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Duo tipped for the top of tap
A Pair of teenagers are hotfooting their way to the top with a place in the England tap dancing team
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Adina Nyahwa, 13, of Nine Elms, and Keith Henderson, 16, of Saxon Mill, Chiseldon, have been selected by the Tap Attack Youth Company, which will represent England at the World Championships in Germany.
But the young couple will need financial help from local businesses to make their dreams come true.
The teenagers must raise £750 to cover the costs of their flights, hotels and insurance.
“It’s a privilege,” said Keith, after learning that he had been picked to dance for his country.
“It’s really rewarding knowing that what I have trained for for years is hopefully going to pay off.
“I’m actually doing what I wanted, it’s what I set out to do.”
Adina, who attends Bradon Forest School, is currently appearing in Billy Elliot in the West End, in a year-long run, and has to fit group rehearsals and training around a busy schedule.
“The show’s amazing,” she said. “It’s really fun as well, we make lots of new friends.”
The talented dancer has been learning various forms of dance since she was three and said she would like to have a career on stage.
“I love it,” said Adina. “I like the rhythm and all sorts about tap – and making lots of noise.
“It will be an honour to represent the country.”
Keith started dancing when he was five after seeing his sister in class.
“I thought ‘I’ll give it a go, what the hell’, and it kind of stuck,” he said.
“I just did it for fun, it was fun to jump about.”
Keith has gained a scholarship to Bird College in Sidcup, a centre for excellence in dance and theatre, after spending the last four years at the famous Sylvia Young Theatre School in London.
He already spends many hours a week practising, but when he goes to college it will go up to six hours a day.
Training with Tap Attack allows the youngsters to work with experienced local dance teacher Jo Scanlan, who teaches at some of the country’s leading vocational schools, and Riverdance choreographer Tarik Winston.
Ms Scanlan said: “Without the sponsorship money it looks likely that we are going to have to decline the opportunity to compete at this year’s championships, which will mean missing out on the opportunity to win gold for England.”
Local companies can have as much involvement as they wish and sponsorship could include representation of their brand on team wear, website publicity and reports on how the dancers are doing.
Anyone interested in sponsoring the team should contact jo@tapattack.co.uk.
This article originally appeared in the Swindon Advertiser on the 12 September 2008
