Talking to Harmony May, choreographer for Peter Pan, the Pantomime, it occurred to me that here was a goldmine of experience and expertise garnered over years of dancing, singing and acting.
Harmony's family emigrated to the United Kingdom, accompanying her aunt, Peggy Wallis, who'd won a scholarship to study at the Sadlers Wells School of Ballet, when Harmony was very young.
Upon completion of her studies Miss Peggy opened her own school of dance, taking her 4-year-old niece, Harmony, as one of her first pupils.
Later, the family moved to live in the US where the dancing lessons continued. When Harmony first moved back to New Zealand as a teenager the dancing lessons were discontinued but she returned to the US to live with Miss Peggy at the age of 20 and Harmony's dancing lessons resumed.
When she finally settled in Whanganui Harmony took dancing lessons with Valerie Wyman-Weston and Sharon Underwood.