By Sarah Kay Hurst
Berthoud Recorder

“It’s as much fun as it looks like!” said Eric Wollan after tap dancing class on New Year’s Day. Sally Nibbelink had originally canceled her class for the holiday, but sensing her students’ urge to dance, decided to hold class anyway and see how many people came. Almost every student was there.

Teaching three tap dancing classes for adults at the Wildfire Arts Center, a non-profit performance center bearing the motto “Dedicated to building community through the arts,” Nibbelink is a true advocate of the mission, and insists she has seen it happen, “At first, the people in my classes knew maybe one other person. Now they’re a tight-knit community. They support and help one another. They are so important in my life!”

Joy Kalamen, one of Nibbelink’s Tap II students, thoroughly enjoys the “comradery,” commenting that her favorite part is a “toss-up between dancing and friends.” Nibbelink finds her classes to be “very welcoming communities who are open to new people and help them catch up.”

She particularly loves teaching beginners, and remarked that many of the students who learn the high-energy routines in her Tap II class started out with no previous knowledge of tap dancing. “They work really hard. I’m so proud of them,” Nibbelink said affectionately.

Nibbelink’s passion for dance began at age nine, when her parents enrolled her in ballet and she has been dancing ever since, studying everything from jazz to modern dance. She fell in love with tap under the instruction of a former Rockette in the Ozark Mountains. Her love of dancing also led her to love, “I met my husband Dan on the dance floor.” Their idea of a perfect vacation is a dance camp.

The popular dance teacher has been sharing her talents with the Berthoud community for five years at the Wildfire Arts Center, which began with the generous support of Elizabeth and Robert Kearney. Events range from theatrical productions to street dances to art shows. “It’s a place for people to come and share their talents with the community,” Nibbelink said. She emphasizes the community aspect of her classes and all the activities that take place at Wildfire Arts Center: “Sometimes we get so caught up in our work, we never meet our neighbors.”

Tap Roots, as Nibbelink’s Tap II class has christened itself, usually performs at least three times a year, including a Christmas show and a spring recital. Nibbelink also periodically arranges for other teachers to come in and do workshops. Berthoud resident Karen Kleber has taught a variety of routines, and Gene GeBauer will be holding a workshop in February.

One of the aspects of dancing Nibbelink likes to stress is the coordination and the mental challenge: “It causes your brain to have to learn new things. The older we get, the more important this is.” Nibbelink’s students currently range from age 40 to over 70 years old. Another of Nibbelink’s Tap II students, Lisa Blankenship, remarked that tap dancing is “great exercise, both physically and mentally.”

Whether for the exercise or the community or the sheer love of the art, Nibbelink and her students certainly enjoy tap dancing. Said a contented Nibbelink, “I just love it. It’s the best thing I do!”