Never too old for tap shoes

I longed to tap dance as a child after becoming enthralled by the movie musicals of the 1930s, 40s and 50s starring great dancers like Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, Ginger Rogers, Rita Hayworth and many more. It was an urge I couldn’t shake so when my dance school put on a massive show, called GLOW, in a proper theatre with a technical rehearsal, dress rehearsal and four live performances it felt like ticking off a lifelong dream. I first saw adult tap classes on offer in Aberdeen about 10 years ago and nearly found the courage to go but chickened out. Finally, three years ago, I took the plunge and started in a beginners’ adult tap class at Academy Street Dance School. Fast forward to today and I’m now in the improvers class and our teacher choreographed a fantastic routine to Michael Bublé’s Higher. I’m not going to lie: it was hard. But I practised every day and got a few extra private classes with my teacher to nail the steps. On opening night I was so nervous I was convinced the…