Carolyn Creative

My friend Andrea and I recently joined a tap dancing class in Plaza Midwood.  While Andrea has solid experience — a childhood of classes and recitals — my only exposure included high school choreography for notable productions, Anything Goes and Guys and Dolls. The class was advertised as “all levels.”  And my dedicated viewing of “So You Think You Could Dance” convinced me to get in touch with my inner badass dancer?  How bad could we suck?

The answer: a lot.  But here are some other things I’ve learned along the journey.

1. In grown-up classes dance classes, they don’t give you any sequined headbands or tutus.  Nor are there any photo shoots where you line up with cool props and strike a pose.  Whatevs.
2. Tap dancing is frickin’ hard.  Our tiny and patient teacher, Audrey, will break down steps and explain each movement and timing before the class tries it with music.  Her sprightly demonstration is a stark contrast to my version; catching my reflection in the mirror, I’m flailing around like my pants are on fire.
3. I like the steps where you make a loud noise.
4. If you have trouble walking in high heels, chances are good that dancing might be a bit of a challenge as well.
5. There are still showoffs.  Even when you are 32.  In our class, I’ll call her Hot Pants.  Not only did Hot Pants almost run me over several times when I was innocently sucking in my own dance space, she used the bar in between lines to practice ballet moves. Not cool, Hot Pants.
6. Dancing is a meditation.  Even though my shuffle-ball-change is not particularly graceful (yet), I spent an hour trying something new.  I wasn’t worrying about my job, my bills, or my relationships.  I was just concentrating on making noise with my feet.  That’s a wonderful thing.