Marvelous Monday, Part ll - The Evening Class

Hats & Taps' Monday started and ended on super high notes.  We were invited to Tap in the evening for an ARC (American River College) class regarding geriatrics.  Caring for seniors is a fast growing industry.  It was the final meeting for this class.  We came to dance, talk about being active seniors and answer any questions the students asked.  Many in our group are retired teachers, if there is such a thing.  Carol is a prime example.  She used to teach, and still does.  Only the subject matter has changed.  Even our most senior seniors confessed their ages which delighted and amazed the class. We learned more about each other as well.  And, we were even asked to do an encore!  Engaging with these students and the wonderful teacher of the class was a very special experience for us all.

We now, not only have a blog, but are out there on several peoples' Facebooks, UTube, and a possible twitter "Eat your heart out Hugh Hefner" comment, that tickled everybody! 

"Hats, I think yesterday was one of the most satisfying of my dancing.  The response to what we are doing was so gratifying.  Thank you all for your devotion to Hats and Taps.  Love, Carol".

Yes, a marvelous Monday, indeed!

A Marvelous Monday

Monday the 5th of December was a marvelous day!  Hats & Taps danced in the morning for the Easter Seals Cerebral Palsy Center.  What a delightful audience and staff they are! They were prepared for us with treats, water and a most charming sign!  We loved it!

 Many from the audience joined us dancing on the floor 

for the final number, Feliz Navidad.  

What a party it was, and a great way to start the day!

Lois, Rhoda, Connie, Mary, Linda 2, Ruthie on the floor, Liz, Carolyn, 

Linda 1, Santa Marie, and Carol.

Thanks to new member Mary for having her phone handy and clicking some pics! 

Our World Needs To Know....

Our Tapping World needs to know that every performance is special to us. We may not always get pictures posted or blog in a timely manner, but there isn't an audience we don't appreciate and enjoy tapping for. We had a wonderful time at St. Anthony's Church on November 17th, 2011.  The sun streamed into the tiled Foyer and twinkled on our tapping toes. The after-show hugs and comments were warm and welcome.  Thank you for having us! 

Who's New To Hats & Taps?

Scary Mary, that's Who!

Some of us think Mary has supernatural Tap Powers. 

She jumped right into Carol's Tap routines with fervor! Mary joined in on Adams Family, her first number performing with our group.  She also helped out with the music, which was greatly appreciated!

Dancing here at the Children's Receiving Home, on October 28th, is always a treat. CRH is one of our favorite venues and near and dear to teacher Carol's gigantic heart.  

 Hats & Taps danced at the Harvest Hoedown for St. Andrew's Methodist Church November 6th, 2011. 

Pictured here is Lois, Liz, Connie, Mary and Linda1.

Mary and Carol with big smiles! 

The Hoe Down went well and a repeat performance of the Yeehaw and New York numbers was stage performed on November 9th, for the Fremont Presbyterian Church. Everyone sang a special Happy Birthday to Rhoda's 87 year old Brother-in-Law, who was in the audience, and Ruthie, our entertainer. We have fun mixing and matching our numerous costumes with Carol's ever growing dance list so our shows are always unique. Mary played the music for us and is excited about dancing again in December. Two more shows before then.

Carol has us learning new numbers,........... always. She tweaks and fine tunes her older numbers so they seem new as well. This keeps us on our toes and wanting to tap into Mary's supernatural powers!  How Mary got involved with Hats & Taps will be posted on her own 

Blog Bio coming soon!

Full Fall Calendar?

The demand for Carol's Hats & Taps has grown. Mission Oaks may miss her but "retirement" is not a word in Carol's vocabulary.  Seemingly, neither is "No".  And we love it!  On October 12th, the Gals danced for the Wives of the Civil Engineers at the Aviator Club.

October 22cd, half of the group, Carol, Carolyn, Linda 2, Liz and Marie, danced at the Roseville Elk's Lodge for the Women's Civic Improvement Club.

Hats & Taps by Renoir

October 26th, Northridge Country Club hosted the Gold River Villagers, some of whom were known by a couple of Hats & Tappers.  We thank all of those audience members from each of October's shows so far, for being so enthusiastic and welcoming!  With nine more scheduled shows before Christmas, we certainly have a very full Fall Calendar.

Fall Birthday Celebration

Hats & Taps celebrated Fall birthdays at a new venue, Ettore's. We enjoy taking the time, three times a year, to celebrate and visit in a relaxed environment, sharing cards, food, and fun!  It was so good to see and catch up a bit with Margaret, Ione and Carol 2 too! 

The Carrot Cake was delicious!

 The Birthday Group - Carol 2 with Lois in front and 

Linda 1 with Marie in back.

Carol and Lois having a laugh.

Carol 2, Liz, Linda 1, Rhoda and Ione.

Connie with Margaret - looking marvelous after major surgery!

Linda 2, Carolyn and Carol 2.
What a treat to have a pretty room to ourselves!

Carol lighting the candles.

Always thanks to Rhoda for making arrangements 

and taking care of the tab!

We had a great tap practice afterward - in spite of full stomachs.

Well Done!

Yeehaw!  By many accounts, the 2011 September
Showcase was the best one ever!  

Thanks to Carol, and all the many dancers and helpers!  

A well attended, real crowd pleaser! 

Hats & Taps first number, Cotton Eyed Joe

 

In rehearsal on the Friday night before.

 Thank goodness, Carolyn was there for the Charleston numbers!

Mary's first rehearsal and show. A new member to Hats & Taps.  Here with Joanne (left) and Kathleen (right).

Hi-Steppers getting ready for Surf'n USA!

Carol was honored by Mission Oaks and all of the tap groups in various appreciative ways.  She'll be greatly missed!

Happy Hound Dogs look on.

Carol with Linda at the after party hosted by Linda and Bob.  What a wonderful way to celebrate the last Mission Oaks Showcase!  

It was great!

September Swan Song?

"Summer's End" Showcase at Mission Oaks on September 18, 2011, will be a finale of all sorts.  The show is dedicated to the memory of LaVern Mecham who taught Tap at Mission Oaks from 1985 until 2008. LaVern's Classy Tappers will dance as will all of Carol Stone's tap class groups.  Hi Steppers, TNTs, Rhythm and Shoes, The Elite Feet, and Carol's own Hats & Taps.  Line dancers and musical soloists will also perform.                                                                       

Carol must hide her twin because she can't possibly do everything that she does, and continues to do, with one brain and one body! 

Carol, a Classy Tapper in more ways than one, has been teaching tap at Mission Oaks for over a decade herself and has sparked many a tap fan!  Indeed, this sixth annual showcase, as well as all prior shows at Mission Oaks, has been put on, organized and directed by Carol.  Many helpers lend a hand to help pull this off, but with Carol as the driving force. Or, dancing force.  She retires from teaching Tap at Mission Oaks this month and "Summer's End" may be her final show here. Ya never know with Carol, she continues to teach, choreograph, perform, and practice, practice, practice with her own group, the fortunate ladies called Hats & Taps.

Carol's classes will be greatly missed!  Her much appreciated teaching style has been mentioned before in this blog and various news articles over the years.  Her mantra, "SMILE and HAVE FUN!" has been imprinted on many tapping minds and feet.

Monday night's Hi Steppers will preform their last time together but most of them have morphed into Rhythm and Shoes and will tap forward with much fun doing shows around town and keeping many of Carol's dances alive.

Come join the music and dance fun at Mission Oaks Community Center, 4701 Gibbons Dr., Sunday, September 18, 2011.  Donations will be accepted for the Mission Oaks Holiday Meal Program.

Jazzy Spats

Hats & Taps performed at Carlton Plaza on August 16, 2011.  Linda 2's new tap spats and wrist bands added a jazzy touch to our sparkly costumes.  A little rusty from a lot of time off just transferred to laughs galore.  The audience was wonderful, as usual.  We're glad to be back in the groove and giving smiles all around!

 Ruthie runs the show during costume changes and supports everyone in ways we can't thank her enough for!

Connie, Linda 2, Rhoda, Ruthie, Liz, Lois, Linda 1, Carol

Hats With Hearts

Hats and Taps on may 24th, 2011
This show was for the American Cancer Society Survivors and Caregivers.
Carol's gift to the group, these purple vests, was truly a gift from the heart and they look great!

In the Pink

St. Marks Church put Hats & Taps in the Pink!  What a fun show!  Thanks for having us on the 21st of May! Thank you too, for treating us to a wonderful quiche and fruit luncheon after the show!  

It sure hit the spot!

We always enjoy it when the audience claps and has a good time with us. Your smiles and comments were very much appreciated!  That rosy glow wasn't just from the costumes!

We loved dancing L-O-V-E on your wonderful stage!

We would have loved to see the other dancers but could tell from the sound of the music and applause that they were big hits!

Ruthie with Arlene and Marcia. As always, thanks again for being our entertainment backbone!

Spring Luncheon

Hats and Taps Tri-annual birthday celebration.

Birthday girls, Carolyn, Linda 2 and Liz celebrated on May 17th.

 Carol held a candle back at the studio, not venturing too far from recovering Doug.

 Marie and Rhoda

 Ruth and Linda 2

 Lois, Linda 1 and Connie

 It was great to see Carol 2, here with Lois!

 Carolyn and Ruth

Connie and Liz showing cards

Cinco in May - oh

Vince's Restaurant hosted SIRS and on the second, kicked off the first of cinco in May shows.  A busy month for Hats & Taps!  Carol continued our Western Fling and Fantastic Forties numbers.  We appreciated the audience joining in with clapping to the cowboy beats.  Their enthusiastic responses plus cookies and ice cream after were a very welcome reward!  Thanks again, SIRS!  And Vince's! 

Friday the 13th found us at a favorite place!  So fitting to show our love starting off with L-O-V-E!  Orange Grove School's audience sparkles more than our costumes!  Our hearts feel huge here, and that warm glow we're left with lasts a long time!  We LOVE you Orange Grove!

Just look at those lovely smiles!

Shimmery silver - so fun!

Boy From New York City

More sparkling smiles!

New York, New York!

While we change costumes, we have to say that we missed our leader, Carol, terribly! She wanted to be here so badly, but although hubby Doug is recovering well from surgery, Carol needed to be close by. 

Choo Choo Ch' Boogie!

More choo choo

Connie stepped in to take charge for Carol.  She stepped in quite nicely!

Carolyn

Liz

Marie

Linda 2

Marie, Connie, Liz & Linda 2 having fun!

Rhoda & Lois sharing that Funglow!

Linda 1 & Carolyn kicking up their heels!

You go girls!

Lois gets a special dance!  Carol 2 in the background.  

C2 played our music and we appreciated her help and company more than she knows!

Another special dance for Ruthie!  Our Entertainer plus!  We're so lucky to have you!

These group photos were at the insistence of some audience participants.  We're so glad!

Thank you, Eric, for taking the pictures!

The next day, May 14th, we repeated some performances for the ladies luncheon at the Advent Lutheran Church.  Thank you so much, Ladies, for making us feel welcome and for all the complimentary comments!  It was a cold, blustery day but we warmed up quickly in your company! 

Coming up on Saturday, the 21st, we will be at St. Mark's Church.  We look forward to that and the 24th takes Hats & Taps to Citrus Heights Community Clubhouse for the American Cancer Society Survivors and Caregivers event.  We love what we do!  Many thanks to everyone who helps make these shows possible!