Tap, Tap, Tap

Both my daughters have been dancers all of their lives.  Krissy started dance lessons at 4 and Caity started when was 3.  I cannot speak the praises of this activity enough.  They both truly loved dancing.  I rarely had to "make" them go to dance....ok, neither of them were that excited about ballet, but tap, jazz and anything else, they loved.

It also gave them a certain quiet confidence that is so important for all young women.  They had a place to shine and challenge themselves.  In high school they were able to transfer their talents into musical theater.

The greatest gift from dance was simply that it kept them busy during those years when teenagers can often get easily distracted and into trouble.  Honestly, between dance, theater and choir....they didn't have a lot of spare time.

Maybe I need to rephrase that last paragraph...the greatest gift from dance was the sheer, unadulterated joy I had watching them perform.  There are simply no words to express how wonderful it was seeing them kick it up on stage.

At the conclusion of high school, I fully expected their dance endeavors to end.  To my surprise, that didn't happen.  During college, they both found opportunities to continue to dance and to this day they still both take classes.

Caitlin has even taken it a step further in becoming part of the Detroit Tap Repertory Company.  This is a local group of women who's dedication to the art of performance tap is amazing.  Their leader, Denise Caston pushes them all to new levels of skills.  In fact, Cait has never been challenged as much as she is right now.   The fact that she had a baby 4 months ago, might also play a role.

Through Caitlin's involvement in the Detroit Tap Repertory, she participated in the Motor City Tap Fest last week-end and last Saturday night, we went to Orchestra Hall to see a performance of the All Star Faculty.   It was a great show with some amazing talented tappers.  There are so many different tap styles...you'd be surprised.

As part of the evening they presented a special award to Miriam Nelson.  Miriam has a vast history of stage and movie tap dancing credits to her name and if you go to You Tube you can find some clips of her dancing in her hey day.  What was so amazing to me is that Miriam is 92 years old and she looks phenomenal.  She still taps and Cait even took a class from her over the week-end.  She has a grace and style that one can only hope they have at any age.

For me...the investment I made in the girls and dance is still reaping some wonderful benefits.