Introduction

The main attraction of American-style tap dance lies in its pronounced beat and distinctive rhythms, which allow the dancer to express himself freely against the backdrop of a solid groove. There is so much pleasure and excitement in the forceful tapping of the feet, and the rhythmic movement of the entire body, that once you have embarked on your voyage of tap, you are unlikely to ever look back: too irresistible is the pull of the energetic beat that keeps propelling you forward and encourages you to be creative and uninhibited! For general audiences, few kinds of dance numbers are usually as engrossing as a tap show. The combined aural and visual impact, together with the dynamic drive of the choreography, win over even those who may not normally “dig” dance or dance music. DanceWorks feels that tap is also the perfect activity for young children, because it gives them an opportunity to have fun and move their bodies to their hearts’ content. Children simply love physical activity, and I Love Tap provides them with a platform to really “give it up and show what they got”! Few things are more invigorating than to witness the genuine joy and enthusiasm children bring to tap. As part of our comprehensive program, I Love Tap features a series of exciting events and performances, including the boisterous Revue Tap with its more traditional musical-style appeal, the riveting Creative Tap with its exhilarating fusion of elements and styles, and the captivating force of Speed Tap that allows you to pick up some basic moves in no time at all. Among these, Revue Tap is a perennial favorite with audiences, based as it is on 1930s-style revues featuring both dancing and singing. We have incorporated well-known cartoon themes into the show’s musical accompaniment, and children always go crazy with excitement when they recognize their most beloved tunes. Creative Tap is the daring attempt to merge elements of Eastern and Western culture into an original blend of fiery passion and consummate skill. Enjoy the ingenious arrangement that marries top-notch tap with stunning martial art moves! And afterwards we offer you a chance to “try your own feet” at tap—Speed Tap is a relaxed way of learning the basic steps and moves of tap dance. Join us at our events, and combine the pleasures of watching a great show with the joys of getting down on the dance floor yourself!

 The Team

Starting as a modern dance ensemble, Dance Works began to branch into tap dance in 2001, changed the company’s direction, exciting flavors to our repertoire and teaching programs. Today, we are the only professional tap dance ensemble in all of Taiwan.

The result are crossover shows that are—in addition to being great fun to watch—hard to beat in terms of sheer innovative breadth.

To this day, more than 70,000 students around the island have seen Dance Works performances on campus, while another more than 100,000 people have enjoyed our shows at other venues. More than 2,500 people participated in Tap Together in Taipei. And internationally, we have also brought our brand of Taiwan Tap to many places, including the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, and Macao. Because of our untiring and increasingly successful efforts to promote tap dance, Dance Works has frequently received generous support from the government.

For three years in a row, we were sponsored by the Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA) to participate in grass-roots tours and other events. And Dance Works were named the CCA’s Cultural Ambassadors and Official Dance and Performance Art Ensemble for seven consecutive years.

In the future, we will continue to perfect our program and shows. Our focus will always be on creating something special—never forgetting to put the exciting rich rhythms of tap right at the heart of it all. And we will keep touring not just Taiwan, but around the world to give more people a chance to experience our unique brand of Taiwan Tap—serving as ambassadors of Taiwanese culture and rejuvenating tap dance at the same time.