The Start of Their ancing Story.......

Ian & Penny's dancing career started in September 2005 when, stumped for a suitable birthday present for Penny, Ian succumbed to the many hints and enrolled her onto a beginners Salsa course at the local college. Dance lessons were definately a last resort because Ian knew he would have to go along too, and it certainly wasn't his idea of a good night out! The classes were not the disaster Ian thought they would be, and by the end of the term they were both hooked and soon looking for something else to try after the Christmas break. Little did Ian know at the time, but this Birthday present was to prove the most expensive choice.

Soon the local paper was advertising a new beginners group due to start at the beginning of February 2006, and Ian & Penny decided to attend. It was there that they were first introduced to waltz, tango, cha cha, rumba etc. and started their love affair with Ballroom and Latin dances. After a few weeks of attending the lessons Ian & Penny heard about a social dancing practise night held at a local dance studio, YoungDancentre, and went along to investigate. The practise night was almost exclusively for those who took lessons at the studio, so of course Ian & Penny were outsiders. They weren't sure if the stares and whispers were because of their different routines, or because they had sat in someone's 'reserved' seating; and when they won the raffle the first week, well things just couldn't get worse. Quick thinking Penny decided to pass the raffle prize Quality Street around the hall, which broke the ice, and thankfully things got better after that. Soon Ian & Penny were going away with the studio regulars on a weekend dance break to Lytham St Anne's which included a wonderful afternoon dancing at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool.

After Lytham, Ian & Penny arranged a couple of private lessons at YoungDancentre and were asked if they would like to take up competition dancing. To find out what it was all about they went to a local comp at Willenhall that weekend and were mesmerized by the outfits and style of dancing. The towels and dusters given as prizes were a source of great amusement at the time, although as they have found out since, a lot more useful than a little plastic plaque. The first private lesson as competitive dancers took place at the beginning of September 2006, and with Ian & Penny's limited ballroom and latin experience was like starting again and learning everything from scratch.

Once the decision was made to take up competition dancing, Ian & Penny were determined to put all their efforts into succeeding. After just six weeks of lessons the first competition came around fast, a Saturday night in Atherstone, Tamworth. Ian & Penny's fears of being the only Beginners entered were soon expelled when 12 couples took to a rather tight floor for a waltz and quickstep. More elbows, kicks, and collisions than the average rugby game meant the first round was a real baptism of fire. The latin beginners 2 dance was not such a scrum, although the same number of couples competed. Two final places in the first comp was a bonus and spurred Ian & Penny on to drive up north to Nantwich the next day, and try it all over again.

Hard work and dedication over the next few months saw Ian & Penny move from Beginners onto Open Novice and Open Intermediate competitions. Then in July 2007 came the hard decision that a change of teacher and dance school was needed, and after investigating different possibilities they joined David Trueman at his Dancetastic Studios in Essington. New choreography and an ongoing development of timing and technique followed. Sunday Comp results were mixed, but by Christmas there was light at the end of the tunnel. The jump between Novice and true Intermediate had been taken, and Ian & Penny could now plan for the future.

The start of 2008, and David started making plans to get Ian & Penny ready for turning Senior (over 35 years) in September 2009, and challenging for a high ranking. Ian & Penny soon realised that Penny would actually be eligable to dance Senior 1 National Selection Competitions from the January because of the different age rules in these types of events. They set themselves a new goal for the year; obtaining a good enough level of dance to enter EADA Senior 1 competitions without looking out of place. Even more time and dedication was put into training, the gap between Open Intermediate and Senior Championship levels being a big jump for anyone to acheive. By September Ian & Penny were ready to dance some Amateur Championship events in Ballroom to help gain additional experience. The Latin was still a little bit behind at this stage, and extra effort was needed to conquer the difficulties in time.

November is the time for the British National Championships at The Winter gardens, Blackpool, and Ian & Penny had enough confidence to enter the two Amateur Ballroom events being held. They knew that they would probably only be dancing one round, but the experience of being able to dance in such a prestigious event, on the same floor as the very best dancers in he country was something not to be missed. In the North of England Amateur Ballroom, Ian & Penny gained a respectable 30th place out of a field of 40. And in the British National Amateur Ballroom Championship they were placed 60th out of 66 couples. The push was now on to be ready for the begining of 2009 and start of the next chapter in Ian & Penny's dance career - Senior 1 Ballroom, Latin American and 10 Dance.

2009 started well with a 7th overall in their first 10 Dance, a semi-final place in Ballroom and a quarter-final place in Latin; but more importantly, they looked the part and didn't feel out of place. Over the next few months Ian & Penny experienced the usual ups and downs of competition dancing whilst working hard to improve technique and choreography. It wasn't long before they started to establish themselves solidly in the pack pushing for an EADA final place. Penny had a difficult 2009 with injuries, first she turned an ankle during a competition and had to wear an ankle support for 3 months, then she was diagnosed with a stress fractured metatarsal, and finally a reacurrance of the ankle injury on the Monday before Blackpool's British National Championships. Through it all Penny continued to dance, never missed a competition day, and put in a fantastic performance at Blackpool. The end of the year saw Ian & Penny make their first finals in both EADA Senior 1 Ballroom and EADA Senior 1 Latin events, and finish ahead of expectations at the British National Chamionships being place 8th overall in Ballroom and 11th overall in Latin.

In 2010, Ian & Penny danced in the first ever IDSF World Open Senior 10 Dance Championship being held in Majorca. Unfortunately, an ankle injury to Penny meant that they had to pull out of the competition early. These things happen in DanceSport, but Ian & Penny dusted themselves off and will carry one progessing in the Ballroom Dancng World.