The tap dance studio where I take lessons had a big tap show last weekend. There were 80 dancers including the teachers, as well as a jazz pianist and a bass player. For other kinds of dance, performers wear soft shoes, but tap dance is different. Tap shoes have metal heels and toes to make noise. Because the metal can damage the floor, we had to bring 64 wooden boards and nail them to the stage floor. Then, after the second performance, we had to take out the nails and return the boards to the storehouse. Each board weighs between 5 and 10 kgs, so moving them was a lot of work. The audience watched our performances, but I don’t think they knew how much work went on backstage to make the performance possible.   (134 words)

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