Text by Arlene Leach, DanceNews

Over twenty years ago my dear friend, the late Bobby Short, came up with the idea to expand the United Kingdom ‘Open’ Championships from three days to four. At that time Barry and Mariola Free of Supadance were looking for a venue to organise a Grand Ball & Dinner and Bobby offered them the chance to ‘Open’ the United Kingdom Championships by holding it on the Monday evening at the start of the festival in the Purbeck Hall at the BIC. Dance News, who had taken over the organising and presentation of the Carl Alan Awards on licence from Butlins’, presented the awards to the recipients during the evening. Bobby then persuaded Bill and Bobbie Irvine MBEs to be the very first ‘An Audience With’ guests in the Tregonwell Hall at the BIC during that Monday afternoon. The rest is history. Over the years the organisation of ‘An Audience With’ and the lectures that preceded it were taken over by the BDFI and have continued, very successfully, until this day.

In those days we (the UK Dance Championships organising team) were in the Windsor Hall, BIC on the Monday setting up for the start of the Championships on the Tuesday morning. Every year, from that very first one, my dear husband released me from my duties to go up to the Tregonwell Hall to watch the lectures and ‘Audience’ on the proviso that, should I be required, then I would go back down to the Windsor Hall immediately, and, every year, without fail, I would be called upon to go back downstairs to deal with some small hiccup after about fifteen minutes.

So it was that, with no organising responsibilities this year, I willingly accepted the invitation from the BDFI Chairman, Greg Smith to attend the event knowing that it was very unlikely that I would have to leave early for some reason or other. How glad I am that I accepted; I had a lovely afternoon.

The three lectures were by Victoria Regan, Andrea Ghigiarelli & Sara Andracchio and Jurij & Jagoda Batagelj and what splendid lectures they were too.

Victoria was assisted by Glenn-Richard Boyce and Caroly Janes and she had them dancing with different emotions and feelings throughout their bodies and facial features that was a delight to watch. You could tell just by watching how much the youngsters were enjoying working with her. Talking to them separately afterwards Glenn and Caroly said that they had had a great time and felt that they had learnt so much whilst Vicki said that they were a joy to work with and were so responsive.

Andrea and Sara were next. He came onto the stage as a beginner who had taught himself to dance online and now needed a few lessons from a Professional teacher, Sara, to give him the finer points to make sure that he was perfect. The result was fantastic and very funny. They both used their lovely Italian accents to charm the audience, overdone, just so very slightly, so as to bring in yet another aspect of humour. Andrea showing Sara how he danced the basics and then, his initial attempts to follow her instructions were so clever as she eventually got through to him, still have me chuckling away as I write this.

Jurij and Jagoda’s lecture was all about the different elements that make up the Paso Doble. They were assisted by Toreros, Alfonso Casado Campos & his son, Hugo Casado Aprecio and Flamenco dancer, Ana Pandur. This was very interesting indeed the two Toreros showed the different uses of the cape. the younger, trainee Matador using fake (or practice) bulls’ horns so that the Matador could show the different movements. Ana then came onto the stage to demonstrate the Flamenco dancing. In between, Jurij and Jagoda demonstrated, sometimes without music and sometimes with. A very well thought out and thought-provoking lecture.

As the lectures ended, to rapturous applause, the stage was cleared so that ‘An Audience With Kenny and Marion Welsh’ could commence but just preceding that, as it was the 20th Anniversary, all the previous ‘Audience With’ participants who were present on the day were invited onto the stage to receive a small gift from the BDFI. I am reliably informed that between them they hold more than one hundred World, British, International and United Kingdom Championship titles.

We then came to this year’s ‘Audience With Kenny and Marion Welsh’. This was never going to be straightforward. I assumed that everyone present knew that, Australian couple, Greg Smith and Marion Alleyne (now Marion Welsh) came to the United Kingdom in 1973 as a young Amateur dancing partnership. I now realise that, as I am getting older, most of the audience were much younger than I was and therefore weren’t all aware of this. John Kimmins and Greg Smith were in their usual interviewing roles to welcome Kenny and Marion to the stage. Almost before a question had been asked Marion announced that, although she could remember the events, she wasn’t awfully good at remembering dates. Why had she said that? Is it possible that she knew that her interviewer, Greg was, either very good at remembering or perhaps, because he had done all his usual research, would be very good at knowing when and where things took place!!

I jest, it was a lovely interview. John Kimmins asking Kenny about his career before he fell in love with Marion and they eventually started dancing together. His Junior days in Liverpool, dancing with Cathy Owen (winning major Junior Championships together) and later, as an Amateur, with Kathy Gilmartin (winning major Amateur Championships together). Greg then asked Marion about their early days in England, she remembered them alright but decided to let Greg fill in the dates because he could remember them, and if he couldn’t, he had done the research!! I shouldn’t make fun, because, preparing this write-up, I wanted to check the date that they had arrived in England, thinking that it was 1972. I rang Greg to ask him, immediately he replied that it was 1973.

Kenny and Marion started their dancing career together after he won the majors of 1980/81 and they had a very successful Professional career until their competitive retirement at the Professional Team Match held at Blackpool. I’m not sure about the year, ask Greg!!

It was a lovely, warm interview. It was bound to be, as they all knew each other so well. Inevitably, because they knew each other so well, it ran a little late, but I certainly didn’t mind. At the end my feet were cold, because they had been still for so long, but it had been a lovely start to the 2023 United Kingdom Dance Festival.

This BDFI Congress event has always been free to those who write in to request tickets but the BDFI, in recent years, put out a collection box on the door should anyone wish to donate towards the costs for the day on their way out. It was well worth my donation and more, I had a lovely time.