Role models come in various forms, and in the case of 10-year-old Maeve, that person is a close family member. When she needed a partner for her tap dancing duo recital, she immediately asked the man with a family history of performing on stage, her grandfather, Bill.
Bill, a 72-year-old zookeeper with a long lineage of stage performers, was ecstatic that Maeve wanted to perform with him. He quickly agreed to be her partner and to engage in the practice that came with it. It only took them six sessions to learn the routine their choreographer, Elyse Williamson, designed for them.
On the day of the big recital, Maeve was a bit nervous, but her grandfather, Bill, didn’t seem the least bit shy as they began their mesmerizing performance.
With nearly matching shades of blue, Maeve adorned in an indigo and white stripped dress and her grandfather clad in a blue shirt with light colored shorts, Maeve took him by the hand and led him onstage.
She then took a big breath to calm herself before launching into the number.
The audience was with them every step of the way, and roared their approval and surprise when Bill and his granddaughter unleashed a hidden part of their routine arsenal– Tandem Cartwheels. The move caught everyone off guard and caused the crowd to erupt into feverous applause and a standing ovation.
After reviewing the heartwarming footage, Maeve’s mother decided to share it online with family and friends. The video immediately went viral. Soon the entire world knew of the dynamic performance of this granddaughter and grandfather duo.