Happy July 4th!

Just got back from viewing the excellent fireworks in a neighboring (small) town...very fun and brings back such nice memories of when I was a child. Ahhhhh...

Couple of things I keep forgetting to mention...

First of all, I finally was able to do a single pick-up in tap a few weeks ago! I couldn't believe it! I had never even tried them as I had so much trouble learning double pick-ups but, S, my teacher encouraged me to attempt them and -- WOW -- I can do them!

Secondly, Munchkin and I attended the wedding reception of my boss last weekend. It was fun but the coolest thing was the band! A group called The Tallboys played old-time swing music and the guitarist was also a clogger! She actually clogged at times while she played guitar, serving as the percussionist for the group! Now, if you know me you know that I am not a big fan of nor am I very knowledgable about swing music or bluegrass but these guys were fun and that girl was amazing! Yay, cloggers! I have no idea what clogging really is but it sure looked a lot like tap dancing to me.

Thirdly, I'm back at Intermediate Tap this summer. It is fast and difficult but not as overwhelming as last year. I definitely can manage it better and it is more fun now, too. I think the online work I've been doing to learn more tap is helping me. I wish I had time to take more classes. I did do an online class this afternoon and tried to improvise a bit to an old Macy Gray CD (I forgot that my iPod was within easy reach). I need to do that (improvise) more often, too.

Well, that's it...almost midnight and I am exhausted! Good night!

Intermediate Tap...

kicked my butt tonight! It was the first class and there were four continuing students there plus me and three of my friends who are moving on from the beginner class w/me. The teacher is nice and she put us through a slightly harder warm-up than our previous class. We also learned some triplets (open and closed) and a new combo done to the song "East of the Sun, West of the Moon." Very fun, very good workout. It was not as fun in a relaxing way as the previous class was but it is more challenging and that is fun, too.

TGFT! (thank goodness for tap!)

National Tap Dance Day!

I went to Nat'l Tap Dance Day at a studio in "the big city" and it was the coolest thing! I brought Munchkin and we both watched the 90 min show. Mostly young adults (I'm guessing about 20-25 yo but a few older high schoolers and a couple of older-than-me gals about 60ish)...several different styles from the torn jeans-no music-stomp-like stuff to the jazzier-girls-in-black-skirts stuff. Very cool. They had a surprise guest, this guy Mark Mendonca...he will be teaching some masters classes there in July. My teacher was in 4 numbers and she was just a joy to watch---so smooth and with a huge smile on her face like she was just having the time of her life! Watching tap dancers tap or participating in tap itself is just so uplifting--you can't help but smile listening to the rhythms and seeing the blur of those dancing feet!

Then...as if all that wasn't enough...at the end of the show we pushed all the chairs out of the way and the whole audience joined the performers for the Shim Sham (which I just learned for my own "recital")!!! I had to do it holding Munchkin since the music was loud and she was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of people dancing but it was fantastic! I can't wait until my next class!!

Official Tap Recital!

It was such fun! Our families came for the last 15 min of classtime. When they arrived we were doing some improv stuff then we did our official routine...the shim sham (to "Flyin' Home" by Lionel Hampton) and we each had a 6 second solo. We had to make last minute changes to the routine because one gal couldn't make it (her husband had a shareholders' meeting to attend...bet you don't get that excuse when it's a little kids' tap dance recital!). It went well...I messed up one small part but BikeBoy wasn't looking at me at the time (phew!). Three of the husbands were there and there were 6 kids. The husbands were all videotaping! What a riot! I made BikeBoy take a picture of the 4 of us after it was over! And I found out there's a tap festival in Vancouver, BC in late August/early September. I would love to drive up and take a master class. AND, National Tap Dance Day is this Friday (to honor the birthday of Mr. Bojangles) so a local tap company in the city is having an informal show to celebrate that this Sunday (my teacher is in 4 numbers).

And, one more funny thing...my mom had been in town visiting the week before but wouldn't be here on recital night so she went to my tap class to watch us practice. At the end of the class my teacher went out to sit with Mom while we went through our routine one last time. After class, Mom and I are riding home and she says, "Your teacher told me that you are the most advanced student in the class!" LOL! This cracks me up because my 19 yo teacher, told my 81 yo mom that her 45 yo daughter is the best in the class! Bet mom wasn't expecting to hear that since I danced as a kid. And, truth-be-told, my feet are probably the best at doing the steps but I am not nearly the nicest one to watch--my upper body just isn't as graceful as the others in class but--hey, I'll take any compliment I can get! :)

Hello, my name is NomadicOne and I'm a...

tapaholic.

I cannot believe how addicted to tap I am getting. I google it. I practice steps while cooking dinner. I come home from a walk and sneak 5 minutes to put on my tap shoes and stomp around the kitchen to a Chuck Prophet song. I listen intently to the drum parts in all my favorite songs now...wondering what steps might fit. I borrowed a film ("Bootmen") from the library and watched it tonight...rewinding parts to try to decipher the freakin' steps.

I'm hopeless. In my mind, I am free and I am Savion Glover. I know that sounds weird! It is weird but it's how I feel. I feel so cool tapping until I glance in the mirror and see the dorky, middle-aged, white woman staring back at me, dancing clumsily around the studio. Crap.

And, my f-ing knee is f-ed up. Tonight I applied arnica cream and took tylenol and rubbed my knee, speaking the kindest of thoughts to it. Maybe I haven't expressed my appreciation and thankfulness lately...

I will tap away, however, until I need knee surgery, anyway!

Move over Savion Glover!

Okay, so I'm really not all that coordinated but this tap dancing class is becoming my favorite thing! Yes, I look down at my feet while I dance (who wants to look in the mirror at what is staring back at me???)...yes, it takes me several tries to learn a new combo or riff. But...it's totally cool...not the tap dancing I was familiar with as a child (okay, even as an 18 yo...I actually took tap for PE credit in college!)...we are dancing to stuff like Lucinda Willams and Pink Martini. Nevermind that my teacher is 19. Yes...I said "19." I could easily be her mom. And my 3 yo is also taking tap (different school, different teacher). AND, my 80 yo mom...NO--she's not dancing...worse...she wants to come WATCH ME dance! There is something totally wrong about her wanting to watch me tap when 40 years ago she was watching me tap for the first time when I was 4 or 5. Just too weird for me to comprehend! (But I might let her come anyway!)

Anyway...I now can't wait until I have 15 min alone in the house to put on my capezios and some jazz and tap away. Paddle and rolls, cramp rolls, spanks, scuffs...it's a whole new world out there! :)