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Let's be Copasetic!

"Copasetic" is a Jewish word made famous by tap dance legend and movie star Bill "Bojangles" Robinson who used to frequently say "everything is Copasetic." It means that everything is OK, fine, alright or "cool."  By extension, being COPASETIC means being ETHICAL, it means RESPECTING OTHERS AND RESPECTING THEIR RIGHTS.

We at NTE recognize that tappers haven't always had the best reputation when it comes to professional conduct and that as a direct result our field has suffered from an unfortunate lack of legitimacy. As a part of its mission, the national company has not only been educating tap dancers, tap dance teachers, presenters and audiences about good ethics but it has also been practicing these ethics since 1988, consistently setting the highest artistic and human standards.  While it would be fair to say that this ongoing effort has helped change the way tap dance is perceived, the "ethics of tap" (or lack thereof, as our critics like to point out) is a subject that still comes up far too often.

Obviously, a lot more needs to be done before tap dance can be embraced as the marvelous, unique and so important dance/music tradition that it is. We think that it should all start "at home," and we would like to encourage all tap dancers, tap teachers and tap lovers to participate in this effort (sometimes what we or what we do not do has a far greater impact on the way we are perceived by "non-tappers" than we think!) The bottom line is: if we don't respect and support each other, who will? If we don't behave responsibly, how can we be respected by others and by the many institutions that have shown a blatant disregard for our field and traditions for decades? That's why we are dedicating this page to "acceptable" ethics. Here you will find our policies on privacy, web link exchange, fair use of our free Professional Level Scale, in a word, all the "Copasetic stuff."

Tappers, let's do the right thing! Let's honor the invaluable legacy of Bojangles
and of all the other great pioneers who paved the way for us. 
Let's earn respect from others by first respecting
ourselves as well as anyone in our field.
Let's just be... Copasetic!

 

Click here to translate this page to and from English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

 

 

 OUR PRIVACY POLICY
Your privacy is very important to you and it's very important to us. The National Tap Ensemble respects your concerns about maintaining strict privacy. Any information that you divulge to us is strictly kept in confidence. We do not collect personally identifiable information on our web server,  web site or otherwise (via the infamous "cookies," for example) unless you choose to provide it to us via an electronic mail message, a web form, a phone call, or by postal mail. Even when you choose to give us information, we keep it absolutely confidential. We do not sell or rent mailing lists or any other personally identifiable information to third parties. Please visit our FAQ page for answers to specific questions about our Privacy and Security policies.

 

 

 What you will NOT find on this web site
-
Obnoxious pop-up banners.
- "Web bugs."
- Privacy-invading, internet-tracking "cookies."
- Hidden HTML tracking or covert server links.
- Stolen or "borrowed" content, such as writings on the history of tap or other subjects that were simply copied (with or without permission) from other web sites, from articles or from books (the vast majority of which do NOT present history in an accurate and sometimes grossly incorrect way in the first place... This type of activity does a great disservice to our profession and to all of us as it only serves to reinforce old clichés and misconceptions about tap dance.) 
- Illegally obtained or copyright-violating audio, video or movie clips of tap dancers or tap dance performances such as the ones found on several other tap dance sites.

We at the USA's national tap dance company DO "walk the talk" and we would like to encourage ALL tap dancers, studio owners and organizations to also adhere to  forward-thinking, ethical behavior and policies.

 

 

 COPYRIGHT, ETC.  

As indicated at the bottom of each page, the National Tap Ensemble web site is copyrighted and protected in its entirety by international copyright and trademark laws. Consequently, YOU MAY NOT COPY, MODIFY, COPY, REPRODUCE, REPUBLISH, UPLOAD, POST, TRANSMIT, OR DISTRIBUTE, IN ANY MANNER, ANY MATERIAL ON THIS SITE, INCLUDING TEXT AND GRAPHICS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED TO DO SO by the National Tap Ensemble (such as for example using our web logo for inserting a link to our site on your own web site, see below for details)

However, scholars, students of any age (pre-school to university,) tap dancers working on a research project, non-commercial newspapers and magazines, etc. can be granted permission to print, quote or otherwise use some of the content of this web site, provided that:

1. The document (s) or part (s) thereof  will be used for private study, coursework, research, informational, non-commercial purposes only. 
2. Written permission has been requested and granted. Write our staff and indicate which part (s) of the web site you would like to use: text, pictures, graphics, audio or video files, etc. as well as what you intend to use them for.
3. You provide the name(s) and complete contact info (street address with zipcode, email address, web site, etc.) of your teacher, professor, or of the person who assigned or is supervising your research project.  
4.  This copyright notice is included:. 
Copyright: National Tap Ensemble
Reprinted with permission of the National Tap Ensemble, USA: www.usatap.org

We work hard at providing valuable, free information on this web site. Once you have received permission to use or quote this information, we appreciate receiving a courtesy copy (or URL) of any work or project that contains it, as is customary.

 

 

 COURTESY LINK EXCHANGE
The Internet has been called "the single greatest information and communication tool in human history." Without a doubt, the ability for anyone with an Internet connection to travel in cyberspace ("surf") from web site to web site has been a key to the 'Net's phenomenal growth. We are happy to exchange links with any responsible individual, school or organization whose web site follows standard, minimal guidelines. Sorry, we cannot list web sites that:

- violate copyright laws, including but not limited to
            web sites that publish video or music files to which they do not hold the rights, including those from "old" movies or clips
            web sites that use or quote text, excerpts of text or photographs without properly crediting their author(s)
- are strictly commercial or profit-oriented
- promote violence or hatred in any way, shape or form
- use obscene language or pictures
- contain annoying "pop up banners" or large numbers of "cookies" that generate frustration and complaints from visitors
- request a link to their site but do not have the courtesy of providing a page for links to others on their own web site in the first place
Please note that we reserve the right to revise this policy at any time.
 
If you notice that a web site listed on our Cool Links page is not in compliance with one or more of the simple guidelines listed above, we would be grateful if you would notify Public Relations immediately. You may do so anonymously if preferred.

EXCHANGING LINKS: WHAT TO LIST AND HOW TO LIST IT

bulletIf you would like simple URL (Universal Resource Locator) listings, we suggest the following quick links (the Tap Dance Bulletin and the Tapper's page can be accessed from the NTE home page but providing direct links is appreciated by many people!)  
http://www.usatap.org/     America's national tap dance company, home page

http://www.usatap.org/bulletin.htm     Tap Dance Bulletin
http://www.usatap.org/tapperpage.htm     The "Tap Dancer's Page" with answers to frequently asked questions and a lot of useful advice provided by cast members of the USA's national tap dance company.

http://www.usatap.org/ITDN.htm     Home of the International Tap Dance Network, which connects more than one thousand tappers from over forty countries. Basic membership is free.

http://www.usatap.org/tdls.htm     Professional Tap Dance Level Scale, published for use free of charge by tap dancers and teachers worldwide.

http://ww.usatap.org/atdi.htm      American Tap Dance Institute. Offers comprehensive higher-education for professional tap dance teachers, including the world's foremost Teacher Training and Certification Program, the annual "Spirit Of Tap" Conference for tap teachers, students, performers and scholars, and a "think tank" or research institute that examines and addresses issues common to most tap dancers.

 
bulletIf you'd like to use a graphic instead of a simple text URL, here is our official logo  for your convenience. All you have to do is cut and paste this graphic to your own web site. [Technical note: if you do not see a URL when you test the page and run your mouse over the logo, right-click on the picture and look for something like "create hyperlink," or "link this graphic with this hyperlink," then copy and paste this URL: http://www.usatap.org/     America's national tap dance company, home page
 

bulletPlease email a complete, accurate, working URL  to our staff, as follows: 
- Subject line: Link exchange request: - [URL of your web site here]
for example: Link exchange request - http://www.taptaptap.com
- Body of message: Your request for link exchange with the complete, accurate, working URL(s) for the pages where you have listed or will be listing our site [for example: http://www.taptaptap.com/links.html ] You are welcome to include a short description of your site if you'd like (see links above for examples.)  Please keep it simple and factual (i.e., avoid overinflated, egomaniacal self-descriptions. Remember that its is up to your site's visitors to determine if your site is the "best" or the "greatest.")
Once accepted, we will notify you that your link has been recommended to our webmaster for publication. Note that this web site is updated once to twice a month, so there there may be a delay of 2 to 4 weeks before your link is published. Thank you for your patience!
bulletDon't forget to inform our staff, with a short email message as soon as you have published our link on your own web site. Likewise, the courtesy of a message is appreciated if your links page is changed or removed!

 

 

 TAP DANCE LEVEL SCALE
Attention tap dance teachers and assistant teachers, tap program directors, dance studio owners, dance department directors!
Please use the form below if you would like to use our 7-level, professional  NTE Tap Dance Level Scale at your dance school/studio, dance program or dance department.  
[Please note: you may not use this form if you are a tap dance student but you are welcome to suggest the use of our scale to your school or studio. Of course, you are welcome to use the scale on the Tapper's page, since we published it there for you in the first place!]

 

National Tap Ensemble' s  Tap Dance Level Scale (TDLS)

Request of use form

[One form per teacher please, even if several teachers in the same school wish to use the scale
Please note that we cannot and will NOT process incomplete forms.]

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Concerned about providing the information that is "required" below? As stated in the Privacy Policy above,
any and all personal information you provide is kept STRICTLY confidential and is not sold to anyone.

Email address [required]

I wish to receive the free, monthly Tap Dance Bulletin via email at the email address above. I understand that I may unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions given at the bottom of each issue:  Yes  No

Your own web site (if you have one)

 

Your Last Name [required]

Your First Name [required]

Your complete address:
street, apartment number, city, postal code, etc. as officially recognized by the postal service  [required]

Country [required]

Telephone, home [required]

Telephone, work

Fax

Your age [required] 

 

CATEGORY
1 - Tap Dance Teacher for
years.
2 - Dance Studio or Dance School Owner for
years.
Enter the full address of the studio (s) below

3 - Assistant Teacher for years enter your studio (s)' full and correct address, including zip code and the name of the teacher (s) you assist below

4 - Professional Tapper (meaning you earn a living as a tap dancer) for years, currently working in the following show(s)
OR with the following company or group (s)

5 - Other professional memberships and affiliations (dance, music, theater, etc.)

ORGANIZATION INFORMATION

Type of organization you work for
Please check all that apply
University or college dance department
University or college jazz (music) program
Dance studio
Performing arts school
Magnet school or arts-oriented school
Non-profit
For-profit
Other.  Please describe

Enter "NA" in any box below if requested info is unknown or irrelevant

Organization's Name [required]

Your Title and/or job at the organization [required]

Organization's Telephone [required]

Organization's Fax [required] 

Organization's complete address: street, apartment number, city, postal code, etc. as officially recognized by the postal service  [required]

Organization's Web Site (if it has its own  site)

Organization's Email address [required]

Organization's age in years

Please grant me permission to use the Tap Dance Level Scale  (TDLS) for the tap dance classes and curriculum I use at my dance school or freelance classes 

Here are the reasons why I would like to use the national tap dance company's TDLS (send separate email message if you don't have enough space here!)

(optional)
Teachers! Please help us make this scale an even better tool. We very much appreciate any suggestion or comment you may have.
 

- You should receive a short, automatic message ("Your form has been properly submitted") within a few minutes after you click the SUBMIT button below. If you do not, the servers may be very busy and we recommend that you submit your form at a later time. If you receive an error message, follow the directions given at the very bottom of this page.
- Your request will be processed and you will receive an official reply within 2 to 4 weeks. If you have not received anything within one month, please send an email message telling the staff exactly when you submitted your form. Thank you!
- Some errors have been reported upon submitting this form, mostly by AOL users (AOL uses proprietary, non-standard protocols and we suspect that this may be the cause of the problem). If this happens to you, again simply print this form and fax it.
- STOP! Did you make sure that all the information provided is complete and accurate?  Go back to the top of this page if you are not sure.  Better safe than sorry... And please make certain that you have entered a CORRECT EMAIL ADDRESS!

- Please click the Submit button ONCE

 

Home Contact Information Tapper's Page Cool products International Tap Dance Network Tap Dance Resources Tap Dance Bulletin The Company Let's be Copasetic! Links & Cool Sites FAQ Contact Information

To report an error (typos, inconsistent information, missing links, etc.) or a serious problem about this web site (page not loading, registration or purchase form not working, etc.)  send a message to the site's technical support by clicking here (be sure to first delete the capital letters in the suffix, more info and help on this can be found here.)  If you report an error, make sure you indicate which page needs to be fixed with the exact URL (this is the web page address as it appears in your browser) and/or forward an exact  copy of any error message you may receive (troubleshooting is impossible without these vital pieces of information.) Simply paste the error message in your email and please mention which browser and version you are using, for example: Firefox version __, AOL version __, Internet Explorer version __, etc.  Do NOT use this email address to contact anyone else than the web site team as your email message would be misdirected and/or deleted! Instead, go to the contact page, where you will find all company staff email addresses, or fill out any relevant form that is made available on the page you are visiting. Thank you.

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