The members of Kari Grover’s Wednesday morning tap dance followed her lead as she went over the Shirley Temple with its “flap, heel, heel, spank, heel, toe, heel” combination.
Tap only has a few basic steps, she said.
“It’s the patterns that the brain has to rework,” she said.
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The Shirley Temple goes by other names – the Broadway, Chop Suey and the Alexander.
Once they’d practice that step, Grover changed up the music to give them something they knew well – the “Shim, Sham, Shimmy.”
“It’s the national anthem of tap,” Grover said.
The Wednesday class brings a handful of senior adults to the Jessye Norman School of the Arts. The class averages six to eight dancers each week; sometimes less. While it’s for seniors, Grover said she doesn’t have an age limit. Anyone who wants to attend can.
Grover, who has a background in ballroom dance, modifies the class so it’s not hard on her students’ joints. It’s designed to be low impact with no jumping involved. She sometimes consults with her husband, Seth, a physical therapist and her ballroom dance partner, when she’s adjusting dance moves.
While she has slowed the class down slightly, Grover said she finds herself adding in steps because her students catch on fast.
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“Most of them have never taken tap, but they went to the disco or went to the club. They know how to move,” she said.
Edith Noble has been taking tap at Jessye Norman for three years.
“I decided to do something when I was new to Augusta,” she said. “I wanted to meet new people. I started when I first moved here, and I found out I’m not bad at it.”
Enid Medina takes tap for the same reasons Noble started. She had moved to the area and wanted to meet people.
“I absolutely love it,” she said.
Some of the class members live in the same senior community, and they ride a shuttle to the school each week.
Grover said other senior living communities are welcomed to participate and bring residents to class.
Classes are $50 a month or $15 for a drop-in class. Prior dance experience isn’t necessary, she said.
For more information, visit jessyenormanschool.org.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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