By Caroline Smith
Local high school student James Tunstead is helping to put tap dancing on the map at Australian talent competitions with his recent win in the WA leg of Get the Beat.
James – who is in Year 12 at Sorrento’s Sacred Heart College – gained an almost perfect score of 99.5 per cent for his solo performance, dancing to a cover version of the Chet Baker song, Lover.
For this, he was named ‘Dancer of the Competition’.
The competition, held over the long weekend of 4 to 7 March this year, was a highlight in his ten years of dance training, but James said his introduction to tap dancing had been almost accidental.
“I started dancing when I was eight years old,” he said.
“My sisters were starting at a new school and they needed shoes, so we went to a store where I happened to see some tap shoes.
“I thought they looked great, but my mum said I could get them only if I took dance classes, so I did.”
Since then, James has trained with the John Cleary Dance Company and Vanguard Performing Arts, and taken part in several events at Sacred Heart, including a flash mob activity to mark the school’s 50th anniversary.
Sacred Heart has been a notable presence in the northern suburbs of Perth since its foundation in 1967, when it was the area’s only Catholic school.
Following his success in the WA finals of the Get the Beat dance competition, James is now looking ahead to the nationals which will take place on the Sunshine Coast in September.
“I dance three times a week and, at the moment, my teacher and I are choosing two new solos to work on,” he said.
“I haven’t chosen the music yet, but I’m working hard towards the national finals.”
With his graduation from high school also on the horizon, James says he hopes his passion for tap dancing will lead to a performing and touring career once he finishes.
“My hope is to get a role in the touring group Tap Dogs,” he said.
“They don’t do tryouts or anything; they just get in contact if they’ve noticed your performances.”