Dearborn Resident Offers Dance, Fitness Classes for Community

By Barbara Oster

Who says you can't become a dancer just because you're no longer a child? Take me, for instance. As long as I can remember, I've been interested in dance.

I developed something of a complex when, at the age of 6, my mom pulled me out of tap and ballet, apparently with my teacher's blessing (I guess my attention-span was not all it's become). The complex was compounded at 7, when a friend of a friend made fun of my free-styling at a summer recreation dance program.

For the next seven years, I refused to dance in public, until age 15, when a good friend insisted I be her partner for pom-pom tryouts. I didn't make the squad but I did get called back again before being cut, which for me was huge!

Vindicated, I regretted over the years never doing what I'd so enjoyed. In my 30s, I was constantly on the lookout for adult dance classes — particularly tap — but there was none to be found. It was as if females — at least in metro Detroit — just dropped off the planet once they stopped being girls.

Then, in my 40s, I received a schedule for the Center for Lifelong Learning at Henry Ford Community College, and when I looked inside there it was ... a class for adult tap. Not only was there adult tap, but adult hip-hop, and adult jazz.

I signed up for all three classes with instructor Emily Goward (now Emily Davis). A student of dance since age 3, Emily is a lean, graceful, exceedingly energetic young woman who burns through routines in perfect form.

Dance to her is like breathing to the rest of us — natural and necessary. She's also a great choreographer who designs complex and challenging routines for her students. Some months after I began with Emily, she added exercise to her offerings by becoming a certified instructor of Zumba, the hip, new exercise-craze touted with the catchphrase: "It's not a workout, it's a party."

She was a natural at the Latin and street-based moves involved, and it wasn't long before she'd made them her own, combining them with other dance moves to create her signature "Hip-Hop, Rock & Soul" workout. It's a little less Latin and a little more hip-hop and rock, which is reflected in the music.

But the main difference between Emily and some other fitness instructors is her professional dance background. Her clever routines contain numerous subtleties you can mimic or not depending on your goals. If your goal is to dance as much as to exercise, you'll love the flourishes and fancy footwork.

If it's fitness only, skip the embellishments and you'll still get a great workout.

Whichever of Emily's classes you take, be it dance or fitness, be prepared to come out not only more fit but with an impressive repertoire of bonafide dance moves. 

Emily also keeps things fresh. If you return to her class after a six-month hiatus, you won't catch her doing the same old routines -- not unless she's brought them back just for fun. Emily's students constantly marvel at her almost total recall of dance routines from many seasons earlier.

It's been about five years since I started with Emily, and many things have changed: Emily Goward is now Emily Davis, as I mentioned. She's also the mother of a 1-year-old son. It's been a while since she taught at the Center for Lifelong Learning. In fact, programs at the center have now been discontinued but Emily has found a home for her classes at the Christ Episcopal Church on the corner of Military and Cherry Hill in Dearborn.

While jazz is not an offering this season, Emily's added two new classes to her original schedule: "Hip-Hop, Rock & Soul" workout and ballet, which I first took last fall and plan to take again.

Oh, and there's one more change: I feel like a dancer! I'm actually an advanced tap dancer, and not bad at hip-hop, jazz, or Latin styles either. For me, dancing with Emily has been lovely experience. It's the dance equivalent of singing with the radio. I go in, emulate this toned and talented young woman to the limited extent I can, and come out looking fit and feeling like a superstar.

If you are a child or you have one, Emily does teach kids as well. She started at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center about a decade ago but took a hiatus when she had her own child. This fall she looks forward to re-starting her children's classes in addition to the classes for adults.

Emily Davis Dance & Fitness

Monday

Tap (adult): 5 to 6 p.m.
Ballet (adult): 6 to 7 p.m.
Zumba/Hip-Hop, Rock & Soul (adult): 7 to 8 p.m.

Tuesday

Tap (adult): 5 to 6 p.m.
Hip-Hop (adult): 6 to 7 p.m.
Zumba/HHRS (adult): 7 to 8 p.m.

Thursday
Ballet (children 6 and up): 5 to 5:30 p.m.
Tap (children 6 and up): 5:30 to 6 p.m.
Beginning Tap (adult): 6 to 7 p.m.
Zumba/HHRS (adult): 7 to 8 p.m.

Saturday
Ballet (children ages 3-5): 9 to 9:30 a.m.
Tap (children ages 3-5): 9:30 to 10 a.m.
Zumba/HHRS: 10 to 11 a.m.

For registration information, prices and class policies, e-mail Egdfitness@gmail.com.