I’m seated. I’m thrilled. And I have no idea what the hell I’m doing. Those in my company don’t seem to care, thank goodness. With 15 minutes until closing time, I quickly commit and hand over my credit card. And now I’m blabbering, asking a series of maintenance questions as if to distract myself before I change my mind. Before I talk myself out of doing something I have dreamt of doing for the past 20 years. And suddenly, there they are in my hands. Tap shoes.
A pair of simple, black tap shoes. They are the cheapest option but seem so perfect to me. Pristine like precious gems. I almost don’t want to wear them. But I will need to. I need them for my first ever dance class the next morning.
How simple it was to take the first step.
How daunting the next day felt.
More blabbering. I’m nervous. I’ve never taken a dance class in my life. I don’t know what to expect or what to wear! I don’t exactly come from a background in which money is spent on anything dance related - classes, tickets to the ballet, etc. To keep myself from getting cold feet, I pull on my memories and remember the seeds firmly planted long ago…
A twirl, a flit of the hands, a cheeky grin - all to the soundtrack of clicking, tipping, and tapping. A heavenly and otherworldly sound for my bookish, introverted 14 year old self. The screen was black and white in most cases, but how colorful and hypnotic the soundscape. How theatrical and elaborate the production. How glamorous and beautiful the stars. These humans.
They were from a different time, but I felt so invested in their drama, their heartaches, their happy endings. And much to my (and my social group’s) surprise, their talent for dance. Tap dance.
I was hooked.
The details are lost to time but somehow I found the Turner Classic Movie (TCM) channel on cable television one day during my freshman year of high school. I gazed, not truly comprehending what I was watching. I listened, not truly computing what I was hearing. And then, the neuronal trees in my brain lit up like Times Square on a chilly, winter night. Almost in an instant, I became obsessed.
I had unknowingly unlocked something inside me. I had witnessed a sort of siren song I couldn’t possibly unhear. Much to the confusion of everyone around me, I proceeded to spend the rest of my high school career voraciously watching old films from the 1930’s, 40’s, and 50’s. Absorbing the music, the costumes, the showmanship. My favorite genre? By and large were the musicals.
Musicals were a composite of a little of everything - physical comedy, lots of singing, and of course, showstopping dance sequences. And any musical worth the price of admission back in the day featured dancing. The most memorable and impressive, for me, was tap. I secretly vowed to my young self that one day - somehow, somewhere, someway - I was going to learn how to tap.
And this past weekend, I finally did it. I finally attended a dance class. A tap dance class no less! How did it go? It was unforgettable. How did I fare? I was horrendous.
I loved every second of it.
Need a primer?
Check out the following movie clips. They will cheer you right up, fill you with awe, and very likely, inspire you to get moving! (Warning: they’re all musicals!)
From “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) dir. Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. My favorite film of all time, tied with “Casablanca” (1942) of course. I didn’t pick the obvious dance number, hope you don’t mind. Hoofers featured: Gene Kelly, an 18 year old Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor.
From “The Barkley’s of Broadway” (1949) dir. Charles Walters. The dynamic duo reuniting for one last time and in Technicolor. Hoofers featured: the legendary Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
From “Swing Time” (1936) dir. George Stevens. Hoofers featured: a younger Fred and Ginger.
From “Broadway Melody of 1940” (1940) dir. Norman Taurog. Hoofers featured: Fred and the Queen of Tap, Eleanor Powell. Rumor had it, she was the best tap dancer of them all. Don’t let the beginning fool you, it really ramps up! And for my money, this is the best tap dancing duet captured on film - certainly the fastest!
From “You’ll Never Get Rich” (1941) dir. Sidney Lanfield. Hoofers featured: Fred and this time with the mesmerizing, Rita Hayworth.
And finally, from “Lady Be Good” (1941) dir. Norman Z. McLeod. Likely the cutest dance routine ever with an animal. Hoofers featured: Eleanor and her dog, Buttons. Fun fact: she was a classical trained dancer but quite uniquely, studied acrobatics extensively!
My obsession started with Ginger, Fred, Gene, and Eleanor. If you are at all interested in the history of American cinema and the heyday of film musicals, please do yourself a favor and start with these folks. Watch any film with any one of them, you won’t be disappointed.
Looking forward to updating you on my journey to dance circles around my comfort zone!
Thanks for reading this week’s rambling post.
Building a flock one post at a time,
M