Our efforts soon had an effect and during our partnership we won many trophies. The first was the West Riding of Yorkshire championship at the lovely Huddersfield town hall. This was soon followed by both the South of England and East of England championships. We won a place in an English team that toured Switzerland, took third place in the British at Blackpool Tower and fifth in the International Championships at The Royal Albert Hall. It was a very exciting time.
When I reflect on those glittering prizes, none is more important to me than one that is seemingly less important. It was totally unexpected. Before my partnership with David began, I danced with another little girl called Lynne and we were going to enter a competition at The Adelphi in Liverpool. Included in the day's events there was to be a 'Parent and Child' Cha Cha Cha competition. Although my dad was an accomplished ballroom dancer, when it came to Latin, he simply hadn't a clue.
He didn't want to disappoint me, so he booked a couple of private lessons with my dance teacher. On the competition day, we took to the floor. We danced a nice little routine but towards the end of the music, dad went wrong. I was really cross and stormed off the floor without him. For a very small child, I had a very big temper.
Imagine my surprise when the results were announced and dad and I had won first prize. He was thrilled. We were given a wonderful trophy, two golden figures dancing on top of a wooden plinth. That was 1967 and despite all other accolades, even my BA, that little trophy remains my most prized possession. It will never be surpassed.
My dad can dance a lovely waltz,
he's good at quickstep too
but when it comes to Latin dance,
he hasn't got a clue.
So dad came to my dancing school
to learn to cha cha cha,
he was a super student,
his hips were ooh la la!
We did the dance together
and won a glittering prize,
I always will remember
the pride in my dad's eyes.
My dad can dance a lovely waltz,
he's good at quickstep too
but when it comes to Latin dance,
he hasn't got a clue.
So dad came to my dancing school
to learn to cha cha cha,
he was a super student,
his hips were ooh la la!
We did the dance together
and won a glittering prize,
I always will remember
the pride in my dad's eyes.
Thanks for reading. Adele
8 comments:
Well done. You look so happy.
I hope you are still out there strutting your stuff celebrating what you and your dear father started years ago
enjoyable moving to beautiful music with a partner or not seems like natural rhythm in time with our own life’s journey.
Congratulations on 1967. What a prize.
Congrats on the poem as well. Really well crafted.
It was lovely to read something so happy!
You peaked early (LOL). Seriously, your ability and ambition as a dancer clearly marked your path, and as others have said, it's a lovely story of your cha cha cha success with your dad and a sweet poem.
As someone who loves to dance, this was a delight to read.
Is that the Tower ballroom?
Yes Bickerstaff - Tower Ballroom - a few years ago now.
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