Seniors find joy in clogging

By Frances Vanderploeg

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 | midnight

During class Oct. 22, Sun City MacDonald Ranch resident Mary Lou Wood couldn't stop dancing. Every time a tune came on or a reference to a dance step came up, she would begin rapping her double-tap clogging shoes against the floor, even if she was supposed to be resting.

Tap-tap, tap-tap they would go as her feet hit the floor. Her face lit up as she burst into laughter, grabbing onto the closest friend for support.

Wood is a member of Sun City's Clog-Hoppers, a group of eight residents who spend their Wednesday afternoons clogging — similar to tap dancing, but with a double-tap on the bottom of the shoes — at the recreation center. They've been together about two years.

Ranging from 66 to 76 years old, each said they've had a love of dance their entire lives. Most are involved in at least one other dance club at the center, including tap dancing, belly dancing or Zumba.

"I don't think anyone has more fun than us," Pat Schmidt said.

Wood used to teach the class, but this year she turned the reigns over to 70-year-old Jim Kvool, who has been teaching clogging since 1995.

"I tell people, the eyes are gone, the hearing's bad, but the feet still work," he said.

If Kvool has lost a step or two over the years, you'd never know it, said club member Rickie Green. "He can dance like you wouldn't believe," she said.

Green said club members are working to promote the group so they can get more members for future performances. Right now, there are a few who dance each week but aren't interested in performing, leaving only four or five willing to get in front of a crowd.

Once a week is enough for some of them, including Fran Hart. She will happily come on Wednesdays for practice, though.

"It's great exercise," she said. "If you love to dance, you'll grab on to any type."

Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or [email protected].