hello there, John.
How you doing?
Oh, fine.
Thank you.
You know, this is what's great about tap dancing.
It doesn't matter whether you're three years old like Jesse or a famous senior citizen
like Fayad Nicholas.
You know, tap dancing is a wonderful way to stay healthy, keep your muscles firm, and
join in a form of musical expression that's pure American.
Jesse, I'd like you to meet Mr. Nicholas.
Mr. Nicholas, this is Jesse.
Hello, Jesse.
Would you like to dance with me?
Sure.
Oh, come on.
Let's go.
Ready?
That's it.
You got it.
You got it, Jesse.
I love tapping, and I've always loved the idea of teaching tap dancing.
But as I started to put my ideas on paper, I suddenly realized how much I'd taken for
granted.
Tapping came to me so naturally at such an early age that I just never took the time
to pick it apart, to learn all the basics.
That's all changed.
So for this video, I've gone back to the basics.
And to make sure that I don't leave anything out, I've asked the help of a wonderful dancer
that some of you may remember from the musical Curly McDimple.
Well, Robbie Morgan has all grown up now, but she's still tearing up the boards.
Hello, good looking.
How are you, Curly?
You're so honest.
All right.
Robbie and I are going to teach you a series of basic steps.
So by the end of this video, you'll be able to do a little routine we call the shim sham.
Right.
We have divided this tape into a series of four lessons, each with three basic new steps.
Now once you've learned these basic steps and practiced the short combinations we've
devised to help you practice, you'll really feel like a tap dancer.
And because practice is such an important part of learning, I have created a short exercise
routine at the end of each lesson.
So not only will we be repeating the steps at the end of each lesson, we'll get a little
workout at the same time.
And to make it easy for you to review each lesson, our resident techno geniuses have
come up with a brand new hassle-free way to get you from one lesson to another, just like
this.
As you can see, we've color coded each of our four lessons so you don't have to use
your VCR counter.
Just fast forward or hit reverse until you match the lesson color that you're looking
for.
It's all printed on the back of the cassette.
Just scan the lesson color to find the steps that you want to review.
We've made it easier than ever to review your lessons.
So remember, you've got to practice.
But I want to remind our students that it's extremely important to get the muscles loosened
up before practicing.
Absolutely.
So, we'll be reminding you and giving you a little warm-up routine at the beginning
of each lesson.
Shall we?
Let's.
Here we go.
Lesson number one.
In lesson number one, we're going to teach you the shuffle.
The toe heel.
And a heel dig.
And then we'll put all three steps together.
But before we start...
Let's do our regular warm-up routine.
Right.
We stretch the calves and the Achilles tendons.
Okay.
Make sure to rotate the ankles first to the right, nice and slow, and then...
Oh, I go fast, you know.
I'm sorry.
And then to the left.
Okay.
Now, you kick your legs, point your toes...
And jump up and down, shall we?
Okay.
Now, we do each of these stretches for a good full eight counts, and then you'll be ready
and warmed up for our first lesson.
Feel good and warmed up?
Good.
All right, Robbie, let's do the shuffle.
Okay.
This is one of the most basic steps of tap dancing.
Now, you brush the ball of the foot on the floor to the front, and then you brush it
back.
And remember, the shuffle always starts to the front.
Front, back.
Yes.
Front, back.
Oh, and if you're having any trouble keeping your balance, like I am, you can put your
arms out to the side.
Or you could use a straight back chair.
Right.
Now, let's do seven shuffles and a stamp.
Now, a stamp is just a step.
But you put all your weight on it so you could dance with the other foot.
Right.
Now, let's try seven shuffles and a stamp, starting with the right foot.
Robbie.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, seven.
I got through that one.
You did great.
Now, let's do it on the left foot.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Stamp.
Now, the proper way to learn a new step is to be taught from behind.
Now, remember, the shuffle always starts to the front.
So starting with the right foot.
Ready?
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, stamp.
Left foot.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Stamp.
Now, how about taking it one step further, doing shuffles and then the stamps.
Right and then the left.
Okay.
Let's do it eight times, alternating right foot then left foot.
That sounds like a good idea.
Yeah, we're shifting our weight back and forth.
Are you ready?
I think so.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Yes.
Shuffle.
Stamp.
Left foot.
Now, right foot.
Shuffle.
Stamp.
Left foot.
Right foot.
Stamp.
Left foot.
Two more.
Right foot.
Stamp.
And left foot.
Stamp.
Hey, that felt pretty good.
Yeah.
Now, let's turn it around and we're going to teach you again from behind.
You ready?
Five, six, seven, eight.
Shuffle.
Stamp.
Shuffle.
Stamp.
Three.
Left foot.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
And eight.
Okay.
Great.
And that's that.
That's the shuffle.
Now, our next step is the toe heel.
It's just like it sounds.
The toe heel.
You tap your toe on the floor and then you drop your heel.
One, two, eight counts with those?
Yeah.
And let's alternate.
Right foot, then left foot.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Right foot.
Left foot.
That's it.
Three.
Seven.
And eight.
Okay.
Now, we'll turn it around.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
And eight.
All right.
Toe heel.
That's how Fred Astaire started that famous break of his, his favorite.
Just like that.
All right.
Let's get back to the lessons.
Oh, good.
I got carried away.
I'm sorry.
Now, the heel dig.
Just like I said before, just like its name.
Take your heel, you dig it into the floor, and you put your feet together, then the other
foot, and you put them together.
Let's do a count of eight of those.
All right?
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
All right.
Turn it around.
You watch from behind.
You do that wonderful, Donald.
I did.
I felt it, you know.
Five, six, seven, eight.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Okay.
Got it?
Now, we're going to put it all together.
The shuffle, the toe heel, and the heel dig.
Into a little combo four, we've got the single cramp roll.
Let's show them that step again.
Okay?
Okay.
Nice and slow, I think.
Easy.
And.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Shuffle.
Toe.
Heel.
Left foot.
Shuffle.
Toe.
Heel.
Okay.
Now, we're going to turn it around.
Teach it from behind.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Shuffle.
Toe.
Heel.
Now, left foot.
Shuffle.
Toe.
Heel.
And right foot.
This is four.
And five, six, two more, and the last one.
Very good.
Got that one?
Now, that's a good start for lesson number one.
The shuffle, the toe heel, and the heel dig.
The single cramp roll.
Let's do it up to speed.
Okay.
Go.
They're already tapping.
You got it.
You know, all these steps I did in the movie, call me Madam.
Sure, Donald.
Right.
All right.
That's lesson number one.
Just remember that our goal in each of these lessons is to teach your body to remember
the positions and movements of each step.
The more you do it, the more naturally it will come to you.
Now, to assist you in installing our new program in your memory bank, Robbie has a short little
exercise routine, especially prepared for this lesson.
So, if you follow along, not only can you become more proficient with each step, but
you'll also enjoy a quick little workout routine to improve your fitness.
Thanks, Donald.
Now, I'm going to give you a nice practice routine, which will also be a great workout.
The first thing we're going to start with is a step called shuffle hop stamp.
Goes like this.
And then on the left, you're still going front to back, front to back.
So here we go.
We're going to do seven shuffles and a stamp, starting on the right foot.
A little faster.
You can do it.
Five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, stamp.
Left foot.
Two, three, four, five, six, seven, stamp.
Great.
Now, we're going to do shuffle stamps.
You remember those.
It goes like this.
Shuffle stamp, shuffle stamp, shuffle stamp, shuffle stamp.
Let's do eight.
Alternating on our right foot, then our left.
Here we go.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Shuffle stamp, shuffle stamp.
Three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Left foot.
Three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Okay, from the top.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Shuffle, snip, shuffle, snip.
Three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Great. Just practice these steps,
and you'll get a good workout.
Donald?
All right.
Feel like it's coming together for you?
Well, don't get discouraged.
With practice, your body will start to come around.
Now, coordination is something that comes naturally with practice.
Not to everyone, but to almost everyone.
Hang in there.
You're going to be amazed at how these new steps improve your balance,
even the way you move.
Oh, if you ski or roller skate,
you've already learned to shift your weight from foot to foot,
so you'll understand how essential it is to becoming a great tapper.
And speaking of great tappers with great legs,
meet my dear friend, the very talented Miss Carol Lawrence.
Hi, Donald. I'm all warmed up. Are you ready?
Frankly, I'm a little tired.
But, Donald, this is your first lesson.
Well, you're only my first guest. I'm pacing myself.
I understand.
Well, tell me, Donald, what have you taught them so far?
Well, first we did the shuffle.
The shuffle, like this?
Yes, and the toe heel.
Toe heel.
And the heel dig.
Heel dig. Oh!
Boy, you learn fast, don't you?
I've been doing that for a long time.
Hey, listen, I'll tell you what. Why don't we do this?
Why don't we show them the basic soft shoe dance?
I'd love that. Shall we do that? Please.
I'll give you four for nothing. Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
I'd love dancing with you. That was beautiful.
Hey, listen. What?
We have to do that number we did in Smiling Through.
My favorite one?
Listen, will you do me a favor?
Would you do a couple of steps to refresh my memory?
Sure. It starts off very simply with a toe tap.
And then it opens up.
Yeah!
Do you remember it?
That's beautiful, yes.
Want to try it?
We've got to do that sometime.
Six months from now, we'll just do the whole thing.
I've got a lot of people I've got to teach.
I understand. And for all of you out there,
just keep tap dancing. It is such fun.
See you soon, love.
All right, sweetheart. Thank you, Carol.
Just wonderful.
All right, lesson number two.
In lesson number two, we're going to teach you the flap,
the ball change, and the pullback.
And then we'll put the three steps together.
But before we start...
Let's do our regular warm-up routine.
That's right.
Stretch the calves and the Achilles tendons.
And make sure you rotate your ankles.
You know, first to the right, nice and slow.
I'm sorry I was doing them too fast.
And then to the left.
Now you kick your legs, point your toes.
And jump up and down.
Now, do each of these stretches for a good full eight counts.
And then you'll be warmed up and ready for our second lesson.
So put your VCR on pause.
Warm up real good.
And we'll see you when you're ready.
Feel good? Warmed up? Okay.
Robbie, let's do the flap.
Okay.
Now, this again is a basic step in tap dancing.
You brush the ball of the foot on the floor.
And you put your toe down.
Robbie?
Shall we?
Go.
Brush step, brush step.
You're putting the weight on one foot so that you can use the other foot.
Okay.
Now let's do eight flaps on the right foot.
Okay.
Five, six.
Nice and slow.
Sorry.
You count it.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Brush step, brush step, brush step.
Good.
Putting all the weight on that foot.
Two more.
And eight.
Great.
Okay.
Now let's do it on the left foot.
That's a good idea.
You count it.
I have a tendency to go fast.
Go ahead.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Brush step, brush step.
Putting all your weight on the foot.
Brush step, brush step, brush step, brush step.
Great.
We got the eight counts pretty fast that time.
I think we did.
Now let's do alternating feet.
Ready?
Remember to stay now up on your toes, shifting your weight from your right foot to the left.
You count off.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
You know, it's always easier to learn a new step from behind.
Ready?
Five, six.
You know what, Donald?
What?
Let's do alternating feet.
Let's just do eight on the right foot again.
Just eight on the right.
Okay?
If that's what she wants, we do it.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
One, and two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight.
Great.
Now can we go on the other foot from behind?
Yes.
Anyway, we're going to put it on the other.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
And one, and two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight.
Okay.
Now let's alternate starting on the right.
Okay.
But you know what?
What?
Let's do it this way.
Go.
Ready?
Five, six, seven, eight, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight.
Well, hey, Donald.
Yeah?
Let's do eight running flaps and let's show them how it looks fast.
You want to count it off?
I will.
Five, six, seven, eight, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight.
Hey.
And that is the flap.
Now, our next step is the ball change.
A ball change is two steps.
One foot goes behind like this.
Back, front.
Shifting your weight like a rocking horse.
Back, front.
Good.
Now let's do a couple more.
Okay.
Back, front.
And now when you get a little more advanced, a ball change could be done side to side like
this.
Pretty good.
Well, I thought I'd get you, but I didn't.
Hey, that reminds me.
Jane Kelly does a step that starts just like that.
Really?
Oh, oh, Donald, Donald, Donald.
Oh, I got carried away again.
Wait, we got to do the left foot.
Oh, I forgot.
Okay.
Take it.
Back, front.
You know what?
Let's do four of them on the right and four of them on the left, but I want them to listen
to the rhythm.
Okay?
Okay.
Back, front.
Ball change.
Back, front.
Good.
Let's try them.
Let's do it on the left foot.
The other one?
Okay.
Ball change.
Get that rhythm.
Back, front.
Great.
I like that.
Yeah.
And that's the ball change.
Now, our third step is the pullback.
You start with your heel on the floor and your toe up.
You brush the ball of your foot on the floor, bringing it back.
And make believe that you're going to kick yourself in the Francis.
The Francis?
Mm-hmm.
You mean the Tushy?
You say Tushy and I'll say Francis.
Now, you step on that foot, lifting your left toe at the same time.
Let's do the whole step.
Here's the step.
Yeah.
There it is.
See?
Now, you do the same thing on your left foot, brushing the ball of your foot on the floor,
sliding it back, and kicking yourself where we talked about before.
Stepping and lifting your right toe at the same time.
Now, it sounds more complicated than it is, really.
Remember, just your toe comes up on the opposite foot, not the whole foot.
Now, let's do eight counts going backwards, all right?
I'd love to.
Okay.
Go.
And pull, back, pull, back, pull, back.
Good.
That's it.
And back, pull, back, pull, back.
Great.
All right.
Now, we'll turn around and we'll come back.
But we don't have much farther to go.
And one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Okay.
Now, that's the single pullback.
And now we're going to put the three steps together, all right?
The flap, the ball change, and the pullback into a little combination that's going to
look like this.
Flap, pull, change, flap, pull, change, pull, back, pull, back, flap, pull, change.
Yeah.
Now, we've got the flap, ball, change, and pullback combination, you see?
Yeah.
Now, come on.
Show them again.
Okay.
Flap, ball, change, flap, ball, change.
The second ball change is side by side.
Then you're going to do pull, back, pull, back, flap, ball, change.
Great.
Do you want to show them from behind?
Absolutely.
From the Frances Tushy side.
Okay.
Go.
And flap, ball, change, flap, side by side, pull, back, pull, back, flap, ball, change.
Great.
I like the way you do that.
You look like you know what you're doing.
Look, let's do it one more time and bring it up to speed.
Okay.
Go ahead.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Flap, ball, change, flap, pull, back, pull, back, pull, back, pull, back, pull, change.
Hey.
Is that it?
That's it.
I take instructions beautifully, don't I?
That's a good start for lesson number two, the flap, the ball change, and the pullback.
And, of course, I did all of these steps in no business like show business.
You may have seen that on the big screen.
I did all of those.
And now, here's an exercise routine specially designed by Robbie for this lesson.
Robbie?
Okay.
Are you ready to practice our steps a little bit faster?
Great.
I knew you would be.
Let me show you the combination that we're going to do.
It goes like this.
We're going to do seven flaps and a flap, ball, change.
One, two, three, four, five, six, flap, ball, change.
Now, left foot.
Two, three, four, five, six, three, flap, ball, change.
Three.
Now, singles.
Flap, ball, change.
Follow me.
Let's do it together.
And we'll do it four times.
Okay?
Here we go.
Five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five, six, flap, ball, change.
Left foot, two, three, four, five, six, flap, ball, change.
Right, three.
Left, three.
Singles.
One, two, three.
Again.
One, two, three, four, five, six, and a flap, ball, change.
And left foot.
Two, three, four, five, six, and a flap, ball, change.
Now, three.
Left, change.
Three.
Singles.
Two, three.
Again.
One, two, three, four, five, six, and a flap, ball, change.
Now three.
Three.
Singles.
One more time, and we're through.
One, two, three, four, five, six, and a flap, ball, change.
And left, two, three, four, five, six.
Three.
Singles.
One, two, three, and four.
Feel your calves burning and your legs?
Great. That means you're getting a good workout.
Oh, I can do that. Really, I can.
I've just learned from some years of experience
that the more mature you are,
the smarter it is to start a little slower.
Excuse me, Mr. O'Connor.
Robbie said you might need these later.
Oh, she did. Thank you very much.
I'd like you to meet two young tappers
who have taken all the same basic steps
you're going to learn
and added some great moves of their own.
I'd like you to meet Danon Bryant and Jason Rogers.
How about showing us some rap tap?
You mean it? Yeah.
Really? You ready?
Let's dance. Go.
All right.
In a five, six, seven...
That's beautiful. Give me some skin.
Now, I'd like to see your shoes.
Oh, that's a great set of wheels.
Rap tap.
In lesson number three,
we're going to teach you the double cramp roll.
The toe in the back and the flap heel.
And then we'll put all three steps together.
But before we start...
Let's do our regular warm-up routine.
Stretch the calves and the Achilles heel.
Get all of those going.
Stretch real good. Arch your back.
Okay. Rotate the ankles.
First to the right, nice and slow.
And then to the left.
Okay.
Now, you kick your legs.
Point your toes.
And jump up and down.
Right.
Now, do each of these stretches
for a good full eight counts
to get your body warmed up
and ready for our third lesson.
So, put your VCR on pause.
Warm up and join us when you're ready.
All right.
And you can watch one of my old movies.
All warmed up? Great.
Let's do the double cramp roll.
Again, this is a very basic step.
Robbie, let's show them how it goes.
Okay.
Right foot first and very slow.
You're going to do toe-toe, heel-heel.
Toe-toe, heel-heel.
That is slow.
Very slow.
Okay, do it again for me.
Okay.
Toe-toe, heel-heel.
Okay, now let's try it together
for eight counts.
Right foot first.
Nice and slow.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Toe-toe, heel-heel.
Three, four, five,
six, seven, and eight.
All right, Robbie, now let's turn it around.
And remember, viewing a step from the back
is the best way to learn.
Eight counts.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Toe-toe, heel-heel.
Three, four, five,
six, seven, and eight.
Great.
Now, let's show them how it looks
just a little bit faster.
Okay.
My style.
Here we go.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.
Hear that?
Sounds like galloping horses,
doesn't it?
Hi-ho, Silver, away!
All right, chemo sobby.
Let's turn it around.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.
Okay, now let's move into our second step.
The toe and the back.
Robbie, show them.
Okay.
Pretty easy.
All right, that's good.
Now, let's turn it around.
Do it the proper way.
Four counts.
Five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four.
Okay.
And that's the toe and the back.
Now, our third and final step
for this lesson is the flap heel.
This will be easy for you
since you already know the flap.
Now, starting with the right foot,
you do a flap, then you drop your heel.
First on the right foot,
and then on the left.
Yeah.
Go.
Flap, heel.
Shall we do four,
starting on the right foot,
and then the left?
That sounds good.
Nice and slow.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Flap, heel.
One, two, three, four.
Ooh, I want to do more.
Let's do more.
Okay, let's turn it around.
Turn it around?
Okay.
A little bit faster, maybe?
All right with me.
Seven, eight.
Two, three, and four.
Very good.
Now, let's put all these
three steps together.
The double cramp roll,
the toe and the back,
and the flap heel
into a little combination
that looks like this.
You're on, Robbie.
Okay.
Flap, heel.
Flap, heel, heel.
Stamp, stamp.
Toe in the back.
Toe, toe.
Heel, heel.
Stamp, stamp.
Beautiful.
You deserve a little hand.
Thank you.
Now from behind.
Okay.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Flap, heel.
Flap, right, left.
Stamp, stamp.
Toe in the back.
Toe, toe.
Heel, heel.
Stamp, stamp.
You know, I did that in the movie.
Let me guess.
Francis Taps.
You got it.
I did that toe in the back.
Get that toe in the back.
I did it.
Don't.
Well, I guess she doesn't like Francis.
But that's a good start
for lesson number three.
The double cramp roll,
the toe in the back,
and the flap heel.
We're making some real progress here.
And to reward you,
here's Robbie with a fitness routine
to help you practice
those three new steps.
Here we go.
It's that time again.
We're going to work up a great sweat
while we practice these steps.
We're going to do eight double cramp rolls
in the center with our feet together.
Let me show you one.
Or two.
And then we're going to do eight
with our feet apart.
We're going to come back
and do eight again
with our feet together.
And we're going to do
four toe in the backs.
You remember toe in the back.
Great.
Let's take it from the top,
and I'll count it all for you.
Here we go.
A five, six, nice and slow.
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, apart.
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, together.
One, you feel your thighs burning?
Five, six, seven, eight.
Toe in the back, toe in the back,
toe in the back again.
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, apart.
Two, three, it sounds like a horse galloping.
Seven, eight, together.
Two, three, four, five,
six, toe in the back.
One, two, three, four.
If you do this exercise eight times,
you will definitely feel the burn
in your calves and your thighs.
Great job.
Have fun.
I know you know this,
but I'm going to say it anyway.
Music, music, music.
You can tap without it,
but nothing will liven up a practice routine
more than music.
You can tap to anything,
from classical to rap,
if it has a strong beat.
Once you feel that rhythm going...
And you've got...
I get rhythm.
You've got a bad sense of direction.
Good to see you, Debbie Reynolds.
Thank you, my darling.
Happy to be here.
Thank you, my love.
You're teaching everybody to tap?
I am.
We've got the greatest people out there.
They were just waiting for you, though.
Oh, yes, sir.
Here we are.
We're doing Singing in the Rain 2.
Forty years later.
That's right.
Remember any of those steps we did from the movie?
I mostly remember the ones that Gene drilled and drilled,
and that was from Good Morning.
The Good Morning number?
Well, it was all different kinds of steps.
Right.
You want me to start it off?
Can we still remember it?
Let's try.
I'll count it off.
Five, six, seven, eight.
All right.
He remembers better than I do.
Make a one.
That's it.
What was another one we did?
The favorite steps we had to learn.
Kelly's repertoire, right?
Had to learn each little step, whatever he liked,
and that favorite one was Maxi Ford.
The Maxis.
Does everybody know Maxi Ford?
Let's show them Max Ford.
You ready?
Here we go.
Five, six, seven, eight.
It always counts good.
Just keep doing them.
I had to practice for hours.
You know so many people in this business.
How would it be?
How would Jaja Gabor?
Well, I don't think Jaja would be up to it, darling.
I don't think she'd like to tap dance,
but maybe she'd like something simple.
I like the boys.
I like the prince.
I like lots of money.
Never mind.
How about Dr. Ruth?
Dr. Ruth, we can do it.
Dr. Ruth, we go hello.
Get down here.
I teach you all about tap sex.
Tap sex.
Tap sex, yeah.
Everybody does it.
Make them laugh.
Listen, it's so sweet of you to come over.
Thank you.
Anytime.
I'll always be here for you.
I've got to ask you a question.
How do we get up from here?
We'll see you.
We don't.
That's the next tape.
Bye.
In lesson number four,
we're going to teach you two really fun combination steps,
the maxi four and the shuffle off the buffalo.
And this is going to be lots of fun
because these steps are simple combinations
of the steps you've already learned.
But before we start...
Oh, we have to do our regular warm-ups.
You know the routine.
We start by stretching the calves.
All right, arch your back.
Get those Achilles tendons going for us.
All right.
Right.
Rotate those ankles.
Nice and slowly.
First to the right.
And now let's go to the left.
Good.
All right.
You kick your legs.
And you point your toes.
Little shake, rattle, and roll.
And jump up and down.
Right.
Not too high.
Great.
And remember to do each of these stretches
for a good full eight counts.
And then you'll be warmed up and ready
for our fourth and final lesson.
So, stop your VCRs.
Go ahead and warm up and join us when you're ready.
Well, if you did all eight counts like good tappers do,
your motor should be warmed up and you're ready to start.
Robbie, let's teach them the maxi four.
Okay, Donald.
Okay.
Watch closely.
You're going to do a stamp on your right foot,
shuffle the left foot, leap onto the left foot,
hitting your right toe in the back like this.
Leap toe.
Hey.
Hey, you do that so well.
How about doing it a couple of more times?
Anything for you, Donald.
Okay.
Here we go.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
Again.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
Great.
That wasn't so hard, was it?
No.
Let's try it on the left foot.
Okay.
The same thing.
We're just going to start.
Do a step on the left foot.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
Great.
Now, let's try it two more times.
Nice and slow.
Okay.
For me.
Not for them.
For me.
Okay.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
You were right, Donald.
It's not that hard.
Look, let's all practice it.
Four on the right foot and four on the left.
Great.
Nice and slow.
On the right.
Five, six, here we go.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
And step, shuffle, leap toe.
Now on the left.
All right.
Five, six, here we go.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
Again.
One more time.
Great.
Good.
Now, let's turn it around.
I'd love to.
And we'll do it from behind like they're supposed to learn it.
Okay.
Right foot.
And step, shuffle, leap toe.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
Three and four.
Other foot.
Yes.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
And last time.
Great.
Hey, by Jove, I think she's got it.
I don't know about you, but I'm about ready to shuffle off the buffalo.
Here's how it goes.
Great.
It's really important to listen to the rhythm.
I think that was Jackie Gleason's favorite step.
It is.
That's Jackie Gleason's.
And away we go.
Okay.
Let's do it.
You're going to step on your right foot, shuffle your left, leap onto your left like this,
and make a four with your right leg so it looks like that.
Okay.
Let's do it now.
Ready?
Okay.
And step, shuffle, leap.
Hey.
Step, shuffle, leap.
Great.
Okay, then.
Do you want to try the other foot?
Yes.
And step, shuffle, leap.
Step, shuffle, leap.
Great.
Did you tell them about the four and makes a four like that?
Yeah, I did.
Okay.
Let's do it again.
Okay.
Let's do it on the right.
And five, six, here we go.
Step, shuffle, leap.
And step, shuffle, leap.
Shall we do it on the left four times?
Absolutely.
Okay.
So, I mean, the body's got to match, you know.
Absolutely.
Five, six.
Otherwise, you go around like this.
Okay.
We wouldn't want to look like that.
And step, shuffle, leap.
Step, shuffle, leap.
And step, shuffle, leap.
Okay.
Well, I have an agent that looks like that.
Let's turn around and do it four on the right and four on the left.
I'd love to.
Count it off.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Step, shuffle, leap.
And step, shuffle, leap.
Other four?
Yeah.
And?
Five, six, seven, eight.
Step, shuffle, leap.
And step, shuffle, leap.
Very good.
Now it's time for the combination.
Okay.
Now we're going to do four shuffle off to buffaloes,
two maxi fours,
and then we're going to do a stamp, stamp.
Let me show you how it looks.
One, two, three, four.
Now maxi, step, shuffle, leap.
Toe, again, stamp, stamp.
Very good.
Thank you, doll.
Now let's do two times from the top.
Okay.
Very good.
Here we go.
Step, shuffle, leap.
Three and four.
Now maxi.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
And a step again.
Maxi.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
And one step.
Great.
So now we're going to start on the left.
Do the whole thing on the left foot.
And step, shuffle, leap.
Step, shuffle, leap.
And step, shuffle, leap.
Now maxi four.
Toe.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
And a step, step.
Maxi again.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
And one step.
Got it?
You will get it, I promise.
Well, we'll find out soon enough.
Look, it's time to turn around and do it again, all right?
Okay.
Let's do it from the proper way of teaching.
All right.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Step, shuffle, leap.
And step, shuffle, leap.
Maxi.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
Another maxi.
And a step, step.
Maxi again.
One step.
Great.
Now we'll do it on the left.
Okay.
Five, six, here we go.
Step, shuffle, leap.
And step, shuffle, maxi floor.
Leap toe.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
And a stamp again.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
And one stamp.
You know what that step reminds me of?
Oh, wait, let me guess.
Did you do that in one of your movies?
No, I did that going from a party last night.
Oh, what a time we had.
Good idea.
I'll see you later.
Okay.
There she goes.
Tapping into the sunset.
Look, I know this lesson has been a little tougher than the others,
but thanks to videotape, you can always hit the rewind button
when you want to review.
So just take it one lesson at a time and pace yourself.
You'll get it.
You'll be tapping to your favorite music in no time.
And here's something that'll make you smile.
Robbie is going to show you her final exercise routine.
I know that'll make you happy.
That was a great lesson, wasn't it?
Well, now we're going to do a terrific workout
while practicing some of our new steps.
Let's do the same combination that we just learned, okay?
Let me show it to you.
It went like this.
Step, shuffle, leap.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
Step, step.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
And a stamp so that we can reverse it
and do the whole thing on the left leg.
Are you ready to join me?
You can do it.
Here we go.
A five, six, seven, eight.
Step, shuffle, leap.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
And a stamp.
Stamp.
Step, shuffle, leap toe.
And a stamp.
Left foot.
Step, shuffle, leap.
Step shuffle leap, step shuffle leap, step shuffle leap.
Max.
Four.
Step shuffle leap toe.
And a stamp stamp, step shuffle leap toe.
Step shuffle leap toe.
And a stamp again!
Step shuffle leap.
Right foot.
Step shuffle leap, step shuffle leap, step shuffle leap toe
Step shuffle leap toe.
Stamp stamp, step shuffle leap toe.
step shuffle leap toe.
Left foot.
Step shuffle leap, you're doing great!
Step shuffle leap, step shuffle leap,
Shuffle-y-toe, step, shuffle-y-toe,
Stiff, stiff, step, shuffle-y-toe,
Stiff, shuffle-y-toe, stiff.
Good job.
Just keep practicing over and over,
and you'll get it.
Donald?
You know the phrase, when you're hot, you're hot?
Well, one of the hottest tap dances
I've ever had the pleasure to see perform
is a man that was recently on it with his brother, Harold,
at the White House
and by the Kennedy Center of Performing Arts
in Washington, D.C.
We've been friends since we were kids.
Mr. Fayard Nicholas.
Hey.
All right.
Good to see you.
Hey, we've been having a great time.
Oh, that's wonderful.
Yeah, yeah.
Teaching our future tappers.
Oh.
What have you been teaching?
Well, we taught them the shuffle-ball change.
Shuffle-ball.
Yeah.
I can do that.
Can you do that?
Well, that's a little more.
Well, I mean...
That's a little icing on the cake there.
Yeah.
And then we also taught them the maxi.
The maxi.
Well, I can do that.
Watch.
Oh, that's beautiful.
Yeah.
We taught them the shuffle-off-to-buffalo.
Shuffle-off.
We taught them that one.
I can do that.
Great.
Oh, that's beautiful.
Yeah.
But tell me, have you taught them this?
Huh?
No, no.
We haven't quite taught them that.
Haven't quite taught them that.
No.
Oh.
They're just beginners, you see.
Oh, well, I understand.
Yeah.
How about that?
No, we haven't taught them that either.
Well...
You haven't taught them that either?
No.
Oh.
Well, what about this?
Okay.
Ha!
Have you taught them that?
No, we haven't taught them that either.
Well, Donald, you haven't taught them anything.
Hey!
Fed, remind me to teach you that new rap-tap number that I've been working on the next
time that you're over.
Oh, yeah?
Oh, yeah.
Show off.
Nice kid, but dresses up too much.
Hey, you know, Donald, I've wanted to do that since the first time I saw you dance.
Robbie, you make me blush.
Well, this is the moment I've waited for too, the opportunity to take what we've learned
there, put it together, and teach you a step called the shim sham.
You sure you don't want to teach it?
Nope.
You do the hard stuff.
Okay.
Here we go.
We're going to start on the right foot.
You do a stomp, a pullback, and a stamp.
Now, a stomp is just like a stamp, except you pick your foot right up so that you can
use the same foot again, like this.
Okay?
We're going to start on the right foot.
Here we go.
And stomp, pullback, step.
Stomp, pullback, step.
Step, stomp, pullback, step.
Now, left foot.
Stomp, pullback, step.
Step, stomp, pullback, step.
Hey.
Good job.
Hey, let's do this nice and slow, four times through, starting on the right foot.
Okay.
Four, five, six.
Six, seven.
Stomp, pullback, step.
Step, stomp, pullback, step.
Now, left foot.
Stomp, pullback, step.
Step, stomp.
Now, on the right foot.
Stomp, pullback, step.
One more time on the left.
Stomp, pullback, step.
Pull back step, stomp, pull back step, stomp, pull back step, step, stomp, pull back step.
Hey!
Hey, even I did it.
Listen, I'll just turn it around.
We'll do it nice and slow from the angle that you're supposed to learn from, from behind.
Are you ready?
Really slow.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Pull back step, left, pull back step, right, pull back step, step, right, pull back step.
Now left foot, left, pull back step, right, pull back step, stomp, pull back step, step
stomp.
Right foot again.
Stomp, pull back step, stomp, pull back step, stomp, pull back step, step,
stomp one more time.
Stomp, pull back step, stomp, pull back step, stomp, pull back step,
step stomp, pull back step.
OK.
Now, we're going to teach you a break.
Now, a break is a little tag you put on the end of some steps.
Sort of like the icing on the cake.
It goes like this. Robbie, should we show them?
I'd love to. Five, six, seven.
That was great. Hey, that was great.
Now, listen, please, don't get frustrated.
Let's do the break again. Ready?
Nice and slow. Here we go.
Stamp. Step together.
Step, hop back, hop back, stamp, stamp.
Hey, that's great. Now, let's turn it around.
Do it again from behind. A proper angle for learning.
Are you ready? I'm ready.
You start it off. Five, six, here we go.
Stamp. Step together.
Step, hop back, hop back, stamp, stamp.
OK, good work.
Now, this is going to be fun.
Let's do three shim shams. Three shim shams.
And a break. A break.
I think they can do it. Well, we're going to see.
Nice and slow. Right.
OK. Five, six, seven, eight.
Pull back, stomp, pull back, stomp.
Go step, step, stomp. Now, let's go.
Stomp. Go back, stomp.
Pull back, stomp. Go step, step, stomp.
One more time. Stomp. Go back.
Get ready for the break. Here you go.
Break. Step together.
Step, hop back, hop back, stamp, stamp.
Hey. Yes.
Now, we're going to turn it around.
And show you again. From behind.
You take the tempo. OK.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Pull back, stomp, pull back, stomp.
Go step, step, stomp. Pull back, left foot.
Stomp. Pull back, stomp. Go step, step, stomp.
Pull back. This is the last time on the right.
Get ready for your break. Here we go.
Break. Step together.
Step, hop back, hop back, stamp, stamp.
Hey. Want to do it one more time?
I'd love to. OK.
Maybe a little bit faster. A little faster.
That's my tempo. OK.
Let's do it this way. Well, you do it in front.
I'll do it in the back.
OK. Five, six, seven, eight.
Pull back, stomp. Pull back, stomp.
Go step, step, stomp. Pull back, stomp.
Pull back, stomp. Pull back, stomp.
Go step, step, stomp. Pull back, stomp.
Pull back. Get ready for your break.
Step, step. Here you go.
Break. Stomp.
Step together. Step, hop back, hop back, stamp, stamp.
I don't know how you were on your side.
We're pretty good on our side.
Consider yourself an official tapper.
You've just done the shim sham and a break.
Shall we?
I can't think of anyone who brought more style and imagination to tap,
and especially the shim sham, than my very dear friend, Mr. Buddy Epson.
How you doing, buddy?
So nice of you to drop by.
Well, it is a thrill for me.
My first step that I learned, I learned from my father,
who was a ballet master, really, and knew nothing about tap dancing.
He tried to make me a ballet dancer.
So I was in a class with 20 girls doing what I call taffy pulling dancing.
And so, I was in Florida.
He wanted to make me the Nijinsky of the Everglades.
So I took to the, not to the hills, but I hid in the orange groves,
until one day at the Beecham Theater in Orlando, Florida,
I saw an act called The Dixie Four,
and they did soft shoe dancing and tap dancing,
and I'd never seen it before in my life.
We didn't have television in those days, you know.
So I ran home to my father and said,
I saw the kind of dancing that I want to do.
So he got out a book, it said clog dancing on it,
which he had picked up in New York when he was there studying.
And together, we pieced together a step,
which is like this.
Front, back, step, front, back, step, step, front, back, step.
Front, back, step, front, back, step.
Front, back, step, front, back, step, step, front, back, step.
Which, by a strange coincidence,
is the first step of the shim sham shimmy.
And that's the first step I ever learned.
I'll be darned.
You want to do it?
I'd love to do it.
The whole thing?
Sure.
And we'll call ourselves the Nijinsky's of the Everglades.
Go.
Da, da, da, da, da, da, da.
There'll be a rehearsal in the morning.
Oh, the Everglades are coming in.
Hey, hey, hey, that's beautiful.
That's beautiful.
Oh, my gosh.
You should be so happy that this man came over.
You know, back when we started putting these lessons together,
we were focused on two goals.
First, we wanted to create a really great teaching tool
for people who we thought would like to know how to tap dance
but didn't want to necessarily go to classes.
And second, we wanted to create a fun, lively fitness program
that would inspire you to practice
and at the same time make you feel good about yourselves.
I sincerely hope that we've attained our goals
and I hope that you'll use this video,
all the new steps and combinations that we've taught you,
to brighten your days and tap away your troubles.
Is that right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, that's the flat ball change.
Dancing is a wonderful way to stay healthy.
Well, that's up, isn't it?
I was so interested in what he was saying.
I got news for you.
We're going to have to stop tape.
I can't get up from this position.
Okay.
If only I could get some sleep.
Thanks so much for coming.
We'll see you next time.
God bless.
I could keep going on and on.
I could keep going.