Tap

I am addicted once again. What is it about tap that makes me so freakin' happy? I don't know if it's the rhythm or the concentration it takes or the music or what but it's all good.

I signed up for two different online tap classes within the past month:

http://www.tapdancemadeeasy.com/
http://www.etapdance.com/

Both instructors, Eli and Terrence "Taps," respectively, are awesome. The videographers have done a wonderful job showing the steps, the music is good on Eli's (I don't think I've tapped to music yet on Taps' site), the steps can be challenging on both sites. It really helps to have somewhere to "go" when I feel like learning something new or if I can't make it for my weekly fix at the studio near me.

These lessons are also teaching me some new combinations of steps to add to my repertoire for when my real-life instructor has us do improv. She has started to make us do a bit at the end of each lesson recently. It's scary and hard but also fun and challenging...it sounds easy but coming up with the rhythm to fill two or four bars of music (and make it look even slightly cool!) is difficult.

I also recently set a goal for myself...don't laugh...I want to start teaching tap sometime within the next eight years. Why eight years? Well, because, by then I will have tapped for 10 yrs (not counting the 5 yrs I tapped from age 5 through 9). By then I should have some of this improv stuff figured out and maybe I can begin to choreograph some simple routines. I don't even hope to teach at a real studio but maybe to offer an adult rhythm tap class through a community continuing ed type program. Wouldn't that be fun? Or to own some type of business (like a jazz/blues coffee house) where we could offer live tap jams every weekend? That would be such a thrill! :)

Anyway, off to see if any of the tap studios around here are doing anything for National Tap Dance Day on May 5th (Mr. Bojangles' birthday!)...