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About Sarah Mason

Sarah Mason is the owner/Artistic Director of PA Academy of the Arts, a family-oriented performing arts school in central Pennsylvania offering training in dance, theatre and music.

Born and raised in Chicago, Sarah was the Founder of world-renowned Footprints Tap Ensemble. She is respected from coast to coast as an exceptional dance educator, having taught for over 20 years. Sarah continues to perform as a tap artist, both as a soloist and with her ensemble, Jade Dance Project. She is also the proud mother of two little boys, and the wife of a professional musician.

Sarah's Dance Dynamics teaching tools, including her unique and easy-to-use tap improvisation syllabus and more, are featured regularly in the TAPography section of Dance Advantage and can be purchased on her website.

Teaching Tap Improvisation: Exercises for Beginners

March 10, 2010 By 3 Comments
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Begin with a very structured 4/4 song that does not have any strange segues or extra measures. Have all students beat their hands on their legs, clap or snap to the beat. Continue their time keeping, but have them now count out loud – “1..2..3..4″. Be sure you do not have them count “5..6..7..8″. This is a cardinal sin in the music world, as you’ll find out if you dance with live musicians! Explain to your students that each set of four counts is a measure, or a bar. I often use this with my elementary students who are learning addition and/or multiplication.

Filed Under: Blog, Dance Styles, Featured, For Classroom, Tap, Teaching Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Tap away those summertime blues…

January 30, 2010 By 4 Comments
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Tap festivals are everywhere and are probably coming to a city near you! These fabulous wood-shedding events allow tap dancers of all ages, levels, and backgrounds to meet together and share in a non-judgmental and nurturing environment. Hoofers are honored at nearly every fest, giving young dancers exposure to the greats – the masters perform and teach in an intimate setting at most events.

Filed Under: Beyond the Bubble, Blog, Dance Styles, Dancing, News and Events, Summer Study/Workshops, Tap Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Keeping Rhythm Fascinatin’ — How to Make Tap Dance Come Alive

November 24, 2009 By 13 Comments
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It is a very short list of tap teachers that teach tap in way that embeds it in the heart and soul and fosters a love for the art form at a profound level. Ballet teachers like that? Much easier to come by. Lyrical? Contemporary? Jazz? They’re a dime a dozen these days – teaching classes that are emotionally charged and full of gripping content that draws those elusive adolescents in and keeps their attention.

Filed Under: Blog, Dance Styles, Featured, For Classroom, Music, Tap, Teaching Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

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