CALL it obedience or survival instinct but when eight-year-old Lee Meadows received tap shoes instead of his dream drum kit, because there would be no banging of skins in the house, he knew better than to argue with his mother. He strapped them on and got dancing.

Now a professional performer with credits including the title role in Sinatra The Musical and a tap solo in a West End production of On The Town, he is pretty glad he refrained from kicking a fuss and did as he was told.

“I used to bang pots all the time as a child, I loved to make noise,” laughs the Covingham-born dancer. “But my mum didn’t want me to play drums, so… she bought me tap shoes.

“I starting taking lessons.”

After taking his first tentative tap steps at The Judith Hockaday School of Dance and Drama, he was hooked – not so much on the actual movements but the rhythm – the very thing which had prompted him to clang kitchen pots together as a child, driving his mother mad, and eventually beg for drums.

Insatiable he became set on mastering every dance genre, from hip hop to ballet with a segue in jazz.

After studying for his A Levels at Dorcan Academy he enrolled in a musical theatre course at London’s Bird College before taking his first job as a dancer on cruise ships. His performance schedule was intense, he admits, but he credits the long hours for his strong work ethic. Back in the UK, he appeared in various musicals and even showcased his footwork at the London 2012 Olympics Ceremony – the most erratic and virtually unrehearsed but exhilarating performance of his life.

“I was in the Great Ormond piece,” recalls the 32-year-old. “It’s the scariest performance I’ve ever done. They told us we were going to be watched by billions. You don’t get much rehearsals time, there were quite a few professional dancers dotted about but most people were volunteers or children who were at school during the day. We had our separate groups to rehearse with and just one dress rehearsal the day before and that was it.”

A year ago, a friend suggested he audition for Tap Factory. He has been travelling across Europe with the production ever since and is now poised to bring the show to the New Theatre Oxford for the first time this week before embarking on the Chinese leg of the tour.

Created and choreographed by Vincent Pausanias , Tap Factory is an urban fusion of tap numbers, acrobatics, comedy skits, thrilling “gym meets Capoeira” routines and to Lee’s initial surprise, actual drumming performed by the tappers themselves.

The irony did not escape him.

“It’s a pretty intense and loud. It’s called Tap Factory so people expect a full tap show but really there’s so much more to it. We have a guy called Andrea who does parkour, which is a cross between gymnastics and free running. We all get to drum in the show but it’s not complex drumming.

“It’s funny to think it’s come full circle,” he chuckles. “My mum couldn’t stop me in the end.”

Tap Factory comes to the New Theatre Oxford on April 24. For tickets go to www.atgtickets.com.