It’s so confusing to me that tap isn’t as much of a staple style in the US. I can’t name a studio that I’ve competed against in Australia that does not train in and compete tap (they exist but are very rare). So many dancers are employed on cruise ships or in musical theatre and without tap, you’re minimising the opportunities which you are eligible for.
I personally feel like tap is more popular than most of us think but it’s just not done commonly by the studios we follow. I’m from the Midwest and my studio tended to go to smaller/less know competitions and conventions and sometimes there was more tap than contemporary/jazz. While I do agree that more emphasis needs to be placed on tap, it could be a regional thing of how popular it is
Yeah it’s definitely a regional difference thing. I’m from the east coast and contemporary still dominates but most studios still have tap as a requirement. There’s also usually at least one tap number from each studio whether it be a solo, duet, trio, etc.
I feel like it also depends on the studio. I’m from the west coast and although most studios focus on contemporary or ballet, I went to a studio that focused on urban and had a good amount of tap. Most studios have tap, it’s just that most west coast studios don’t put any emphasis on it.
