Clogging: A toe-tappin’ good time
April 25, 2002 — Keith Brady’s feet went off like firecrackers. His knees were loose hinges — swinging back and forth, up and around. Everything below was a blur.
Perhaps Brady was a marionette, I thought. Perhaps someone, or something, was pulling at the strings from up above.
He made the unnatural appear natural. He made music [...]
Cheerleading: Three cheers for ‘good facials’
February 7, 2002 — There was so much enthusiasm in the gym, I was surprised there was room for anything else. The Johnson High cheerleaders may be small, but their sound is decidedly big.
From the moment the Knights opened their collective mouth, they owned the room. They controlled everything inside of it. Including me.
Mighty blue [...]
Mountain Dancing: Good music, good people, good fun
December 27, 2001 — Everything in the mountains is laid back. Even the dancing.
“You don’t have to know anything,” John Kelley said to the crowd in the basement of the old Dahlonega Baptist Church two Saturday nights ago. “You can’t make any mistakes.”
Advertised as “an evening of old-timey mountain dancing,” the monthly gathering had the [...]
Ballet: One of these ‘kids’ does not belong here
December 20, 2001 — Twelve-year-old Briana Burns turned around and said, “Whoa.”
There was a new person in line for her ballet class. And that new person needed a shave.
Briana traded her shock in for a smile, though, and extended her right hand for a shake.
“My name is Briana,” she said. “I’m 12.”
“My name is Dan,” [...]