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ELAINE McAFEE BENDER 7301 Arroyo Way, Crowley, TX 76036 Home: 817-297-1973 / Cell: 817-891-2734 Email: elaine@doublestep.net Website: www.doublestep.net Certified Clogging Instructor. Dance instructor/Performer with background in Jazz, Ballet, Tap, Lyrical, Irish, and Percussive Dance. Musical Theater Choreographer. Dance Competition Judge.
Introduction Elaine's enthusiasm for her dance specialty, clogging, has taken her on a journey far beyond the traditional dance world. She is dedicated to promoting clog dance as an important dance discipline, one which is steeped in tradition and fun for dancers of all ages. Her dance background and education is extensive. She instructs recreational and competitive classes at the Bruce Lea Dance Factory in Fort Worth, guest teaches at a variety of dance venues, conducts seminars, judges dance competitions, and musical theater choreographer. She is deeply committed to promoting clogging and quality dance education. Professional Activities Elaine instructs and attends workshops at local, state, and national conventions across the country. Elaine's competition teams have won national titles in a variety of competitions in 2006 - 2010. Her clogging styles include country, pop, jazz, and Irish, and her hat routines are especially popular with audiences everywhere. She has written articles and cue sheets which have been published in "The Double Toe Times," "Clog Today," "Texas Clogger," "Step in Time," and other dance publications in Canada and Australia. Professional organizations include the Texas Clogging Council and the National Clogging Organization, and she holds Certificates of Compliance and licensure with ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. Background... where it all began! Elaine grew up in the Fort Worth, Texas, area and has also studied tap, ballet, and jazz, and began dancing professionally at age 15, during the 1960's "go-go" era for a local radio station and entertainment enterprise. She danced with local bands in opening acts for the Beach Boys and the Lovin' Spoonful. In 1967, she was named Head Dancer (dance captain) for Fort Worth's Mardi Gras, a week-long music and arts festival, which included such acts as Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, the Box Tops, and the Doors. There she met Kim Dawson, who was just starting her modeling agency in Dallas, and Ms. Dawson asked her to model for fashion designers while dancing down runways. Her credits for dance and modeling include stage, TV, movie, commercial, photographic, and marketing. In addition to a variety of local dance studios, Elaine has taken classes at TCU in Fort Worth, and in London, England, where she resided in the 1970's. Elaine was instrumental in getting a drill/dance team, the Showgirls, started for her daughter's high school, Southwest High School, in Fort Worth, in 1993. Elaine joined the Texas Clogging Company in 1985, shortly after its inception, and performed in an exhibition the following year for several thousand clogging teachers and students at the 4th Annual National C.L.O.G. (National Clogging Leaders Org.) Convention held in Fort Worth. She quickly rose through the ranks, both as a teacher and a performer, with the Texas Clogging Company, whose performances include local and national television shows, commercial advertisements, Billy Bob's Texas featured dancers, and Texas Monthly Magazine's pick for Best Cloggers, opening a show for the Dixie Chicks, as well as a multitude of competition awards for both performance and choreography. Elaine resigned as Director of the Texas Clogging Company in December, 2004. On a Personal Note Elaine was born in San Diego, California, to a musical family. Her father was a musician who played guitar and her uncles played banjo and guitar in a variety of bands. Her grandmother taught her to play piano and sing at an early age, and she excelled at choir in school, making all city and all state choirs. However, her passion was for dance and she began to tap out rhythms on her grandmother’s concrete front porch almost as soon as she could walk. Elaine managed to attend dance classes, rehearsals, musical theater auditions and shows, work as a go-go dancer and model, all the while staying on the academic honor roll throughout her high school career. She attended college at TCJC and TCU in Fort Worth, where she has studied dance education and English composition, and the Literary Institute in London, where she studied 19th literature and poetry. Elaine currently resides in Crowley, a Fort Worth suburb, on 2 1/2 acres of land, with her family and a variety of pets. She enjoys daily walks on the country trails, reading 19th century English novels and is absolutely passionate about music, especially The Beatles, Paul McCartney and all things '60s. Professional Positions
Recent Competition Awards
Recent Performances
Workshop, guest teaching, etc (other than listed above)
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