I don’t know who’s responsible for originating one of the great wrong ideas of all time: that if you don’t learn some skill or hobby or sport or language or discipline as a child, you might as well hang it up; it’s not going to happen.
This came to mind recently when I read an anecdote on Facebook from one of my favorite rhythm tap dancers (and my former teacher), Josh Hilberman. He posted this:
The average adult who contacts us for tap classes leads with ‘I have no sense of rhythm, one of my legs doesn’t work, I have no memory or hope’ and it constantly depresses me to think how many horrible messages we all internalise growing up.
I want to know who’s responsible for this piece of supreme misinformation because they need to be issued a cease-and-desist order now.
One of the most fun things I’ve done in my life has been tap dancing. Yes, it’s true. I used to study and teach and perform rhythm tap, occasionally to live music, and always with a healthy dose of jazz improvisation. It was joyful, creative, intellectually satisfying and a very serious workout. And I started tapping at age 26 at the famous Leon Collins dance studio in Brookline, MA, where I could take a variety of courses and learn classic numbers and also how to jam to live music. Did I say how fun it was?
It just so happened that I picked up tap pretty quickly and advanced (with a lot of work and enthusiasm and a little talent). But there were loads of students I took classes with (and taught classes for) who did it for their own enjoyment, not for dance advancement. On Josh’s FB page, one friend of his responded to his post, saying:
I have 1 adult student who is so happy to remain in Tap I forever. She brags about it with a big smile and a boisterous laugh.
I am that person in yoga classes. It feels A-OK to do poses in elementary or modified/easier ways. I have no ambition whatsoever. As they say, I’m just happy to be there.
To be clear: there are all kinds of things we can decide to start learning at just about any point in the life trajectory. Naturally, prudence and risk analysis perhaps should play a modest role in such decision-making (I’m not going to start downhill mountain biking at this point; although to be honest I was just as chicken about this when I was 25). But otherwise, have at it!
Also, different avocations have different learning curves, so it’s good to consider our goals for whatever we’ve decided to study or learn. At this point in my life, it’s unlikely I’ll set my sights on playing cello in a major (or minor) symphony orchestra. But hey, who am I to rain on your parade?
By the way, if you happen to find yourself in Liege, Belgium and want to take a beginner tap class, Josh and his wife Stephanie will be happy to get you started.
So to sum up: go out there and take classes or instruction in whatever pleases you or grabs your fancy. If it’s fun for you, yay!
Readers, do you have a yearning to get out there to learn something new? I’d love to know.
