Waikato Herald
  • Waikato Herald home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Locations

  • Hamilton
  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Matamata & Piako
  • Cambridge
  • Te Awamutu
  • Tokoroa & South Waikato
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Weather

  • Thames
  • Hamilton
  • Tokoroa
  • Taumarunui
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Waikato News

Meet the 90-year-old tap dancer from Te Awamutu

Bethany Rolston
By Bethany Rolston
Te Awamutu Courier·
30 Aug, 2019 12:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Ninety-year-old Ed Clarke has taken up tap dancing, learning from his granddaughter, Jade Wilson. Photo / Bethany Rolston

Ninety-year-old Ed Clarke has taken up tap dancing, learning from his granddaughter, Jade Wilson. Photo / Bethany Rolston

Ed Clarke is proving you're never too old to try something new.

The 90-year-old Te Awamutu resident is learning tap dancing, taking weekly lessons from his dining room at home.

Tap dancing is something he has always wanted to try, and he took the plunge this year.

Ed is a showman at heart and has been involved in theatre since the age of nine.

He is a well-known member of the Te Awamutu Light Operatic Society, having performed in numerous productions including Can-Can, The Wizard of Oz, Oliver, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Fiddler on the Roof.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Ninety-year-old Ed Clarke has taken up tap dancing, learning from his granddaughter, Jade Wilson. Photo / Bethany Rolston
Ninety-year-old Ed Clarke has taken up tap dancing, learning from his granddaughter, Jade Wilson. Photo / Bethany Rolston

"I'd always thought, while I was in various other shows, that tap dancing was a very clever way of presenting theatre," Ed says.

So this year he approached the best tutor he knows - his granddaughter Jade Wilson, a dance teacher at Te Awamutu School of Dance.

"I said to Jade, 'hey, you teach tap dancing, don't you? Would you teach me?' And God bless her she said yes!"

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

For Jade, her new student is very different to most of her regulars.

"I've never really taught somebody of his age," she says.

Discover more

Sport

Colin retiring, not out

28 Aug 11:00 PM

Cherished uncle namesake never knew

28 Aug 09:08 PM

Lime e-scooters appear in Te Awamutu

28 Aug 11:46 PM

Culinary Cambridge serves up week of foodie events

29 Aug 11:45 PM

She has to simplify the movements and let Ed take lots of breaks – and a puff of his inhaler.

Ed Clarke is a well-known face around Te Awamutu. He is pictured riding his mobility scooter in the 2018 Te Awamutu Christmas Parade. Photo / Bethany Rolston
Ed Clarke is a well-known face around Te Awamutu. He is pictured riding his mobility scooter in the 2018 Te Awamutu Christmas Parade. Photo / Bethany Rolston

However, she says her granddad "will give it everything that he's got" during lessons.

"I'm actually very surprised at how much he's picked up and how much he's improved."

Jade says her grandfather is a well-known face around Te Awamutu.

"He's quite a character and can get away with anything. He drives his little scooter around town and everybody seems to know him."

Aside from feeling tired and out of breath, Ed says he feels healthy as a result of his weekly lessons.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I mentioned to the doctor over at the hospital that I was thinking of taking up tap dancing and she said 'that's good because that will help you with balance'."

Ed Clarke, known for his quirkiness, pictured in 2011 with his "musical pen pal" Yvonne McDonald. Yvonne was staying with Ed and his wife to record a disc The Rainbow Connection. Photo / File
Ed Clarke, known for his quirkiness, pictured in 2011 with his "musical pen pal" Yvonne McDonald. Yvonne was staying with Ed and his wife to record a disc The Rainbow Connection. Photo / File

Some people are shocked when they hear about his new hobby.

"Usually there's a bit of a pause while they take that on board - they don't really believe it.

"Most of them say 'well, good on you, you're having a go and you're not just sort of sitting still all the time doing nothing' … which I do quite a lot of the time."

Ed hopes to eventually stage a performance to show off his moves.

"I'm never going to be a Fred Astaire - I'm not that clever at it. But somewhere I think possibly I might be able to put on a little bit of a demo."

Ed's advice to others keen to try something new.

"If you fancy doing something like this, go ahead, do it."

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Waikato News

Waikato Herald

Second venomous sea snake washes ashore in Coromandel

12 Jul 06:00 AM
Waikato Herald

Home build dream shattered after business hacked and woman launders couple’s $150k

12 Jul 01:00 AM
Waikato Herald

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

12 Jul 12:43 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Waikato News

Second venomous sea snake washes ashore in Coromandel
Waikato Herald

Second venomous sea snake washes ashore in Coromandel

12 Jul 06:00 AM

These snakes are highly venomous – the public and pets should keep clear.

Home build dream shattered after business hacked and woman launders couple’s $150k
Waikato Herald

Home build dream shattered after business hacked and woman launders couple’s $150k

12 Jul 01:00 AM
Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm
Waikato Herald

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

12 Jul 12:43 AM
Legal hook means buyers risk losing thousands on some Kāinga Ora homes

Legal hook means buyers risk losing thousands on some Kāinga Ora homes

11 Jul 08:45 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Waikato Herald e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Waikato Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP