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When brothers Mark and Matthew walked into Knock On Wood Tap Studio in Silver Spring Thursday, the closest they had ever come to the percussive dance was watching "So You Think You Can Dance" on television.

By the end of the night, though, the two brothers were tapping so well it would've made Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers proud.

Mark, Matthew, and four other youngsters from across the county came to the Silver Spring dance studio Thursday as part of a unique partnership with the studio's Tappers with Attitude, Inc. nonprofit and the Bethesda-based National Center for Children and Families, a nonprofit that serves homeless families, victims of domestic violence and vulnerable adolescents.

The idea was simple: take children from the NCCF shelters and teach them an art they otherwise might not have learned.

"Most of these kids don't have access to the arts," said instructor Kindra Ingram, who serves on Tappers' board of directors. "But there are things they can learn from tapping, like teamwork skills, that are helpful."

Tappers With Attitude, Inc. is a nonprofit that strives to provide tap dance lessons for dancers of all ages and abilities.

The evening started out with a brief history lesson about tap and its cultural roots, and then the children took to the floor. Each slipped into a pair of tap shoes for the first time, slipping and sliding across the sprung maple floors.

Ingram, a 32-year-old Spencerville resident, led the elementary school-aged students through a series of heel and toe steps, eventually graduating the kids to a three-move step known as a brush forward.

The event was the brainchild of Ingram, who brought the idea to her friend from church, NCCF Executive Director Sheryl Brissett-Chapman.

For the students, it was both fun and entertaining.

Matthew, 8, spun like a Whirling Dervish on the floor, trying to master steps he'd only before seen on TV. The weekly dance routines at the Cambodian cultural center his family frequents didn't prepare him for this.

"It was fun, but hard," he said after the lesson. "It was cool to see professionals do it."

His brother Mark, 10, echoed his sentiments.

"We learned a lot of dance moves," he said. "Just like on TV."

For now, the event was a one-time happening, Ingram said, but she hopes it can grow and continue in the future. At the end of class, she asked the students what they learned.

"You can learn tap dance really fast," one girl shouted.