Dance Lessons

Some of you will be horrified by this story, some of you will find it funny, and the rest will wonder what the big deal is.  When I dropped Ally off this morning, her teacher asked me if Ally was taking dance lessons. I told her no. 

Her teacher: "Oh, I was just wondering because she really likes to dance and she's always talking about taking lessons."

Me:  "My husband and I have talked about dance lessons, but they're often so late in the evening and neither of us feel like she's ready for such a long day."

Teacher:  "She dances so well in class when we have the music on, we just thought maybe she was already taking lessons."

Ally loves to dance.  If we're someplace where there's music or a band playing, I tell her to get up and do her thing.  Sometimes I'll dance with her.  If we're at our favorite Mexican restaurant and Ally needs to use the bathroom, we'll do a little cha-cha-cha to the restroom.  (Eventually Ally started asking to go use the restroom as an excuse just to get up and dance, not because she really needed to go.)  Her grandparents got her one of the Wiggles' dance DVDs and Ally is perfectly content to dance to the entire DVD.  To cinch it, one of Ally's older friends has been taking ballet for years and Ally is enamored by this idea.  Probably because of the ribbons, bows, and tutus.

Teacher (continuing):  "Have you seen her flat foot?  She's really good.  Maybe you've taken her to the Floyd Jamboree?"

Ah, then it hit me.  Last fall at the Sinkland Farms Pumpkin Festival we watched an old time band for a little while and I showed Ally how to flat foot.  

Uh, yes, you read that right.  I admit it, I can flat foot a little.  (I should set the timer to see how long it takes for my dad to call and give me hell about this.)  It's not terribly hard to pick up and many people around here know how, given the close proximity to the Galax Fiddler's Convention, the Floyd Friday Night Jamboree, and the Crooked Road.  Get a couple of people playing a banjo, fiddle, and guitar and sooner or later someone will pop up and start to do a little flat footing.  It goes hand in hand with the music so much that often there are dance exhibitions and competitions at the music festivals.          

And that gave me a brilliant idea:  maybe we can send Ally to college on a clogging scholarship.