Australian tap is making plenty of noise, with Capezio Australia announcing an exciting new partnership with Tap Mode, the rapidly growing Australian tap syllabus founded by professional tap dancer, choreographer and studio owner Mitchell Hicks, alongside Matthew Jenson.
Just three years since its official launch, Tap Mode is already being taught in 60 studios across Australia and New Zealand. Its 10-level syllabus brings together strong traditional tap foundations and contemporary choreography, giving students the technical building blocks of the art form while allowing them to develop into versatile, expressive dancers.
For Hicks, the rapid growth has been both exciting and a little overwhelming.
“We’re really thrilled with the response to Tap Mode, and we’re just trying to keep up with it,” he says. “We now have 60 studios using the syllabus. It’s growing quickly and we’re trying to roll with it. And now, of course, with this fantastic opportunity to partner with Capezio, we’re feeling like next year is going to be a big one!”
Although Tap Mode is only three years old in its official form, its development began much earlier. A studio owner himself, Hicks operates two schools and says the program was first developed and tested with his own students over several years.
Hicks brought a wealth of professional tap experience, exercises and choreography to the project, while Jenson helped ensure there was a clear progression through the syllabus.
“I had hours and hours of content, steps and exercises, but Matt said, ‘That’s all well and good, but what is the progression of this for the student?’” Hicks recalls. “That’s obviously the most important thing.”
It was also a response to something Hicks was experiencing firsthand as a studio owner. Tap enrolments could fluctuate, and finding teachers able to provide consistent, technically grounded training was a challenge. He saw an opportunity to create something that could support both teachers and students while keeping the foundations of tap firmly at its heart.
“I wanted to put something into place that’s still very, very fundamentally technique-based because that’s obviously my background,” he explains.
“With genres like tap and similarly, in a way, ballet, you really need those foundations and you really need those early learning steps and techniques so that you can flourish and turn it into whatever avenue, whether it’s a modern take on tap dancing or the traditional take, whether it’s Tap Dogs style or Hot Shoe Shuffle.”
Now, Capezio Australia is stepping alongside Tap Mode as its preferred footwear provider. As part of the new partnership, every teacher who signs up to Tap Mode will receive a complimentary pair of Capezio Roxy tap shoes.
“Capezio’s heritage in tap is legendary and we are very excited to be partnering with and supporting Tap Mode to provide the cleanest beats in our quality tap range,” Capezio says. “Tap Mode sounds better in Capezio.”
For Hicks, there is something particularly meaningful about joining forces with a brand that has been part of his own career as a professional performer.
“The Capezio collaboration is so exciting,” he says. “We couldn’t be happier that they reached out to us – even more of a compliment!”
His history with Capezio goes back to his performing days. While touring with Dein Perry’s Tap Dogs, Hicks recalls that the production’s iconic Blundstone boots were fitted with Capezio TeleTone taps. Later, performing in Hot Shoe Shuffle, he wore custom Capezio 360s – shoes he and his castmates became so attached to that they were devastated not to take them home at the end of the production.
“As we all know, Capezio is the tap dancer’s dream and go-to,” Hicks says. “No matter what show you’re in, whether it’s a custom shoe or even when I was touring with Dein Perry’s Tap Dogs, you bet it was a TeleTone Capezio tap that all of us were nailing and screwing into our Blundstones!”
That professional connection has now come full circle. Hicks says his own studios exclusively sell Capezio, and the Tap Mode team is looking forward to introducing the brand’s tap range to its network of participating schools.
The partnership also comes at an exciting time for Capezio’s tap offering in Australia, with two new shoes giving local dancers even more choice.
The new Roxy Tap Boot made its Australian debut at VDF Melbourne and is now available to dancers around the country. An evolution of Capezio’s legendary 960 Roxy Tap shoe, the unisex boot takes the sound and craftsmanship associated with the Roxy and gives it a striking new silhouette.
Hicks was immediately taken with it.
“When I saw the new Roxy boot, I thought, ‘Oh, my, this is like the new iteration of a tap boot! It’s so exciting,’” he says.
Crafted from 100 percent premium Brazilian leather, the Roxy Tap Boot is designed to be soft and flexible while offering the durability demanded by serious tap training and performance. Pre-attached TeleTone taps provide a crisp, articulate sound, while a leather stacked heel, double-layer stitched leather outsole and flexible upper balance stability and mobility. A metal back zip makes the boot easy to slip on and off, and its signature fold-over upper can be worn up or down depending on the dancer’s preferred look and ankle support.
And for those who prefer a more traditional aesthetic, another new arrival will land in Australia in late September. Capezio’s Essence Tap Shoe is a beautifully classic Oxford-style shoe crafted in premium Nappa leather, with a triple-stacked heel, hard single-stacked leather outsole and flush-mounted TeleTone toe and heel taps.
The Essence pairs its polished, professional look with some thoughtful comfort features, including a slightly padded collar and an anatomically designed heel counter for support and stability. Available in adult sizes 4-14 in medium and wide fittings, it presents another option for dancers seeking that combination of clean sound, comfort and traditional tap styling.
But the Capezio and Tap Mode partnership is about more than shoes. At its heart is a shared investment in the next generation of tap dancers.
Tap Mode’s online portal houses videos of its exercises and routines, and Hicks and his team are now selecting students from participating studios who have excelled in their exams to refilm the syllabus material from a child’s perspective. The selected dancers will be gifted new Capezio shoes to wear for the project.
For Hicks, Capezio’s willingness to actively reach out and support dancers, teachers and studio owners says a great deal about the company.
“It shows that they are there for the dancers. They are there for the performers. They are there for the studio owners,” he says. “It really shows that they’re not just in the background.”
“I just think it’s an honour. It speaks volumes to Capezio and the company and just what they put their focus on.”
With Tap Mode already finding its rhythm in 60 studios, this Australian partnership seems ready to make some serious noise.
Head to Capezio.au to find out more about the Roxy Tap Boot, Essence Tap shoe, and find your local stockist.
Head to Tapmode.com.au to check out the syllabus.
