My chance to dance (and for my kids to get a laugh)
I just bought a pair of tap shoes on eBay -- much to the horror of my friend Dianne, who would never wear anything used. They're on their way from Washington State. Good thing. Tapping in sneakers is just downright impossible, I found out last week.
I'm taking a tap-dancing class. I've never had a tap shoe on in my life. I did a year of ballet when I was in second grade, but it was One and Done. I discovered I was much better suited to basketball. For most of my elementary years I was the tallest girl in my class, and taller than most of the boys. But at 12, I hit the ceiling and stopped growing, so my plans to be a star forward came to an abrupt halt.
But back to the dancing. My daughters have been dancing at Miss Robin McGill's school in Avon for four years now. One's been tapping and ballerina-ing, and the other has done acrobatics and is now in Jazz. Over the summer, another mom told me about the adult tap class, with plans for the moms and daughters to do a skit in the end-of-the-year recital. Silly me, I signed up.
My first class last week was a lot of fun and laughs, to counteract the humiliation, I suppose, when I realized how much better at this my 7-year-old daughter is. As we repeated, with just one foot, the shuffle taps (or squeaks, in the case of my sneakers), we talked of being in the recital and one mom asked our instructor, Miss Maria, "Can't we just do this and have our kids dance around us?"
A few years back, I took karate with our oldest. I started with the kickboxing but switched over after watching him get his half-yellow belt. I ended up going further than he did, in World Karate Academy for 4 1/2 years, getting my red belt, (next one was brown, then black) but had to give it up because of job changes and family changes. My youngest, who shares purple belt honors with me as I was 7 months pregnant when I earned it (my flying side kick left a little to be desired), is a big Power Rangers fan now. Go figure.
I do regret not finishing through to black belt. But I would never have done it at all without having a child in it.
Don't think I'll follow through with this latest effort to the Savion Glover stage of tap dancing, but again, I wouldn't be doing it if not for my daughters. They truly give us a chance to be a kid again, don't they? We're just not as cute in the leotards, though.
I'm taking a tap-dancing class. I've never had a tap shoe on in my life. I did a year of ballet when I was in second grade, but it was One and Done. I discovered I was much better suited to basketball. For most of my elementary years I was the tallest girl in my class, and taller than most of the boys. But at 12, I hit the ceiling and stopped growing, so my plans to be a star forward came to an abrupt halt.
But back to the dancing. My daughters have been dancing at Miss Robin McGill's school in Avon for four years now. One's been tapping and ballerina-ing, and the other has done acrobatics and is now in Jazz. Over the summer, another mom told me about the adult tap class, with plans for the moms and daughters to do a skit in the end-of-the-year recital. Silly me, I signed up.
My first class last week was a lot of fun and laughs, to counteract the humiliation, I suppose, when I realized how much better at this my 7-year-old daughter is. As we repeated, with just one foot, the shuffle taps (or squeaks, in the case of my sneakers), we talked of being in the recital and one mom asked our instructor, Miss Maria, "Can't we just do this and have our kids dance around us?"
A few years back, I took karate with our oldest. I started with the kickboxing but switched over after watching him get his half-yellow belt. I ended up going further than he did, in World Karate Academy for 4 1/2 years, getting my red belt, (next one was brown, then black) but had to give it up because of job changes and family changes. My youngest, who shares purple belt honors with me as I was 7 months pregnant when I earned it (my flying side kick left a little to be desired), is a big Power Rangers fan now. Go figure.
I do regret not finishing through to black belt. But I would never have done it at all without having a child in it.
Don't think I'll follow through with this latest effort to the Savion Glover stage of tap dancing, but again, I wouldn't be doing it if not for my daughters. They truly give us a chance to be a kid again, don't they? We're just not as cute in the leotards, though.
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