Meet Liverpool's legendary 85yo 'Dancing Queen' recognised in King's Honours List

National World - LocalTV

Liverpool Theatre School's Norah Button is enjoying a double celebration after being awarded a British Empire Medal in the King's New Year Honours list, just days away from her 85th birthday.

Transcript

00:00 Liverpool Theatre School's Nora Button is enjoying a double celebration after being

00:06 awarded a British Empire Medal in the King's New Year's Honour List just days away from

00:11 her 85th birthday.

00:12 Well, Anna didn't think I was really good enough to get a gong, so it was a surprise.

00:21 I didn't know what a BEM meant, so I had to go and look it up before somebody asks me

00:27 like you.

00:29 The Centre of Excellence has turned out generations of professional performers, with graduates

00:33 starring in countless smash hit musicals including Les Miserables, Wicked and The Book of Mormon.

00:40 Before the war there was nowhere for the children to go, in Liverpool 8 anyway.

00:46 My grandmother was a vaudeville performer and she decided to take the children off the

00:54 streets and bring them to her basement, teach them a little bit of dance, a little bit of

00:59 drama, a little bit of everything and that's how it started.

01:03 After taking the helm when her grandmother became ill.

01:06 In the early 90s she was joined by former student Maxine Ellis who co-ran the performing

01:11 arts school before becoming sole principal in 2011.

01:15 Proving that learning is a lifelong journey, Nora recently became one of the oldest students

01:19 to receive a Masters degree in Musical Theatre and Drama after graduating from John Moores

01:24 University at the age of 83.

01:27 The unstoppable octogenarian managed to complete her final dissertation whilst recovering from

01:32 a quadruple heart bypass.

01:35 Nora continues to teach and inspire students with no plans to slow down any time soon.

01:42 I wouldn't know what quiet retirement would be and also I will never slow down.

01:48 I can't, it's what I do.

01:51 Throughout her career Nora has been committed to making professional training more accessible,

01:56 particularly to those from working class backgrounds.

01:59 Bringing the government funded Dance and Drama Awards to the theatre school is one of her

02:04 key achievements.

02:06 I got free lessons, a pound for these free lessons, my old dancing teacher took me so

02:14 I resolved to always help children that was in my domain to have free lessons and that's

02:24 how it's gone on.

02:25 We have scholarship children now and free paying children and we have students free

02:33 paying or scholarship but we now have grants for students and we got those through me going

02:43 to the houses of parliament.

02:46 Don't ask me how I got in, that's a secret.

02:50 The former beauty queen who won 19 pageants in the 60s is also credited with choreographing

02:57 Sir Ken Dodd's Diddy Men at all of his shows.

03:01 She was awarded Freedom of the City of Liverpool in 2010.

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