It may not have a glitter ball hanging from its ceiling, but Culter Village hall was like a scene from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing as Aberdeen’s very own Anton Du Beke joined couples as they weaved, waltzed and wiggled their way across the dance floor.
Within seconds of the catchy merengue music filling the hall, the couples were sashaying their way to the Dominican Republic as they twirled their partners with gusto, swayed their hips to the Latin beat and moved their feet to the fast-paced rhythm.
And what these couples lacked in glitzy costumes, they made up for with the sparkle in their eyes as their love of dance beamed out of every pore.
It’s in local communities like Peterculter where dance is “cha cha” changing people’s lives.
From reducing loneliness and building confidence, to keeping people fit both mentally and physically, dance is an underestimated force for good.
It’s undeniable that the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing has played a part in spreading dance fever across communities.
And with the stars of the show – including Karen Hauer, Katya Jones and Gorka Marquez – about to waltz their way on to the P&J Live stage on Monday May 30, Your Life decided to find out how the power of dance is changing lives in our local communities.
Ballroom Barney
After meeting his soulmate Saliza on the ballroom dance floor, Barney Phillips knows only too well the intoxicating power of dance.
Known as “Ballroom Barney” – or according to his mum a “young Anton Du Beke” – the Aberdeen-based dance teacher and his wife Saliza are sharing their deep love of dance in community halls and care homes across the Granite City.
From rumbas and jives to quick steps and sambas, the couple are bringing a taste of Strictly Come Dancing to local communities and people can’t get enough of it.
“Ballroom dancing can change your life,” said Barney.
“I met my wife Saliza through dance back in 2019 and we married last year.
“Dancing just brings people so much joy and it brings people together.”
On a particularly dreich Monday night in Peterculter, the sun was shining inside Culter Village Hall as nine couples glided across the wooden floor under the watchful eye of Barney and Saliza.
One of the eager participants was Neil Christie, from Aberdeen.
“Ballroom dancing is great fun,” said the 64-year-old, as he enthusiastically laced up his dancing shoes.
“As a single bloke, I needed a dance partner, but Barney put me in touch with a woman called Elaine Roberts who quickly brought my dancing on as she is an amazing dancer.
“I would advise anyone who is keen to try it out to just give it a go.”
Watching Neil and Elaine on the dance floor, their passion for dance is there for all to see as they elegantly glide round the room in sync.
“I’m forever dancing at home,” added Neil.
“Recently one of my neighbours spotted me dancing in the living room with my iPad in hand which was funny.
“I’m always looking up dance videos on YouTube.”
Also taking to the floor was Sarah Kerridge, from Cults.
Despite not having a partner, the 59-year-old retired technical writer was in her element as she carefully copied the choreography.
“I like the people here, everyone is very friendly and I like the music – I find it very enjoyable,” said Sarah.
“My favourite dance is the merengue and the paso doble.
“I’m also a huge fan of Strictly – I love Anton Du Beke.”
As well as the social side of dance, Barney says the latest research also shows that dance is important for mental health.
“There were some interesting studies that showed how good ballroom dancing in particular is for mental health because it uses parts of your brain that other activities don’t.
“So the dancing we do where you have to lead and follow really tests you brain.”
For more information about Ballroom Barney go to the website www.ballroombarney.com
J Fusion Dance
Watching her young dancers take to the stage for the very first time was one of the proudest moments of Joy Morrison’s life.
Describing her pupils – and their parents – as her “extended family”, teaching dance isn’t just a hobby to the 28-year-old, it’s a way of life.
Based in Buckie, Joy is bringing dance opportunities to children in the form of new-age line dance.
“Our dancing is line dancing but it’s not what it used to be as you can see by the costumes,” said Joy.
“We do all the same styles as ballroom so we have cha cha, waltz, west coast swing, nightclub, jive, polka, east coast swing, hip hop, we’ve got everything.”
Dancing since the age of three, Joy was initially a Highland dancer before the sparkly Strictly-style costumes of the new form of line dance caught her eye.
“I was about four or five when I got into line dancing; I just loved the costumes as they’re super sparkly, just like what you see on Strictly Come Dancing.
“I also loved line dancing as you could put a bit more of your own personality and style into it.”
Dancing competitively took Joy across the world, winning multiple world and European titles along the way.
Through her dance school – J Fusion Dance – based at Buckpool Golf Club, Joy wants to give children the same opportunities that dancing gave her.
“I’ve made friends from all over the world through dance so I’m hoping the kids can do the same,” said Joy, who also works as a hairdresser part-time.
A self-confessed Strictly Come Dancing fan with a ticket for the upcoming show, Joy says the TV programme has inspired more children to take up dance.
“Strictly Come Dancing has definitely inspired more children into dancing,” said Joy.
“We put on a show at Christmas and our competitive dance team performed in their sparkly dresses.
“After the show there were about 15-20 children enquiring about doing competition class because they saw the dresses and thought they were amazing.
“The mums are always checking out Strictly to get costume ideas and my mum Anne makes dresses.”
With many of her dancers winning titles against the best in the world at World Dance Masters competitions, Joy is in no doubt that dance can change children’s lives.
“Dance definitely has the power to change children’s lives.
“I think it gives teenagers a focus and it gives little kids the chance to meet kids from other schools, build friendships, be able to talk to kids who aren’t in their class as well,” said Joy.
“It obviously builds strength, flexibility and co-ordination too.”
With 19 of her pupils winning at the Scottish Championships recently, it’s clear that there are future Strictly stars at J Fusion.
“To have 19 Scottish champions, is amazing – it makes me feel good.”
Their silverware collection is sure to expand as they head to Blackpool in July for the World Championship competition.
To find out more about J Fusion Dance head to the Facebook page www.facebook.com/Jfusiondance or go to the World Dance Masters www.facebook.com/WorldDanceMasters
Aberdeen Academy of Performing Arts
“They come in shy but as soon as they’ve done their first show it’s like ‘bang, here I am world’.”
Nothing makes Rachel Mearns happier than seeing boys come out of their shell through the power of dance.
“They come in shy to start off with but through dance, they turn out to be the most confident, happy and respectful young guys.”
As the owner of Aberdeen Academy of Performing Arts, located in Jopp’s Lane, Rachel is on a mission to encourage more boys and girls into dancing.
“It’s nice now that there’s more boys coming through dance and the stigma seems to be gone,” said Rachel.
“I think everybody should dance from when they’re younger.
“It’s probably one of the most important things you can do for a toddler as they grow up as it gets them into music, counting, it helps them to socialise while developing muscles and brain development, coordination, action balance – there’s so much to it.”
From tap, ballet, jazz and street dancing to commercial, musical theatre and acrobatic gymnastics classes, Rachel currently has 30 boys on her books who participate in a wide variety of her classes.
To encourage more boys into dance, Rachel has also created a special programme.
“I actually created a pre-school programme called Mac the Monkey in 2009,” said Rachel.
“Mac is a boy and everything is boy oriented in the class regarding the colours and themes/stories.
“This was to encourage more boys into dance, musical theatre and gymnastics classes as it was still very much girl orientated back then.”
As well as seeing her pupils thrive, Rachel can also see the positive impact dance is having on her three-year-old son Callum.
“My youngest who is three loves tap dancing,” said Rachel.
“Every day of the week he wants to tap dance and sometimes he joins in the ballet and he stays for gymnastics.”
Seeing the boys mature into talented dancers is always a proud moment for Rachel as many of them go on to pursue successful careers on stage.
“One of my pupils, Cameron Vargesson, is off to dance college,” said Rachel.
“To see them hit the age of 16 or 17 and then go off to dance college or university is amazing.
“Another boy, Mitchell, he went off to perform at Disneyland Paris, and just before he left, we put him through his teaching exams, so now he teaches as well and does workshops.”
Rachel believes that shows like Strictly Come Dancing have really helped to break the stigma around boys dancing.
“I think Strictly does inspire them as they see these celebrity dancers and they think they could be that as well.
“I think society in general has changed a little bit as well which has helped.”
It was during a spell living in Australia with her family as a child when Rachel caught the dancing bug.
Now she lives and breathes dance and despite studying law at university, she can’t imagine herself doing anything else.
“It’s a good way of life, I love it,” said Rachel.
“I would be lost without it.
“Dancing is my life.”
To Rachel, being a dance teacher is also so much more than just teaching children steps, it’s about teaching them skills that will last a lifetime.
“The children would probably describe me as their second mother,” laughs Rachel.
“We’re always there for them if they’re having difficult times at school, or if they’re not feeling too happy, we’re there, we listen and we steer them in the right direction.”
Based in the same building as her dance school is the The Aberdeen College of Performing Arts which also acts as a pathways for boys who are keen to pursue a career in the West End.
“It’s a full-time musical theatre course which is run by one of my friends, so we get a couple of boys going through that as well.”
For more information about Aberdeen Academy of Performing Arts go to the Facebook page www.facebook.com/academyperformingarts
To see our dancing photo gallery visit…
Photo gallery: Meet Aberdeen’s very own Strictly Come Dancing stars
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