SEATED tap dancing is helping Barnsley care home residents stomp, brush and scuff their way to fitness and fun.
Residents at Deangate Care Home, on Towngate, have been taking centre stage in the monthly sessions, tapping into their love of golden-age showbiz.
While virtuoso dancer and silver screen icon Fred Astaire is a favourite among the elderly residents, the inspiration for the class came from closer to home.
Seventy-nine-year-old resident Margaret Cooper revealed she once performed on stage with some of the biggest names on the 1950s variety circuit – Max Bygraves, Frankie Vaughn and Dicky Valentine.
Margaret began performing with the Rosslyn Babes dance troupe in Sunderland at just ten years old. With the group, she travelled the UK, taking to the stage at venues like the London Palladium and Sunderland Empire.
She also wowed audiences in pantomimes such as Humpty Dumpty and Cinderella, showing off her skills in tap, jazz and acro dance.
Margaret said: “I used to love tap. I loved being in the spot light on stage. We got to wear beautiful costumes and I danced with my friends.
“I have told my friends here at Deangate how fun tap is and I want to show them how much fun it is and how easy tap dancing is when you get into it.”
When Deangate Care Home activities coordinator Rachael Addy heard Margaret’s history under the limelight, she came up with a plan to launch a class for her and fellow residents.
Rachael contacted Alicia Bembridge, a dance instructor for Donna Presley Dance Academy, in Worksop, who also co-delivers a separate monthly exercise sessions at the care home for Grassroots Sports Academy Yorkshire. Together they explored the idea of an easy and accessible seated tap dancing class.
The care home’s Love to Move chair-based exercises sessions, where Margaret revealed her tap dancing talents, were already popular among residents, so the new dance class was an immediate hit.
The group has adopted the dance troupe name “The Deangate Dancing Dollies and Dereks” and received a donation of tap shoes from the Donna Presley Dance Academy.
During the first class, Margaret donned a pair of tap shoes and performed a routine as if no time had passed since her variety star days. She said: “This is the dance I did on stage when I was 12 years old with my friends.”
She also helped fellow residents who had never worn a pair of tap shoes by guiding them through the different steps that Alicia had been teaching them.
They are currently learning a routine to Morcombe and Wise’s “Bring Me Sunshine”, with the plan to perform at the care home’s upcoming summer fair.
Resident Sheila Johnson, 97, said: “The noise the tap shoes make is fantastic. It’s fun to do something different. It makes me feel young again.”
Alica said: “When Rachael first asked me to lead these classes I was shocked, but I knew that it would be amazing and out of this world. It’s something I had never seen before, seated tap dancing, but I wanted to give it a go.
“I’ve been doing tap for 18 years and, out of all the styles of dance, I am most drawn to tap. So, with the passion I have for tap, I hope I can really engage and translate this in the sessions. Hopefully the residents will love it as much as I do.”
Rachael said: “We hope the tap classes will give our residents a new lease of life and bring them together, either learning a new skill or polishing the skills they already have.
“The first class has already helped bring our residents together and learn more about Margaret and why dance is so important to her and her family. If we can help to bring back happy memories, keep our residents fit and healthy, and give them a new lease of life then why not.
“I hope other care homes will see the positive impact it has on the residents, both mentally and physical, and we see more seated tap dance troupes appearing across the country. I am so proud to be delivering these classes to the residents at Deangate Care home.
“We will be running the classes monthly here and they are available to everyone in the community. Why not try and learn something new or, if you’re an experienced dancer, come and teach us a new trick or two.”
The next seated tap dance class at Deangate Care Home will take place on Tuesday, 3rd June, from 10am to 11am. Anyone interested in attending can call the home on 01226 383441 or email deangate@hillcare.net.
