Tap Lessons- Shuffle, Ball Change

My first tap dancing lesson was exactly what I thought it would be, hard.  I started with the most basic of basic steps, and even those moves tried to get the best of me.  The class was actually a tap/jazz class, and I had focused so much on the tap portion beforehand, that I was completely unprepared for the jazz dancing.  Don’t worry though, I hit the dance floor in my socks and gave my best impression of a FAME dancer.  The stretches and the moves that we did were actually somewhat familiar.  From my years of watching Dirty Dancing, Chicago and So You Think You Can Dance, I know what dancers do and how they move, and let me tell you, I was doing and moving like a dancer tonight.  Maybe not as elegantly as the Black Swan type, but I was putting forth all of my effort and I felt like a real dancer regardless of whether or not I actually looked the part. 

The class started off with an array of dancer stretches; plie’, toe points and turn-outs. Then we learned one move, and connected it with another and another until we had a “routine”.  I worked up a sweat, had some laughs with the instructor and learned that a dancer I am not.  After the jazz portion concluded, we moved on to tap.  I learned to shuffle which is the most basic tap step, and just when I started to get the hang of it, we had to move on to combinations.  I really think I could shuffle all day long because it was hard enough that it took me a few tries to get it, but easy enough that I could master it during the first class. We jazzed more then we tapped, and hopefully next class, we’ll tap until my toes my bleed.  I think that’s the sign of a good dancer, bloody toes.  At least that’s what the movie Save The Last Dance taught me. Hopefully by the end of my lessons, I’ll be able to do some sort of Flashdance routine, and then jump into a tap number like I’m on Broadway.

Next Tuesday will be my second tap/jazz class and I’m thinking we’re going to pick up right where we left off.  The class attendance is very low, and there’s talk of possibly moving us to a class with teenagers.  Looking like a fool in front of teens isn’t what I was hoping for with this class, but the verdict is still out on that decision so I won’t worry about it too much.  More on tap next Tuesday, but check back tomorrow to see if I learn to create scarves, booties and sweaters during my first knitting class.