How Tree Town Tappers keep moving

BY MAUREEN CALLAHAN

One of the advantages of living in Elmhurst is our wonderful Park District. There’s something for everyone here, and one of the most noteworthy opportunities is the Tree Town Tappers (TTT), a performing tap dance group.

TTT, as a group, started in 2014, but many members were dancing together long before they began performing. “For a while, we would perform somewhere if a request came in,” said Dianne Hain, who serves as moderator of the group as well as a teacher at Elmhurst Park District.

It all started when Hain enrolled in a tap dance class in 1998. “I joined an adult class at the EPD. The teacher moved out of state about two years later, and they asked me to take over teaching the class,” said Hain. “I agreed, thinking I would be there that night anyway, so I might as well teach. Then that class grew into two classes as some wanted to come a second night during the week for exercise.”

Eventually, more and more classes were added until Hain had a rather full schedule that included six classes a week. “I even started a daytime class as some of the dancers were starting to retire and preferred to come during the day. I worked a part-time day job, so I arranged my day class around that schedule.”

After a while, some of the students expressed a desire to keep going with dances that they learned for the annual recital each spring. They thought it would be fun to perform some of them, so TTT was born. “That’s a wonderful thing about EPD,” said Hain. “They listen to the community. If a few people express interest in learning something, they will find a teacher. That’s me!”

New people keep joining. Many still attend a weekly tap class, even as they join the performing group. It’s good reinforcement as they are able to practice and eventually perform dances they have learned in Hain’s classes.

Then there are those who begin as retirees, who have always wanted to learn to dance. Hain welcomes and encourages them. “Not everyone learned to dance as a child. For some, dancing has always been a bucket list item,” she realizes. “I always tell my beginners they can eventually become Tree Town Tappers. It gives them something to work toward.”

While Hain choreographs most of the group’s dances, two other members also help. “It’s wonderful, because you don’t always have fresh ideas,” she knows. “If one of us hears a piece of music we like, we all listen to it on our own and see if we can come up with a dance. Music means different things to different people, so we all envision different things when we hear it.” The group then incorporates their ideas together.

One TTT member underwent chemotherapy for much of last year. During her time off, she often listened to music and was able to choreograph a dance to Feliz Navidad in her head. Eventually, she taught it to Hain. “That was our holiday finale for our shows this past season,” she said. “It made her feel good to be a part of it.”

Hain is a lifelong dancer who loves to share her talent, not only with TTT audiences but also with her students. Like many dancers, she began studying ballet as a child. “It’s the foundation of all dance. I began with the serious stuff at about age seven,” Hain remembered. “Back then, you’d take all kinds of dance – jazz, and then there was what they call acrobatics, which was a little like gymnastics. Tap was your fun class of the week.”

Hain danced her way through college at Northern. “The performing dance team was new when I got there. I started learning modern dance then, too.” It fulfilled her P.E. requirements. “I thought, ‘oh this is a dream come true!’”

Like most groups, membership waxes and wanes. TTT began with 16 dancers and is now down to 14, but numbers are always fluctuating. One woman in the group who started dancing at EPD when Hain started is now 96 years old and still dances when she can! “She has two daughters who were coming to the performances to help their mom change into her costumes,” said Hain. “They saw how much fun their mom was having and eventually joined the group, too!” Two sisters who started in Hain’s class years ago and then got married and had children have recently returned now that the kids are in college. “People move or have babies or whatever. I always say, ‘family first,’” she said. But TTT seems to be a close second.

For information on joining TTT, or hiring the group to perform, visit epd.org.