DANCE TEACHER TAPS INTO ENERGY OF ADULT CENTER.Byline: Angela Randazzo Daily News Staff Writer Eighteen pairs of feet stepped to the jazzy jazz·y adj. jazz·i·er, jazz·i·est 1. Resembling jazz in form or nature; rhythmical. 2. Slang Showy; flashy: a jazzy car. rhythm of ``We Ain't Got a Barrel of Money'' as Vicky Simons' tap dance class got under way at the Goebel Senior Adult Center. Her class is a mixture of students who fondly fond 1 adj. fond·er, fond·est 1. Having a strong liking, inclination, or affection: fond of ballet; fond of my nieces and nephews. 2. remember taking tap classes as a child and others fulfilling a childhood wish. ``I always wanted to tap dance,'' said Diane Frankie, 53, of Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . ``My two girls took tap dancing class when they were little. I thought now's my chance.'' At 77, Simons is still a bundle of energy. She teaches three dance classes each Monday, each an hour long. The beginner class starts at 9 a.m., followed by the intermediate groups at 10 p.m. and the advanced class at 11 p.m. Enrollment is free to seniors and $20 for nonseniors. ``Vicky is great, she's really inspiring,'' said Theresa Faulkner, 43, of Thousand Oaks. The classes span the school year and culminate culminate, in astronomy, the maximum height in the sky reached by a celestial body on a given day. At the culminate the body is crossing the observer's celestial meridian and is said to be in upper transit. in a dance recital A dance recital is a performance of art where dancers performed cheoregraphed maneuvers in front of a silent audience. Dance recitals are usually done in opera houses or places of performing art and people usually dress up in either dress clothes or formal clothes, depending on the in the summer. For the past 12 years, Simons' tap dancing classes have been a popular addition to the activities at the senior center. Her current students include newcomers as well as former students. Most are nonprofessionals who are taking the class for the exercise and fun. Newbury Park resident Lee Young, 47, was a dancer with the Gold Diggers Diggers, members of a small English religio-economic movement (fl. 1649–50), so called because they attempted to dig (i.e., cultivate) the wastelands. They were an offshoot of the more important group of Puritan extremists known as the Levelers. from 1971-72 and performed in five television shows a week. After taking a break from professional dancing to raise a family, Young put on her tap shoes again and joined the class. ``I want to get back into shape,'' Young said. ``I decided to start from the beginning and work my way up to advanced.'' Marie Harris, 75, is a retired administrative secretary for the city of Thousand Oaks. Harris and her husband of 46 years, Godfrey, 75, joined the class last year. ``I had bypass surgery Bypass surgery A surgical procedure that grafts blood vessels onto arteries to reroute the blood flow around blockages in the arteries (arteriosclerosis). and I thought it would be good exercise,'' Harris said. Simons credits her own good health to eating right and dancing since she was 10. She started teaching dance when she was 13. By 15, she was a professional dancer and performed in shows at the Golden Gate Theater in her native San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden for six years. She went on to Hollywood and an active career as a dancer and bit player in numerous films. Simons moved to Thousand Oaks in 1962 and continued her dancing career as an instructor. ``My goal is to teach dancing until I'm 93, maybe then I'll quit,'' Simons said. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) Vicky Simons, 77, center, teaches seniors to tap dance Monday at the Goebel center. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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