That's right...we're talking tap! The craft of Gene Kelly and Ann Miller and little Shirley Temple. And now...(drum roll please)...my wife!My wife took tap as a little girl. And she took ballet for quite a few years when she was older. But she hasn't danced since college.
Till now.
Last week she started tap dance classes. She had been wanting to do some dance lessons...just not sure what kind or where. And then she got into a conversation with someone from our church who started talking about the tap dance class that he and his wife were taking. He noticed my wife's interest and called a couple of days later with the instructor's name, details of the class, and the best place to buy tap shoes. My wife called and there was still a spot available in the class starting that week. Before signing up, my wife asked the instructor if a 50-year-old woman could really do this. She was assured that she would be just fine.
A quick trip to the Dance Studio and she had her shoes. And only a couple of days to wear them around the house to break them in. We knew exactly where she was at every moment. And shoes that made noise drove the dog insane!
On the day of the first class, my wife was worried that she might dance for 20 minutes or so and keel over with a heart attack. Thankfully, that did not happen. Two lessons later, she is loving the class. Still a little embarrassed about the whole thing. But looking forward to every Thursday afternoon.
I would gladly invite all of you to the recital, but my wife assures me there will be no public tap performances. But you're all welcome to drop by for a cold beer and you can look at her cool new shoes.
Posts
39 comments:
On my way over for the beer and the good company! Good for your wife to do something she really wanted to do! Cheers!
Good for your wife!!
I have a policy to learn something new every year.
Last year was learning how to drive a standard. (Talk about bunny-hopping and embarrassment!)
This year, I'm taking french lessons.
Next year, I'm gonna learn how to square dance. Just cuz it looks like ridiculous fun!
Ok, that's not only funny, but great! We all should do something out-of-the-box at age 50. Or any age. I laughed at you knowing where she was because of the shoes.
Michele says hello!
~S
Hi! Thanks for stopping by! Tap is really fun - I took lessons in high school, and would love to start again. I'm trying to convince my husband we should take a ballroom class togther, though.
That's fantastic!!!!! Glad your wife has had the courage to follow a dream & relearn an old skill. Wishing her many more fun lessons.
Bravo to your wife for having the courage to do the unconventional. Most folks would simply stay home and not make the effort.
Love the part about the dog. Poor pooch: I'm watching our pup nap on the floor beside the desk as I write this, and I wonder how he would take to my wife walking around in tap shoes.
I guess not too well. But if that's what she chooses to do, I'll be right there with her.
Thanks for the inspiration.
That is too cool! Takes courage, adventure, and some of what Granny used to call gumption. What is your excuse for not learning also? Were you not invited?
Good for her! I'm not that good with dancing, but oh well!
Helen
What fun!!! The tapping, not the cold beer and a look at the shoes, though that sounds nice, too.
Tap dancing is such good exercise disguised as fun. Hm... Something to think about.
Is the cold beer 'on tap' ? :) - ok ok british term LOL
X
Good for you, it's fun to keep learning something new!
OHHHHHH I wish I could get dh into dance class!!! He told me he'd rather let me max out the credit card LOL.
Have a good time with it!!
Good for her! I wish I could dance. I don't think classes would help me very much, though.
nice shoes! haha have a great weekend!
Did someone say cold beer? I'm in!
I'd like to do this sometime ... it sounds like fun :)
Gord and I took swing classes (the dance, not the other thing) a couple years ago and it was so much fun!
Good for her!
I love to watch a good movie with some tap dancing in it. Fred Astaire was my favorite of course.
L.O.L.!
If memory serves me right, and quite frankly at my age nothing is serving me right,one of the best tap dancers of all time was a woman.
Her name was tin-toes Lizzie...
Toured with Bojangles.
Oh, and kudos for having a wife so much younger than you.
That sounds like a blast! Step, ball, change...
OMG!!!!!! I freakin LOVED tap when I was little! "shuffle off to buffalo"!!! Shuffle ball change!
Have lots of fun and take pictures!
That's so cool! I'd be afraid I'd drop over dead from lack of being in shape myself. I think tap is really fun to watch.
GOOD FOR HER
No performances? What's the point?
The Wife was just asking me not long ago why nobody tap dances anymore. I shall now point to your post and say, "here, here are people who tap. They're not going to show anybody their tap dancing, but they tap."
Hello Em, this is my first time here, and this comment is totally off.
First of all, thanks for visiting my forest and secondly, I've read a few lines from here and there in your page.
There's one thing common for sure: The CSA. I've been working for a CSA as a coordinator for 3 years. Local, organic and seasonal was one of our slogans.
And now I work again, for a company that delivers organic food.
Hope to see you more and hope to have more time for me to visit you, too.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Now as for the tap tap tap, I just had this image pop into my head of this adult along wint 10 or so little girls doing their first recital. Now wouldn't that be cute....
Thanks for visiting my blog, Em. I wish there was tap dancing in my area. I remember the shuffle stamp, shuffle stamp, shuffle stamp, shuffle ball change...or something of that ilk, when I was a young thing! Good for her!(your wife...I like that kind of spirit!)
Great way to keep fit, as opposed to boring monotonous exercises.
My wife took dance lessons (ballroom) as a teen.
She is convinced that if she whines enough I will give in, take lessons, and go dancing with her.
Not likely.
Not ever.
TVVV
Hey! I have to work today but either tonight or tomorrow I am going to write a new post. I miss everyone!!!!! take care!
I, too, ventured into adult tap class after not having been in a dance studio for a good ten years. It was really fun, but I stopped going after my "tap" friend moved away. Maybe I should look around for another class. Just think about it makes me smile.m :)
You've been tagged with an award!
Oh, good for her! I have to say that I tok a bunch of dance classes in college to fulfill the P.E. requirement and tap was the one that never clicked for me(wait a moment while I laugh at my own extreem wittiness). But I'm glad for her. What a cool thing to do.
This sounds fun! I cant dance a lick - may try when I have had a few beers and may think I can ....hmmm maybe a lesson is in order!
Uh, I think there may be something wrong with my eyes...
Could you maybe come have a look?
It's posts like this that make me happy most of my apartment is carpeted. Erm, and that I don't have a tap-dancing wife.
Oww...I would *love* to drop by for a beer and look at your wife's new tap shoes that drive the dog crazy! Hehe.
What a fun idea! I have been looking for something new to try. I was horrible at dance when I was younger though, so I may have to keep thinking.
Tap dancing is supposed to be really good exercise and certainly beats the gym for avoiding the boredom factor. However, I have heard that for those laydees of a certain age who have had one or two babies....well, let's just hope her pelvic floor is in good shape! (sorry to lower the tone!) i've heard though that trampolining is much worse for that!
That's great that your wife got back into tap! Gene Kelly would be pleased. :)
When she becomes good at tap she should move on to something more modern, perhaps techno? ;)
You two are so cute. I can just tell!
My next project is the alleged learning of knitting. This is supposed to keep me preoccupied through 3 hours of a cooperative parenting class that I have to take...awesome, huh?
Post a Comment