The sound of shoes striking the hardwood floor filled the air. The dancers' steady tap-tap  mixed with sudden bursts of frantic steps resonated throughout the dance studio. 

Welcome to Friday nights at Footworks Dance Studio with Tapified, the university’s new tap dancing club. 

Club president Kendall Aragon, a sophomore member of the TCU Elite dance team, said she wanted to start Tapified because tap dancing is her favorite style of dancing. In addition, there were no other tap dancing organizations on campus. 

“To dance is more than a mere fascination of the eye, it’s more of a fascination of the heart,” she said. “[Tap dancing] is more than what you see, it’s what you feel”. 

Tap dancing is a more expressive form of dancing and an outlet for creativity, she said.

The genre is also unique in that the dancers can use their feet as instruments, in a way, Aragon said.

Dakota Canales, a member of both TCU Showgirls and Tapified, said she agreed that tap dancing is unique. A dancer can release his or her emotions and have fun.

Tap dancers can “smile and have fun” as well as “trip over [themselves] and have trouble,” the sophomore business management major said.

“That’s the fun of it,” she said.

Aragon said she wanted to try to create an environment where dancers could go and release their creativity at the end of the week.

“I think it’s really great for dancers especially to come together and collaborate and create,” she said. “I just want it to be an opportunity, an outlet, to express creativity through tap.” 

The club meets Fridays and goes to Foot Works Dance Studio, which is located on Benbrook Boulevard, a 15-minute drive from campus. 

There were about 20 members on the club's email list, but participation has varied from practice to practice, she said.

The club does not have membership dues and is open to anyone who wants to join or is looking for an opportunity for self expression, she said.