Hi there,

I'm a tap dance instructor here in the U.S. and have the idea to create an app/game where people can put tap shoes on, dance on a mat similar to these types of standard dance mats, and receive feedback on their dancing. So, sort of a variation on standard rhythm games. This mat would only need to have two sensor points, (1) the left half of the mat, and (2) the right half of the mat. Tap shoes, as you may or may not know, each have two areas that can execute rhythms: the heel, and the ball. So with a pair of shoes we have 4 locations that can make sounds, the L heel, the L ball, the R heel, and the R ball. What I am envisioning is a game similar to the standard dance games, but it would recognize and utilize more standard tap dance rhythms (8th notes, swung 8th notes) and ideally whatever pad that is created could (1) withstand the metal taps, and (2) perhaps be strapped to a piece of plywood to give a more percussive sound. As you can probably tell from reading my description, the idea is in the very early stages, but I stumbled upon your message board and thought there might be some designers out there who might be interested in a project like this. I don't have a huge budget, I'm just a sole proprietor, but my instructional tap dance DVDs are well-reviewed on amazon and I also have an iphone app for tap dance instruction that has good reviews as well (called 'Tap App'). You can see more about my dvds here: www.tapdancemadeeasy.com. But what I'm posting here would be a departure, as it would really provide an interactive experience. The next step after determining if designing a mat would be viable is then finding someone to work with to develop the game/app part of it.

thanks

Eli
Owner/Instructor
Tap Dance Made Easy