Our Story

Can you make the sound of tap dancing by attaching a bottle cap to a strip of metal along with a something…..anything? The answer is yes. Carrie Yates and Laurie Lunsford ended up in an entrepreneur class together at Ball State.

“You created it…I just needed a project.” was Carrie’s comment to Laurie. The project turned into a new musical instrument that brings energy and fun to anyone who wants to tap dance with their hands. Laurie and Carrie recently got back together to compare the “bottle top proto-type” to the new version of what is now known as “hand taps”.
Laurie had the idea. She sees herself as an artist with the fidgits. She is great with her hands but has two left feet. The idea originated from a brainstorming session in an entrepreneur class at Ball State University. This new percussion instrument simulates the sound and movement of tap dancing. In partnering with Carrie, this product was launched. Hand taps were created for elementary music classes, but they have become very popular with the elderly in nursing homes. Music therapists have also seen the potential in tap dancing rhythm and therapy.

This musical instrument has 3 parts.

The larger disc is called the heel.
The handle is connected to the heel of the instrument.
The smaller disc is called the toe.
The metal piece connecting the heel and the toe is called the connector.

The toe is made to reverberate, as the heel is tapped flatly on the table.

The instrument can be held with a finger-thumb clutch or between the pointer and middle fingers with hands flat and palms down. It is important to relax the wrist.

Carrie displays the evolution of the hand taps:
From the first prototype, a thingamajig with a bottlecap, to our current Dancing Hands Hand Tap.

• Basic tap: Strike the heel flat on the surface, allowing the toe to bounce naturally.
• The roll: Strike the back edge of the heel first and roll the Hand Tap in one motion all the way to the tip of the toe.
• The slide: Roll from the tip of the toe to the back edge of the heel.
• Toe tip: Tap only the toes.

The challenge of Dancing Hands™ Hand Taps is to create movements in series and patterns in the space allowed. Hands can tap apart, together, cross over, step out, step up, step in…There is no end to the rhythms and movements you can create!

The Magic Behind the Making

Hand taps are made one by one with a personal touch. After they are assembled by hand, they are packaged into either boxes of ten or One-on-One sets. The true magic of these hand taps lies in their creators, rather than just the creations. Cannon Industries of Hillcroft Services in Muncie, Indiana manufactures Dancing Hands hand taps and employs the disabled. Kent Wood is one of the employees who works hard to make quality hand taps. “Woody” likes to talk about the hand taps. He calls them “Happy Hands”. Occasionally, during some “quality testing”, Woody will tap out a playful rhythm.

Behind the Scenes

Seth Kirby adds his expertise to Dancing Hands by updating the website and providing his computer knowledge.

Seth is proficient in photo editing, webpage coding, file management, database management, Quickbooks maintenence, or overall brainstorming.

Seth is also an intern at Muncie Alliance Church, and is hoping to one day become a pastor.