The day I break into a sweat doing a waltz clog is some way off
I was on board with Broadway Weekends – an online platform of classes that aims to connect theatre lovers to professional performers – even before I read its origin story. It was founded by two British sisters, Jeanna and Dani de Waal, who grew up obsessed with Broadway shows and went on to perform in a load of hits. Jeanna is currently playing Diana in the musical about Lady Di; Dani has become a software engineer (yes, Oliver Dowden, she could work in cybersecurity). None of this made me any more coordinated for Beginner Tap, but it all contributed to an overwhelming feeling of being among my own people.
Everyone else in the Zoom class was American – or, at least, I assumed so because they were smiling all the way through, and had very large windows. The tutor, John Scacchetti, has a CV as long as a Hamilton song, including 42nd Street, My Fair Lady (the Matthew Bourne revival) and Gypsy… and a little dog that he kept having to ask his flatmate to remove.