By Heather Staker, Contributing Writer
Every Monday afternoon, Cecilia Fielding sorts through her OWA closet, searching for the perfect tiara to go with her foamy pink skirt and sparkly purple leotard. Then she and her brother Luke-in sweats with his tap shoes slung over his shoulder-hurry to the SFP Common Room for one the HBS Dance Club’s most popular courses: Dance for Tots.
Amy Fielding (partner to Dave Fielding, ’08), launched Dance for Tots two years ago. This semester, twenty five lively participants, age 2-5, show up weekly for classical ballet and tap instruction. Whether pirouetting to “Dora the Explorer” allegro or stomping in their shiny new tap shoes to “Tooty-Ta,” these tiny dancers have almost as much fun as their parents who are watching them. For the female participants, their yards and yards of fluffy tutus make all the twirling and tapping especially delightful. Amy works hard to instruct over the giggles and squeals.
Dance for Tots culminated with a live performance during the HBS Centennial Celebration on April 8th. Twenty-three children performed “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Boom Chicka Boom” in front of hundreds of people in the packed Shad tent. “I was surprised that none of the kids got stage fright or gave blank stares,” Amy said. “A few couldn’t take their eyes off the big screen broadcasting their performance nearby.”
With Dance for Tots ending for the year and the Fieldings graduating, the Crimson Kids are hoping a new teacher will fill in the dance shoes for next year. In the mean time, twenty-five of the tiniest HBSers leave this year with happy memories of taps and tule.
