-Ted Shawn
"You can dance anywhere, even if only in your heart."
-Author Unknown
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned from life:
It goes on."
-Robert Frost
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| Here's where the DANCE of life began for the 3 generations of girls here... Above is me at age 4, Jana at age 3 and Mariah at age 3... in our DANCE BEGINNINGS in LiFE! |
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| Here are the 3 of us yesterday at Mariah's dance picture day... This is Mariah's TAP costume this year! |
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| Jana's DANCE SCRAP BOOKS... I enjoyed a little trip down memory lane while looking through these yesterday! |
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| On of the early memories in Jana's Dance years... our first Mother Daughter Tap Duo when she was 5! We went on to do 3 more mom-daughter duos over her dance years ...such fond cherished memories. |
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| Here is Jana doing Mariah's hair yesterday at her dance pics... She is a little LION for her Ballet group! |
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| Here is Mariah's costume for her very first year of JAZZ... we both love this one... maybe it is the polka dots!!! |
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| Jana is featured in this lovely photo/quote book. |
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| Here is one of the pages with a photo of Jana in the above mentioned album... the book is called "balance". |
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| Here is a great poster Jana bought to hang in Mariah's bedroom, with a great quote to tie my theme of today's blog together! |
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| A photo of Beau and Mariah from last Wedensday before we went away to Edmonton on a little trip. |
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| Some pics of my good friend, Linda,and her daughter, Teresa, with her little girls, Cadence and Austyn. We met up in Sherwood Park at a dance festival last weekend followed by a fun starbucks outing. Teresa was a dance student of mine and now her little girl is competing... so makes me feel proud on many levels.... and I got share Linda's "GRANNY PRIDE!" |
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| Out for breakfast with friends Myrna and Larry in Edmonton this past weekend. Myrna's family owns the LECKY SCHOOL OF DANCE which is still going strong there. I met Myrna in the late 60's at a dance summer school, and because of her and her family I started doing dance competitions, in Edmonton... the rest is history! |
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| Here is my doggie last week at the vet... She is named after the famous tap step... SHUFFLE! |
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| Here are a couple of T-shirts I have with TAP related saying on them! I made the TAPPINESS ones in my final year of teaching, with a portion of sales going to cancer... the keep calm one I found one day and had to have it! First of all to any one TAPPING by to read this blog... WELCOME! I have wanted to do a blog on DANCE for a long time... and with yesterday being INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY, this seemed like good timing for it! For many of my blog followers, you already know what a big impact DANCE has had on not only my life, but for many of my family, and friends, too. The past 3 weekends straight I have been at DANCE competitions watching and judging as well. I will always have a passion for it. Although I retired from teaching in 2008, it is always in me where ever I go. I am grateful my mom enrolled me in DANCE at the age of 3 or 4... hard to tell by my photos!... We certainly didn't have as many back in those days. I began dance lessons with my backdoor neighbour and best friend growing up, Janice Adams... the two of us danced in the basement of a lady's house. Her name was Mrs. Ellingham...and all I can remember is that she had many cats...and she smoked like crazy! We performed our recitals in those years at St. Joeseph's Hall on Broadway... kind of co-incidental that I started out "ON BROADWAY!" I did a year or two with another teacher who taught out of her home, named Mrs. Caldwell, followed by a teacher named Nadia Stadolla (who was actually more into baton than dance!)... Then I went to a "REAL" dance studio... GAIL'S DANCE ACADEMY when I was 9... and that is when my competing began, however I did not do a solo until I was 12... and it was to "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" by Mrs. Millar... and I used to get up and practice first thing every morning. I loved it and took pride in working on every sound in my footwork! My brothers didn't like those days, listening to me tap in the basement at 6AM each day!!!! I used to compete in the MOOSE JAW DANCE FESTIVAL and the SDTA Provincial competition each year. Competitions were so different back then. Some studios had their students all doing solos, but they actually danced their group dance as a solo a duo and small group as well as a large group... so one could watch the same dance over and over... my categories in solos were large with upwards of 40 kids my age in them. Every one danced to dances on records... which often skipped when the stereos were bumped back stage!... Oh the memories! I remember loving to watch dancing by the hour at those competitions... and I know I developed a keen interest from young on... (much like my grand daughter Mariah now!) My mom could not pry me from the audience, because I might miss something!!! hehehe I often did little neighbourhood shows and ones with my cousins utilizing my costumes during the summers off of dancing! I loved it...and I'm sure that is where I decided that becoming a dance teacher might be a route for me to go one day! When I was in high school I added more intense ballet training at Sasktoon School Of Ballet under the instruction of Lusia Pavlychenko... who in those days was the queen of ballet! (Sadly she recently passed away in fall of 2012) I got introduced to dance exams then, too, passing my entire CDTA Tap exam syllabus, and many of the RAD Ballet ones as well. I remember trainging for TAP in ballet slippers because Lusia didn't like the noise of tap shoes, but she always claimed if we could hear our sounds clearly in slippers, they would be very clear in tap shoes... and I believe she had a point! In my later dance years... I did summer schools here and there meeting many new dance friends and connections to other dance ventures in my life! When I was 18 I travelled to Toronto for a couple weeks of intensive training with BRIAN FOLEY who has since created the ADAPT dance exam syllabus many studios follow today. After teaching the tap program at Saskatoon School of Ballet, for 4 years, and a year of parks and recreational teaching for a couple years... I opened up DIANE WILL DANCE STUDIO... in the former home of SONIA'S DANCE ACADEMY, on the 3rd floor of the Candian Linen Supply Building where I ran my studio for 20 dance seasons before moving to our home on BROADWAY in the Avalon shopping centre, when I completed 8 more seasons before closing my studio. My dad used to install the taps on each and every pair of shoes of dancers enrolled in my studio. He knew just how to make them sound great... he had a skill for sound!He also did many other jobs in and around my studio and following his sudden passing in January of 2000... my decision to close became easier for me. My good friend, Brenda, also lost her father... only one month after my dad's passing. We found ourselves meeting for lunches to share notes on our studios...and eventually in September of 2002 I joined forces with her as the TAP DIRECTOR of her current studio called BRENDA'S SCHOOL OF BATON AND DANCE. (BSOBAD)... which is still going strong to this day. My daughter, Jana, grew up dancing all her life and went on to 5 contracts working in a professional career as a performer for TOKYO DISNEYLAND and DISNEY SEA. Jana did well with her dancing growing up and also taught and choreographed many numbers in her dance career as well. Now Jana and I watch as her daughter, 6 year old, Mariah dances in BSOBAD studio. She did 3 seasons of combo classes and is in her first year of TAP, JAZZ and BALLET classes now and had her dance photos just yesterday. I am becoming a very OVER ANXIOUS GRANDMA (OAG) for the day that Mariah will get to compete... but I am quite sure it will be very soon! So now that I have been on so many sides of the stage... from dancer to assistant teacher, to studio owner, to parent and grandparent of a dancer... along with auntie of a dancer... and teacher and adjudicator to many dance generations over my many years... I can honestly say my life is like one big dance! People often ask me if I miss teaching dance or owning my studio... and my answer is this.... I have so many fond memories from it all and I am in a new chapter of life now. I love my time spent as a grandma and love that I can share my stories and knowledge with those who want it along the way. I will continue to be passionate about dance and especially my specialty of TAP! I hope I have made an impact on those I've been fortunate enough to share with over the years...I will continue to TAP into those passions for years to come. I say to all those friends I have still teaching and very involved in the dance world... I still have great respect for each every one of you. It is a very demanding job... but the rewards out way the demands in the end... by making memories of a lifetime! This is really a very shortened version of my life as a dancer... but will give a brief idea of where my roots began! AS dancers continue to compete, and perform in their shows coming up at seasons' end... I wish you all the best... KEEP TAPPING INTO YOUR BEST EFFORTS... and keep putting your best foot forward! on that note... my little rhyme of the day... As I take a trip down memory lane... I love looking back to see it all again! With every photo and at every glance, My life seems like just one big dance. As I shuffle along from day to day, With each step I take along the way, Reminds me just how I've evolved, All around dance, my life's revolved. With every dancer I have come to know, They've all made an impact and added flow. My life is truly like a dance... From every leap of faith and prance, Memories continue to fill each page, Each chapter of life at every stage. I'll continue to tap into where it leads me, Dance adds balance, it's so easy to see! |
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