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A fish out of water...

I decided to sign up for an adult tap class. One of the things I have always said that I really miss from high school (one of the only things I miss from high school) was taking dance lessons. I always wanted to take a tap class during college but BG only offered one and it was for those who have never put on a tap shoe before in their life so I opted not to take it (although it should have been an easy A!). When someone told me about the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood offering adult dance classes, I got really excited! They offer classes in levels 1, 2, and 3. 1 is for those who have never tapped before, 2 is for those who have only tapped for one year, and 3 is for those with two or more years of tapping experience. Although I tapped for about eight years growing up, given the fact that I haven't tapped in over 6 years, I thought it would be in my best interest to start with the level 2 class. Unfortunately, this fall they only offer level 1 or 3. When I talked so someone at the dance store about it, she said "Oh, it's like riding a bike. It will all come back to you. You'll be fine in Tap 3." I felt a lot better...for about 3 minutes. Then I went back to being nervous again. The class started last night so yesterday at work I got even more nervous. I emailed the girl who had told me about the class and who I know has taken years of classes from the same instructor. She wrote back and tried to make me feel better but did warn me that the instructor is "tough" and "used to be a Rockette." Suddenly I felt even more nervous. I had this fear of being the worst one in the class and I was afraid that the instructor might make us dance alone in front of the other class members and/or dance across the floor in front of everyone.




Every fear that I had, came true. The entire hour I was there was like a scene off of Saturday Night Live. I felt like Sally O'Mally when she was trying to audition and then dance with the Rockettes. I was like a fish out of water. She was like a tap drill Sargent. She would stand at the bar on the other side of the room, perform some ridiculous mini-routine once and then we were expected to repeat what she had just done. At first I thought it was a joke until I looked around and everyone else WAS repeating the step. Everyone but me. She made us all do steps by ourselves in front of the rest of the class and she would come and stand by you when it was your turn. I haven't been that nervous in a long time! Then we had to go across the floor with a few steps in front of the class and I was by far the worst one in the room. She's very hardcore and a bit intimidating. The good news is, she's a fantastic dancer and I will probably learn more from her in the next 18 weeks than I learned in 6 years at my tap class in high school. The bad news is, I'm going to make a fool out of myself in the process. You know you're bad when the rest of the class keeps coming up to you and telling you what a great job you're doing. I'm like the charity case in the class. I'm not going to quit though. I'm sticking it out! But I will say, I'm going to be building a lot of character over the next few months!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hey...at least you're getting exercise too :)
9/03/2008 2:08 PM
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