When I was really young somewhere between the ages of 5 and
6 I was playing on the floor in my parents living room and when I went to push
myself up off the floor when my mom told me to go to bed my shoulder started
hurting me really bad! My mom, who was
an LPN, thought at first, that I was over-reacting, buying time, trying to
delay going to bed. Then as she got
looking at me she realized that I was not.
Off to the ER we went. I had
dislocated my shoulder. Simply by
pushing myself to standing up.
I’d like to say this was a one-time occurrence, but alas, it
wasn’t. I had really weak joints. Even
rolling in bed at night, the weight of the bed sheets would pop my ankles out
of joint. My elbows would not lock in
place; they just keep bending the other way.
My knees would bow back pretty far as well. A well child visit to my pediatrician, Dr.
Moore, and I’m labeled “double-jointed”, of course we now that term is a
misnomer and it’s really hypermobility.
My doctor recommended that my parents enroll me in dance lessons to
strengthen my joints. This started my
life long love of dance.
I was 6 years old when I started dance lessons with Mrs.
Gertrude Craig. I was taking ballet and
tap. I loved it. I loved getting my
leotard and tights on each week. I practiced
my routines between classes. As time
went on we moved slowly away from ballet and more towards what they called
“jazz” routines at the time. Even though
Mrs. Craig wasn’t dancing anymore she was a fabulous teacher. She even taught me a few routines in her home
for some Grange presentations I was doing.
There was a brief time my brother even took dance
lessons. I was in second grade and he
was in fourth. We had a couple of
routines that we did together. One of
them was a tap song and one was a “jazz” routine. This routine was a couples routine and during
it he had to swing me through his legs and pull me back up. The trouble was, he always bent over so I
never could slide through his legs, and I always stopped. It was Friday night and the dance recital was
on Sunday and we still hadn’t gotten it right.
My mom decided she would show him how to do it right and we were
practicing in the kitchen and she slid me between her legs. I slid all right, right between her legs, and
my feet slammed under the kitchen cabinet instantly breaking 3 toes on my right
foot. SIGH. Even then I knew….the show
must go on. If you have never danced
before you wouldn’t know this but dance shoes need to be tight, especially tap
shoes. Mrs. Craig brought me out on stage to introduce me as someone who for
the first time was dancing in one of her recitals with broken toes. I danced a total of 6 songs that day. I
performed in the last routine of the day and that’s where I stayed. I was DONE.
My mom ended up having to carry me off the stage and out to the
car.
Mrs. Craig used student teachers, and one of them was
Joni. Joni was the best. We were all sad when she went away to
college, but we were thrilled when we got to go to Albany, New York to where
she was studying to learn from some of her teachers. Mrs. Craig would bring several students each
year and I was honored to go a few different times. It was during one of these trips that my
parents purchase my first pair of coveted high-heeled tap shoes! Now that was a HUGE deal. You had to EARN those. Mrs. Craig didn’t let just anyone have those.
Going on these trips to NY were a highlight and I am so thankful my parents
were able to make it happen as many times as they did.
Eventually Joni purchased the dance studio from Mrs. Craig
and moved the classes to her home. They
had renovated an indoor pool to a dance studio.
We actually had a real dance studio for the first time, instead of a
rented basement of the local lodge. It
was great! The class I was in was considered
the “top” class. We were the #1
class. We were the A1 students. I am not saying that to be snotty. The best dancers were in that class. Andrea
Morrison, Heidi Anderson, and Amy Bongiolotti, just to name a few.
When I was going into my Sophomore year of high school I was
sitting in my dad’s recliner, curled up with my legs underneath me doing a word
puzzle book. I had been there for a
while and when I went to get up, my left knee wouldn’t straighten. My mom figured I had just sat in that position
too long. After awhile and the knee
wouldn’t unlock a trip to the ER was in order.
X-Rays should nothing wrong. Onto
crutches I go until it unlocks. No
dancing for 6 weeks. Dance classes were
starting up in 2 weeks, so I missed the first 4 weeks of class. I did go and watch, but it wasn’t the same as
actually dancing. Once I was able to
return to dancing my knee acted up again, and again I was out for 6 more weeks,
at this point I didn’t feel I could catch up, and dropped out.
Over the years I missed dancing. I missed the group
activity. I missed the exercise. Then I met Hillary Barcomb Bagley. This woman
is a spitfire! She came roaring into my
life sometime around 2004ish? I had met
her mom when I was a student at CCV and we hit it off. Then I would see her once in awhile at
Ashley’s a local bar that I would go to once in awhile with my friend Marie,
and my ex husband, and others.
Something about this bright red-head seemed familiar. I had seen her before. But where? Then she tells me that she clogs. Oh yeah!
I’ve seen her dance! I’ve heard
her story! She almost lost an arm in a
terrible 3-wheeler accident when she was younger but battled back and is the
most incredible dancer. I’ve watched her
in parades, at fairs, festivals, etc.
I’ve watched in amazement and in awe.
I’ve always loved clogging, but hated the outfits haha – those frilly
skirts!
Hillary says that she is thinking about starting her group,
The Green Mountain Clogger’s Exhibition Dance Team (GMCEDT) back up, and would
I like to learn? Ummm YEAH! She started teaching me at the Moss Glen Grange
Hall once a week in the summer of 2006.
I would have both of my sons with me.
Eventually Jacob would join in and out dance most of us!
It was at these weekly classes that I got to know
Hillary. She taught me how to clog. She brought back my love of dancing. I finally belonged to something again. If someone can push you out of your comfort
zone it’s Hillary! She will bring out
the best in you. She makes you want the
best in yourself. She makes you work for
it. She wanted the best for her team and
didn’t settle for any less. As a group
we performed from all over Vermont and even into New York.
Together Hillary and I went through divorces, and
re-marriages. She watched me raise my
boys, as I watch her raise her family.
Not many people know the real Hillary.
Some people know “Red”, but that isn’t Hillary. Hillary is soft, loving, and caring. She is very similar to my husband and when
she gets hurt she hurts DEEP. She may
have a rough and tumble exterior, but inside lies the biggest heart of pure
gold. She brought the GMCEDT into my life and all those lovely people who have
helped me through thick and thin.
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