Staff Intern

Although the curtain has closed on Leslie Davidson's career as a dance instructor at Oneonta Tap Works, that does not mean she will not be back for an encore.

Davidson, 52, of Oneonta, has been dancing for nearly half a century. She has a pair of worn tap shoes covered with autographs from such notable dancers as Savion Glover, Tommy Tune, Gregory Hines, Henry LaTang and Jimmy Slide.

About 10 years ago, Davidson founded the Oneonta Tap Works studio, where she taught lessons in both tap dance and jazz. Davidson, who estimated that she taught dance to about 500 area residents, announced her retirement about two weeks ago.

Davidson said that she is retiring so that she can spend more time with her two grandchildren, who live in Oneonta. Also, she said, it was time to turn the studio over to someone else.

"The time just seemed right," Davidson said.

Dan D'Amelia, who is from the Albany area, will be replacing Davidson as tap and jazz instructor at the Tap Works studio in September. D'Amelia is a national title holder in both tap and jazz.

Davidson said the part of her job that she will miss most is the students she teaches.

"My favorite part is watching the kids come from nowhere and turn into beautiful dancers," Davidson said.

Melissa Herion, 16, of Oneonta said Davidson left her mark on the dancers she taught.

"I'm really going to miss her as a teacher," said Herion, who has studied with Davidson for eight years. "She's taught us so much."

P.J. Masse, 16, of Oneonta, started taking dance lessons at Tap Works when he was in second grade. He plans to go into musical theater and said that the dance skills he learned from Davidson will help him reach that goal.

"She always found ways to make the choreography interesting," Masse said. "She always had new ideas. ... She always went the extra step to make sure we gave a good performance."

Two years ago, Davidson sold the Tap Works studio to current owner Katrina Shuler of Oneonta.

"From the beginning, I really hoped the studio would survive me," Davidson said. "I wanted it to go on long after I wasn't there anymore."

Although Davidson is officially retired from the Tap Works studio, she said she plans to remain involved in dance. She dances in Albany once a week, will remain active in workshops at Tap Works and plans to do choreography for dance groups at the studio.

Davidson will also continue working in the research lab at Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, where she has been employed for more than 20 years.

Davidson said she hopes that Tap Works will "continue to morph and change in content so that kids can be enriched by it in the future."