Join Jared Grimes as he blasts you out of your tap "comfort zone" and into a place of self-expression. He will guide you through a warm-up and three explosive combinations. In this video you will learn choreography and fin... more »d those places within the steps where you can add your personality and dance comfortably. Jared Grimes has danced alongside legends such as Gregory Hines, Fayard Nicholas, Arthur Duncan and performed for timeless icons such as Ben Vereen, Debbie Allen, and Jerry Lewis. Performance credits include The North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble, Mariah Carey, and various others artists such as Common, Salt N Pepa, EnVogue, and the Roots. Other credits include "Babes in Arms," "Sammy," "Sophisticated Ladies," and "Vaudeville." His commercial credits include Coca-Cola and television shows such as CBS? "Star Search," "Showtime at the Apollo," ABC Family?s "Dance Fever" and The Jerry Lewis Telethon. His feature film credits include "Little Manhattan" and "First Born." For Intermediate to Advanced Level. 60 minutes« less
"This is a very challenging DVD. The choreography is not the hard part, the presentation is. Jared shows you the steps a few times but he doesn't really tell you the steps so you have to watch his feet and it is hard to pick up the steps. I will keep working at it but it is not easy to learn it. I would recommend the Shim Sham Shimmy with Leonard Reed or Bonnie Franklin's I Hate to Exercise but Love to Tap DVDs instead of this one."
Great! But definitely not for beginners.
J. Bees | Chicago, IL usa | 03/22/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"OK, this is definitely NOT for beginners!!! Jared Grimes ABSOLUTELY knows his stuff (Broadway Dance Center). I believe they're going to re-release Henry Le Tang's beginner videos on DVD - be sure to check those out if you're a beginner.
A tap student who's not used to a teacher who scats the rhythms, and who doesn't always name the steps, might wind up feeling completely lost while watching this DVD. I feel if you're more into the hoofer-style stuff, rather than the "cutesy" dance school stuff, this DVD is for you!
The production style is very simple, but that's just fine by me. I feel like I'm watching a semi-private lesson with a nice small class.
I really admire the sound quality of the taps on this DVD. Taps are often not mic'ed correctly, but this DVD features nice clean tapping.
Mr. Grimes explains weight shifts very well, and how the steps fit together.
Overall, a nice solid product - if you are actually at the Int. to Int./Advanced level. This is NYC and Chicago advanced stuff. Major cities have a much higher level of difficulty in their tap classes - keep that in mind when looking for a tap instruction DVD.
P.S.: If you're just beginning tap - go for it! The world needs more tap dancers, at every level. :D xooxoxo"
Very Good!
Sergio | Australia | 06/04/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is not for beginners,is for intermediate/advance; you need to be familiar with your tap steps. this DVD is well explained and steps are very clean. very good routines including traditional steps. a must have for hoofers."
Regardless of level, instruction could be much clearer
E. C. Noebel | California | 10/16/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is fun to watch; I have a ton of trap training, and found it difficult to follow. Jared is very talented but not great at explaining. Which sucks, because it's an instructional dvd. Regardless of level, the instructor should be able to break it down. I did not feel he did that for me. Which is a shame, because I would have loved to learn those routines. But I cannot pick up stuff through osmosis, even as an advanced intermediate tapper. I've reviewed some stuff online now and am going to purchase Hoofin' with Mike Minery who breaks things down very clearly."
AWESOME to watch and super cool to perform
Ziny Crane | Suisun City, CA USA | 02/09/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I agree this is not for beginners however the video itself says it is for intermediate/advanced of course. Grimes and his group are very entertaining to watch and good clean taps. But also, if you like a challenge like myself, it was equally as fun to learn and perform. I was able to learn the first one to put in an act I did for a talent show for fun and it helped my step look so much more entertaining to say the least. But it was a workout! I am not advanced in tapping, just in the last year got the beginners DVDs from Amazon -the "I hate to exercise but love to Tap" and the Ginger series which helped me learn between the two of those and this one just added to the fun. I like a challenge and knew this would be as good as it was! I am going to learn the second step this coming month to hopefully perform at a future talent show in six months!"