3 Questions For Dance Teacher Kim Luke

Kim Luke is a dance teacher who reached out to us about her adult tap class that draws over 40 attendees each week. We knew we had to speak with her when she mentioned their company name and tagline: “The Salt Water Tappies, all the way from Shirley Temple Square.” While she teaches at Holladay Lions Recreation Center, Millcreek Community Center, and Steiner Sports Complex, Kim is currently in the process of building her own state-of-the-art dance studio.

Tell us more about your class.
“This class started about 12 years ago. [Tap dance is] kind of a slow dying art form, especially in the Mountain West areas. So I started this tap class for adults with five to seven people in it. I decided I was going to hold one more session, and if it was still low attendance I would go in a different direction. Well, I walked in on Jan. 2, and everybody must have made tap dance their New Year’s resolution because I went from seven to 27. Now we have 55 adults that take tap class.”

How did you get into dancing?
“I have a degree in dance performance from Oklahoma City University. After college, I moved to New York City. I did a couple of national tours and danced with Tommy Tune and Ann Reinking (any Broadway people out there might know those names). But shows end, the curtain closes, and you're constantly on the unemployment line and I didn’t like that. I moved to Boston to be with my husband and taught dance there for 16 years. We moved to Utah after my husband won associate principal trumpet with the Utah Symphony and I started teaching for Ballet West. I quickly realized that wasn’t my thing so I left and started on my own.”

What sets this class apart?
“Well, this tap class is different from every other tap class out there because we made the decision as a group that we wanted to form friendships. Our philosophy is mental, physical, and social. Tap dancing has been shown to ward off Alzheimer's, which could be why we get an older population. Memorizing, sequencing, and choreography, stimulates the brain, especially as the brain is aging. The physical of course is the dancing part, but then we get together socially outside of class. I’ve tried to encourage everybody in the class to be welcoming to everyone no matter what their background or dance experience is. It's all about relationships.”

Editor’s note: answers edited for length and clarity.