Lesson 8 - The Phalap
We were introduced to a new step today, called the phalap (and I'm just guessing wildly at the spelling). This is a basic tap step, easy to understand, and a devilishly difficult one to actually do. So difficult in fact, that at the moment, I'm drawing a total blank as to how to do it. This seems to be the pattern with all the basic tap steps: really hard to do and to remember.
You can get an idea of what a phalap is, if you think about flapping your foot against the floor, but in a syncopated way. And it makes a pha - lap sound. Slick, huh?
On the other hand, I'm getting close to actually doing the shuffle-ball-change - another basic tap step. For some reason I pretty much have it down in the left foot. But the right just ain't happening. I seem to be too stiff in the ankle. When I got to class today, I spent ten minutes before anyone else showed up just doing this step over and over, on each foot. It feels good to be loosening up the ankles like that, though.
Tanis, the teach, was much healthier today, too. But where the heck was everybody? There was only me and one other student, Corinne. So the vines bit was kinda thin, with just the two of us crossing back and forth, and no one in the back doing the half vines and the march in a circle thing.
I've more or less mastered the Shim-Sham Shimmy, at least as far as remembering all the parts to it. I still trip over some bits, and I seem to be off balance half the time. Weight transfers are giving me problems, cuz I'm forever moving too much, or on the wrong foot, or just off balance. I think the music Tanis used was a little slower than we usually use, too.
For the Stevie Wonder tune we added a couple more bits to it, included a variation of the phalap. For some reason, this piece is even harder to remember. I think I can get through most of it, but I know I got blank spots. It's coming together though.
You can get an idea of what a phalap is, if you think about flapping your foot against the floor, but in a syncopated way. And it makes a pha - lap sound. Slick, huh?
On the other hand, I'm getting close to actually doing the shuffle-ball-change - another basic tap step. For some reason I pretty much have it down in the left foot. But the right just ain't happening. I seem to be too stiff in the ankle. When I got to class today, I spent ten minutes before anyone else showed up just doing this step over and over, on each foot. It feels good to be loosening up the ankles like that, though.
Tanis, the teach, was much healthier today, too. But where the heck was everybody? There was only me and one other student, Corinne. So the vines bit was kinda thin, with just the two of us crossing back and forth, and no one in the back doing the half vines and the march in a circle thing.
I've more or less mastered the Shim-Sham Shimmy, at least as far as remembering all the parts to it. I still trip over some bits, and I seem to be off balance half the time. Weight transfers are giving me problems, cuz I'm forever moving too much, or on the wrong foot, or just off balance. I think the music Tanis used was a little slower than we usually use, too.
For the Stevie Wonder tune we added a couple more bits to it, included a variation of the phalap. For some reason, this piece is even harder to remember. I think I can get through most of it, but I know I got blank spots. It's coming together though.
posted by Kelly at
6:14 PM
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