dancing in ealing

All returning to normal, went to tap on Friday, to be greeted by Rose in a t-shirt bearing the legend 'Rock'n Tinkabell', you may remember I called her a Rock 'n' Roll Tinkerbell in a previous post. Tap was great, so good to get back into it - the grown-ups might also be putting on a show, and I might take part...more nights to find time for though.
Decided a good thing, before Whitby next summer, might be to go to some folk/country damceclasses, or join a group ro something, so have discovered Ealing Country Dance Club. Wierdly this is also in Pitshanger LAne. Phil and I went last night, it was brilliant. Everyone was superfriendly, and tolerant and patient with us, there were no sour faces when we didn't do things properly, and we are learning to refine some of our moves. We knew it would be fun, but we had an even better time than we thought we would. One lovely moment was when we saw someone who had been at Whitby Folk Week; that was really special, seeing someone who had only caught glimpses of in the massive ceilidhs there, just locally in Pitshanger Lane. He is great and we had a lovely time talking to him. He goes to Pete Cooper's classes at Cecil Sharpe House sometimes. Our bus came just as we were really getting into our chat. Sadly these dances are on Monday night, clashing with the tap show rehearsals. Wow, I love dancing, it is so all encompassing and joyous. Particularly in a way when folk dancing is going well, and you are really with other people enjoying the music.

tipetty tap

Tonight is Friday night...Friday night is tap dancing night. Fantastic in every way, if you disregard my efforts.
Starting tap dancing was particularly exciting as I have wanted to do this since my teens. I can't remember why I didn't do it then, I wish I had, when I had a fresh young brain, as it's hard to get one's head round the moves and routines now; what the brain wants to do does not seem to communicate effectively to the feet.

Ideally doing tap would have meant just owning the shoes and being magically able to tapdance.
Anyway it was really exciting getting my first pair of tap shoes and made me feel like I could do it until I tried. It is really hard- harder than giggling at the back of the streetdance class and sort of getting by, a bit...very hard, nearly as hard as learning the violin.
Luckily I have a partner in crime, Sue- we've been doing tap for just over a year and are of a similar standard- we cry on each other's shoulders when it's all too much.

Anyway...the teacher, Rose, is brilliant- She's a rock 'n roll Tinkerbell; you would not mess with Rose, she looks like she hangs out with Lemmy & co...yet she is dainty and elegant; a rocker with bleach blonde hair, pink at the ends, tattoos, a leather jacket with cannabis leaf badges and appears to be completely scatty although this is deceptive- you have to be extremely sharp minded to be able to tap dance well, and to communicate to others of very mixed abilities from week to week how to do it...the class is different every week- some people just come for a week or two, and lose heart, some have been coming for years; the variety in age is even greater than in streetdance class where I am one of the oldest, if not the oldest there... I would say in tap that the youngest are in their teens, and I am possibly about two thirds of the way along to the eldest. The more experienced ones of course are excellent with rubber legs that know how to do everything. Again a camaraderie between all. We laugh and joke with each other and with Rose, and we dance to excellent music. I don't know if in your mind's eye you have an idea of the sort of music one tap dances to? maybe showtunes, maybe jazz...Well, recently we tried a dance to Walk This Way by Aerosmith/Run DMC, and one we've been working on for a few months is Good Golly Miss Molly by Little Richard! I can do nearly all of that one now....although completely falls apart when I try to demonstrate this at home- Phil says I look like I'm trying to put a cigarette out on the floor...The class can be a bit chaotic; the more experienced dancers arrive about half way through the beginners' class, some clutching mysterious looking cases which contain their shoes. Rose has it all under control- the small studio is packed by now, but we still work on stuff that beginners can manage - just! She can also do amazing balloon designs!- see link up to the right.

It is brilliant, especially at the end of the working week, I can stamp out all my frustrations with a satisfyingly loud clickety clack, laugh with friends and then go home again to my family, food, wine and comedy on the telly. Bliss.