How to Do a Shuffle in Tap Dancing

Last Updated: January 21, 2021

The shuffle is one of the most important and common steps in tap dance. It can be a little tricky to get completely right, though. With the help of this article, though, you'll be on your way to tapping like a pro in no time at all.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Basic shuffle

1
Start by practicing your brush. A brush is a simple movement of one foot, letting the ball of your foot brush the ground as you move it in a direction.
2
Turn your brush into a shuffle. A shuffle is a combination of two brushes - one going away from your body and one back to it. So, naturally, you'll first brush your right foot forward.

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3
Brush your right foot back.
4
Step with your whole right foot.
5
Try it with your left foot, too. Be sure to take it slow at first. Brush forward, brush back, and step.
6
Try it faster and faster - practice makes perfect!

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Shuffling in different directions

1
Practice your shuffle. Once you have the hang of the shuffle, a key element to add is shuffling in different directions; however, you can't do that if you don't have your shuffle down!
2
Start by shuffling to your front. This is about what you did in the previous part - brush your foot directly forward, then directly back. Repeat with your other leg.
3
Shuffle to the side. Shuffling to the side is a bit tricky to learn, as you aren't quite shuffling directly to the side; rather, you're shuffling a few inches in front of where that would be (think of shuffling to west-northwest and east-northeast). Shuffle out toward this diagonal, then back toward you. Repeat with the other leg.
4
Shuffle to the back. This is the hardest direction, and some teachers don't even teach this direction to beginners for a year or two. To shuffle to the back, you'll need to bend your standing leg somewhat and brush to the back more toward the inside of the ball of your foot, rather than the whole surface. This shuffle isn't directly toward the back, either - rather a few inches away from it (south-southeast and south-southwest, essentially). Practice this with both legs.
5
Continue practicing toward every direction. Shuffling in different directions can be tricky to learn, but it's a major component of tap that will be useful for many years to come.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Running shuffles

1
Practice your shuffle-step, or the basic shuffle you first learned. You'll have to have this step down to learn running shuffles.
2
Start by running in place. Lean forward slightly and run with your weight on the balls of your feet.
3
Add a shuffle. Keep running, but every when you step on your right foot, shuffle with the left. Try switching this around when you get the hang of it. Just run with shuffles to one direction.
4
Make it a running shuffle. Once you get the hang of that, shuffle in both directions. When you step on your left foot, shuffle your right foot, and when you step on your right foot, shuffle on your left foot. Running shuffles are just basic runs in place with shuffles thrown in - after some practice, you'll have the technique easily.