Never too late to put best foot forward

Told at the grand old age of 13 that she was a little long in the tooth to take up dancing classes, she was soon making all the right moves to becoming a star pupil.

She said: "I was considered old because I was 13. Dancing was always something that I had a love for but never had the opportunity.

"When I first started I had to go in a class of seven-year-olds and I felt really out of it but I knew after the first lesson that was it for me. I couldn't have thought of anything else I wanted to do. I lived for it. I even made my father build a ballet bar in the front room."

Despite her late start, the determined teenager was soon out-stepping her young class-mates and racing through her exams.

She said: "I started with Cynthia Carr, who is one of the top examiners in the country. She inspired me to go on with dancing. She recognised my talent and pushed through my exams really quickly. So after three years I had done them all. I must have had some talent but I also had a really good teacher as well."

After completing her exams in ballet, tap and modern dance Cathy won a coveted place at the prestigious Laine Theatre Arts college in London, which has produced many a star of the West End.

Once again Cathy blazed a trail with her course and the curtain came down on her studies before other students had finished the first act.

She said: "I completed a three year course in two years and graduated with all my teaching certificates."

Cathy began to dance professionally and says she was initially daunted by the competition for the best roles.

She said: "At my first audition I was shocked because there were loads and loads of people there. I couldn't see the choreographer at the front, there were so many people.

"Eventually you learn to push yourself forward."

After two years Cathy's fancy footwork carried her further afield and she left the capital to go stateside to join a dance theatre group in Phoenix, Arizona.

She said: "I had a great time working with young people. It was a good experience because I met a lot of different people. And these experiences help you with your teaching."

Undeterred by the language barrier Cathy left America after taking many roles in musicals such as West Side Story, and flew to Frankfurt, Germany to teach in various colleges and choreograph a dance group.

Cathy said: "When I first went there I didn't speak the language. Most of the children speak good English, thankfully, and I picked up a bit of German. It was quite a challenge but I did enjoy it."

On her return her freelance lessons created such a demand that she was requested to open up her own school in Moortown, Leeds.

Cathy said: "I started with 15 pupils and it built up very quickly and a lot of these children were very successful and went on to work in the theatre in Leeds and Bradford and television."

She was also glad to replant her Yorkshire roots after her globetrotting.

She said: "Yorkshire has always been one of the places I love. A lot of the talent in the business does seem to come from the area. Some girls do think that they have to go to London but we are proving that this is not the case."

Now principal of Leeds Dance College, in Guiseley, after being asked to take over from her original teacher Cynthia Carr two years ago, life has gone full circle for Cathy, as she puts her own pupils through their steps - and hopefully on the road to stardom.

She said: "The college, which was founded 16 years ago, has gone from strength to strength. All the girls have gone on to get really good jobs.

"The big advantage of our college is that it is very small and they get

individual tuition. Even talented pupils can get lost in big London schools. We make sure they are with a family and well looked after so that when they do get jobs they are ready for it."

The pupils now practising their steps in the dance studio, learn ballet, tap, modern and contemporary dance and are put through their paces in anatomy, history of theatre, drama and musical theatre in a three-year course.

Cathy said: "I love teaching. It wasn't something I went into because there wasn't anything else to do - it was what I wanted to do.

"You have got to be dedicated. It is certainly a vocation and it has got to be something you enjoy.

"It is very satisfying seeing girls doing well and getting good jobs. We have a very good atmosphere here and students keep in touch telling us what they are doing. It is very much like a close-knit family."

Cathy and her husband Peter, an

electrical engineer, are involved in the Children of Chernobyl project.

The couple met seven years ago when Cathy choreographed a show for amateur dramatics society Horsforth Grove where Peter is a member. Every year they offer a home to a child from Chernobyl, many of which are recovering from cancer following the devastating nuclear leak in 1986.

She said: "They come with a carrier bag and that's it. They have nothing really.

"They have very nice outings when they are here and there is a clothes bank. The things that you take for granted like going around the supermarket they think is fantastic.

"The only trouble is that you get attached to them."

It seems that Cathy has not put a foot wrong since her late start and is hoping to carry on making the right moves in the future.

She said: "I want to carry on what we are doing. We are hoping that the college will get stronger and stronger. Now that people know that we are here and what we can offer."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.