Returning to Tap

When  I threw myself into an  tap class at Steps on Broadway in NYC, I was  nervous. I hadn’t danced in a while and the classes are challenging.

That afternoon I was meeting with an old friend, and figured this was a good time take the plunge.  It had been at least five years since I had done an in-person class there, even though  I did a little tap during lockdown. My favorite Steps  teacher, Lynne Schwab, did an online class for months—maybe a year or more. I even purchased my very own foldable 3′ x 3′ dance floor which I used for some online Flamenco classes, but it’s been gathering dust in the closet.

And apparently so was I.

I’ve danced for most of my life but not lately and I’ve missed it. I’m picky. I need a good teacher. I’m not a fan of night time classes and I don’t want to take ballet( did 30 years of that!)   So back to NYC where there are more options: one can take any kind of class any time of the day. If you are a dancer, you can get really spoiled there. I did.

Amtrak sped me to the newly refurbished Penn Station where I connected to the #2 subway. 2 stops and I was at the door of the Upper West Side studio. Easy peasy. When the elevator opens up on the third floor of Steps  there’s a burst of energy. Music from the different rooms flows out into the halls which are packed with students stretching, getting ready for class.  What a lot of people don’t realize is Broadway feeds the dance schools. Many of the students are professionals, keeping up their skills. Or trying to “make it” in New York.

My tap class was downstairs, in Annex 2, which has an outstanding wood floor, perfect for the sounds of tap .As the room  filled up, I spotted a few senior members, but mostly they were very young, very athletic, mostly women. Something new since the pandemic a big screen upfront for the Zoomers and there were a few. As we  introduced ourselves and where we were from, it was like a roll call of the states: “Missouri, Colorado, Kentucky, Hawaii, Nebraska, Ohio, New Jersey… ” It kept going. No one from New York except one other senior student. And me (I was born in Manhattan- totally native!)

I looked around the room and realized that I was surrounded by wide-eyed Broadway dreamers who were in town going to auditions and pursuing their creative lives.  The teacher talked about his own audition experiences and gave the class many tips. I was cool with that and felt super free that I didn’t have that kind of pressure.

I kept up sufficiently well in the warm-ups although they were a lot faster than I was used to. “I’m going to go really fast today.” The teacher warned us. I even hung in there with the theatrical choreography to “Easy Street” from Annie, until he kept adding on MORE steps and my brain just couldn’t process them fast enough.

At the height of my dancing days in NYC, I always knew that the brain needed to be trained as much as the body. And mine was super rusty. I could do all the steps— just couldn’t remember when they came in. In a slower class the teacher would have spent more time with the connections. Anyway, by the end of class, I was a pro with the first step, was able to do a time-step somewhere in the middle, and the rest was a blur. At 12:20 (10 minutes to go) he decided to finish it off with a double pirouette ( turn). I knew that definitely wasn’t happening for me and I was done.

The good news is I was smiling throughout. The teacher never singled me out or judged in any way. He was delightful and entertaining. I was surrounded by young talented hopefuls who I might just see the next time I go to a show. All of that was exciting for me..

So, am I done dancing? No way. I’ve already booked another NYC class for June- this time a level down- Beginner.   We’ll see how it goes. And I’ll keep searching in Philly.