Alright all you Fred Astaires and Ginger Rogers, jazz hands at the ready, it’s National Tap Dancing Day on Thursday 25 May so throw in a shuffle ball and heel-step as you glide down the street.
By law (in the US anyway) it’s officially okay to suspend reality for a day and pretend life is a musical – and why not? Singin’ in the Rain is so much better than contemplating La Nina.
The timing of National Tap Dancing Day falls on the birthday of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, an American tap dancer who was famous for his dancing with Shirley Temple and for starring in the musical, Stormy Weather.
If you can’t remember your “flap ball change” from those early lessons you had as a kid, there’s a second chance at the aptly named class in Belconnen, Silver Treads, for over 50s.
Teacher Ros Groenhout started tap-dancing when she was eight and has an extensive collection of musicals and old jazz standards in her DVD collection.
“I have all of the great dancers, all the Gene Kellys, it’s such a joy,” Ros says. Her current song on high rotation is Cliff Richard’s Congratulations and Celebrations.
There are two classes – beginners and advanced (who have performed at Floriade), most of which are women and a smattering of men.
Those with experience can dance with canes (and a feather boa if the occasion arises) and those who are new, “repeat, repeat, repeat”.
“A lot of them have a background in dancing; when they were younger they’d do ballet or jazz but it’s never ever too late to start,” Ros says. “It’s fun doing it – even people that never did it as a kid, some have just started as a senior.
“It’s great for balance and coordination and particularly your brain and memory. It’s that little bit trickier than ballet with the weight movement and the feet movement. It’s a challenge and a very good workout.”
Silver Treads holds classes in Belconnen on Wednesdays at 9.30am. Enquiries: 0404 933 734.
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