A group of North Texas women has been working hard to preserve a style of dancing that had its heyday in the early part of the 20th century. The Class Act Tap Company will soon celebrate 40 years of entertaining audiences with a dance form that makes its own music.

Every week, you can find the dancers in a Dallas studio, practicing dozens of routines. At almost 83 years old, Mary Dowling is the group's only original member.

"I was actually born dancing," she said. "I was tapping when I was 4 or 5 years old."

Dowling says back then, tap was in its heyday.

"Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers... all those wonderful dancers," she said. "I'm originally from the East Coast, so I was raised around New York and New Jersey. I was around a lot of tap dancing," she said.

Dowling pursued

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