THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 17, 1994 TAG: 9406150123
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHARON LAROWE
DATELINE: 940617 LENGTH: Medium
When Sandy Baggett was young she started taking dance lessons.
{REST} ``I was very shy and it helped me be very outgoing,'' the fourth-grade Baylake Pines teacher said recently, adding that it opened the doors to a lifetime of dance to her.
So when her daughter, Ashley, was 3, mom led the shy toddler to her first dance class.
Since then, Ashley, who just graduated from Cox High School and is bound for the University of Virginia this fall, has overcome her shyness, as well. ``I've opened up a lot because of dance,'' Ashley Baggett said. ``I used to be really shy, but I'm not anymore.''
In fact, mother (who still takes dance classes) and daughter performed a tap routine together for the first time at the Wilkins School of Dance summer recital recently.
It was husband and father Jerry Baggett's idea to get the two to perform.
Jerry Baggett, who himself graduated from Cox High School 29 years ago, thought the tap routine, their favorite dance, would be a fitting finale for his wife and daughter.
``It's something that my wife enjoys and my daughter enjoys and they were enjoying it separately. They probably wouldn't have even considered if I hadn't come up with it,'' he said proudly.
Jerry Baggett has never missed a dance recital in all the years his wife and daughter have been attending dance classes together.
He doesn't know exactly how much they have spent over the years on the classes, performances and costumes, however. ``They hide that from me,'' he said.
In addition to the black pantsuits necessary for their ``Sizzling Taps'' number, mom and daughter had to purchase 13 other costumes for the recent recital.
Jerry Baggett said the years of dance have made his wife and daughter close. ``It has to bring them closer together,'' he said, adding that his job as a crew scheduler for USAir takes him to Pittsburgh all week so he can't be with them.
Dance instructor Donna Wilkins said ``it was a hoot'' to work with the two on their routine, designed by Al Gilbert as a tribute to the great tapper, Gregory Hines.
Sandy Baggett said that while they have learned tap, jazz, ballet and pointe, their favorite is tap.
But the recent duet was more than just a celebration of family or graduation. It was also a celebration of life.
Sandy Baggett is a survivor of breast cancer. Two years ago she was diagnosed with the cancer. After a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, she continued to dance.
``Life goes on,'' she said. ``And it can be good.''
by CNB