Meghan Bold was six when her mother enrolled her in highland and step dancing classes, "just as the extracurricular thing to put your child into," reminisced Bold. (There are no other step dancers in her family.)

By age 14, her teacher had given Bold the chance to teach her own class, in addition to keeping her as a member of her performance group.
 
And by the time she turned 19, Bold had performed all over the world and taught students for five years – and then she went to school for dancing, at Concordia University in Montreal.
 
"I've taken other courses like hip-hop, ballet, jazz, modern, African," she said, which explains how when I came in, she was able to demonstrate tap dancing. "But (highland) is what I'm good at."
 
A year ago, Bold founded Bold Steps Dance Studio as a way of passing her love of dancing onto others. "I've always wanted to make dancing my career," she said, "and at one point, I got tired of working for other people. I figured I have lots of things to offer, I have good creative knowledge, I can come up with something as good as anyone else, so why not just make it mine."
 
She started by coming up with a name, registering the business, and designing the logo. Before she could advertise, however, she needed to find studio space. She first looked into renting from churches and community centres, but had problems getting them to call her back. She found a space on Ossington Avenue, where she is now, and began advertising using flyers, webposts, NOW Magazine, craigslist, Metro News, and more.

"I figured I'd start advertising, see if I can get four or five students, and I ended up with about a dozen," she said, laughing. "So it ended up starting off alright."
 
Bold fits the classic image of the dancer: long legs, waist-length blonde hair, and an easy smile. She had only been rehearsing for four weeks (there are nine dances to learn, and each dance should take two months), but was already graceful as she led two of her performance students, Mikaela Robertson and Clara Wells-Verschuren.
 
"My background's Scottish," said Robertson, "so it was something that people in my family had done before." She started highland when she was five, but hadn't danced in five years when she saw Bold’s ad.
 
The floor would pound with a steady "Thump, thump; thump, thump," rather than a fast-paced, rhythmic clattering. Bold used words like "hike it," "up and down," and "pasdebas" (pronounced "pah de buh") to make her students instinctively respond by raising their right knees in a triangular formation, their left feet off the ground, or their left knees straight out, respectively.
 
Bold has two performance classes; the other consists of a gentleman and a female friend, whom Meghan has been dancing with since she was six. "It takes at least four or five years before I can tell you the moves and you'll understand what I mean," said Bold.
 
For her nonperformance classes, Bold has about 10 students. They range from their late teens to early 40’s, and have the choice of coming once or twice a week.

Already Bold Steps Dance Studio is booked for its share of performances. In June, they performed at Metro Square for the opening celebrations of the FIFA World Cup Juniors, and their next show will be on July 15, as part of the World Rhythms festival at the Harbourfront Centre.

Eric Emin Wood is a Toronto freelance writer