Lesson 10

Only three of us today, but that was OK. We went through all our routines and worked on things. Tanis added a couple more bits to Superstition, a series of chuggs and some other steps to give it a finish.

She also showed us a neat series of varied riffs that we can do to Hickory Dickory Dock. It's something she uses in her kids classes, but it gives us older types something to hang on to, too. Very cool.

I'm still struggling with the shuffle-ball-change. As a runner, I have the usual tightness in the legs, and it's hard to loosen up the ankle so the shuffle can happen. I think it will come if I keep working at it.

I struggled with the extra taps in the Shimmy. I end up forcing them in, and then it screws up my timing and weight transfers, and I end up off balance or late.

For the first segment, we learned it as DUM-da DUM-da DUM-da-da DUM-da. And that's actually the soft shoe version which would be taught in jazz dance. But for tap, you follow the initial stomp (the DUM) with a brush. So it goes DUM-da-da DUM-da-da DUM-da-da-da DUM-da-da. It sounds really neat when Tanis does it. It sounds way out of whack when I do it, mostly because I'm pushing through the stiffness in my ankle for the brush instead of letting a loose foot do it naturally.

It'll come.

Next Monday night is an open house demo night, and I'm still not decided if I'll go. I've been struggling with exhaustion, and it's made the last couple of classes really difficult. It's like I've forgotten how to do the stuff I've been doing for weeks.

I think the brisk walk to the studio may not help either, because while it warms up the legs, it also tightens them up, when I most need to be loose and relaxed. I hope it will be better in the spring session when it's all night classes.