These youngsters are having a ball

Jul 25 2007 by Laura Davis, Liverpool Daily Post

Laura Davis meets the children who have dedicated their lives to dance

IT’S a small building tucked away from the main road behind a church that has lost its sign but St Fridewides Hall is a place where dreams are made. That may sound corny, but corny phrases seem fitting when talking about a hobby that involves extravagant costumes, thousands of sequins and fake tan – even for the men.

It is here that Ray Quinn, before a combination of Brookside and X Factor made him the official darling of mums across the nation, practised his quarter turns and learned to cha cha cha.

Under the tutelage of Margaret Redmond, in Thornton, he was ranked Number 1 in Britain for the Under-12s Ballroom and Latin Dance and was later named second in the world.

But it is a different little boy who is moving across the wooden floor today, his back straight as a metre rule and a smile on his cheeky face.

Ten-year-old Joshua Malone and his dancing partner Kimberley Jones, also 10, are practising for their next competition. It is something they take in their stride (excuse the pun) as they take part in a contest of some sort, somewhere in the country, nearly every week.

Last Sunday it was the North of Britain competition in Southport (they came second), the weekend before that it was the UK Championships in Bournemouth where they won both Under 11s Ballroom and Latin sections and came fourth in the UK Juvenile Latin Championships.

This week it will be the Merseyside Champion-ships, run by their dance teacher, and this Saturday, the semi final of ITV1’s Baby Ballroom, with Ray Quinn on the judging panel, will be screened.

“It’s not really important if we win,” says Joshua, dressed smartly in a long pair of black trousers and a matching polo shirt.

“We love dancing so we don’t really mind.”

“It’s the thought that counts,” cuts in Kimberley.

Joshua, who lives in Southport and attends Marshside Primary School, asked his parents for dancing lessons after seeing how much fun his elder sister Mari-Claire was having. Kimberley was similarly motivated – her brothers, aged 17 and 19, both represent Britain.

Delighted to find such an enthusiastic and talented boy in one of her classes, Margaret quickly paired him up with Kimberley, who had been dancing since she was five, and began training them for competitions. Spending so much time together means it is vital they get on, and they have become close friends over the past two years, giggling together as they wait to have their photograph taken and even finishing each other’s sentences.

“We were really happy because I just came along and it was just two weeks before I had a dance partner and I was learning all the routines and going to competitions,” says Joshua.

Kimberley, the shyer of the two, adds: “I’m glad Josh is my dance partner because he’s my best friend.”

This bright, friendly couple are nothing like the precocious creatures you imagine twirling round the ballroom circuit. They are lovely children who obviously take great pleasure in dancing, and have not been pushed into competing by over-proud parents.

“I just love going out to competitions and dancing in front of all the people in the audience,” says Joshua.

“And meeting new people,” adds Kimberley, who lives in Anfield where she is a pupil at Hope Valley Primary.

Although they are used to regular competition, the partners admit that taking part in the Baby Ballroom semi-finals, where they performed the quick step, was more nerve racking than usual. Already filmed, this will be shown on ITV1 over the next two weekends, with just seven couples out of 14 going through to the grand final screened next month.Joshua and Kimberley have already been told whether they have made it through to the next stage, but they are keeping it a secret.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” says Kimberley primly, with a finger across her lips.

“It was scarier than normal because it’s going to be shown on TV,” says Joshua. “We were nervous but excited at the same time because it was being filmed...”

“...and all the people who were going to be watching at home. In a normal competition everybody in the country wouldn’t be watching you,” points out Kimberley.

There were many familiar faces from the national circuit among the contestants, but the real treat for Joshua was to meet Ray Quinn.

“I have his album at home,” he says. “I was nervous but excited as well because I didn’t know what he was going to say to me. I was talking to him backstage and we were all having a laugh.”

To succeed in such a competitive pastime, even as a child, it takes a great deal of dedication – much of which has to come from the parents.

“It takes up all of our time,” admits Joshua’s mum, Tracey Malone, who is waiting in a separate room for the lesson to end. “Driving to competitions, booking travel lodges, going to lessons – it does take over your life.

“But we love it. It’s become part of our life now and all our friends are dancers and dancing parents.

“And it’s great to see the children out there enjoying themselves.”

“The parents all get on,” she adds. “99% of them are really nice.”

Kimberley’s dad Dave Jones, who works for Vauxhall, believes dancing has helped his daughter build her self-confidence: “It’s really brought her out of herself. I could never have got up on stage like she does when I was her age.”

Tracey, a dinner lady, agrees: “It’s very sociable for them. I think if children just did competitions and came home and didn’t mix with the others a lot of them would not stick at it. They keep in touch with the friends they’ve made and send them text messages and e-mails.

“Driving everywhere is our greatest expense but I wouldn’t like to work out how much we spend on dancing in a year.”

While the children are still under the age of 12, their costumes are kept simple – plain coloured dresses for the girls, trousers, shirts and ties (bow tie for Latin) for the boys. However, junior dancers are permitted to wear fancier costumes, similar to those you see on adults, and that’s when the costs really start to escalate. Dresses tend to be custom made and can cost up to several hundred pounds a piece.

Kimberley’s eyes light up as she imagines her future costumes: “I’ve already got my ideas. I want a white Latin dress and a pink ballroom dress with stones decorating it.”

Meanwhile, Joshua is planning a white shirt and trouser combination.

“You have to be careful with white,” warns Margaret, recalling the time when her former pupil Ray Quinn sat on a pair of his partner’s false eyelashes, marking his bottom with black streaks. “But Ray being Ray, he just carried on.”

Margaret encourages the Under 12s to wear only a small amount of make-up – a false tan, muted eye shadow and lipstick for Kimberley and a bit of false tan for Joshua because (in his own words) “sometimes dancers look as pale as a piece of paper and end up blending in with the floor.”

With dancing lessons three times a week and competitions most weekends, there have to be some sacrifices. Kimberley has managed to keep up with saxophone lessons, but Joshua decided to stop learning karate because he was struggling to fit everything in.

However, neither regrets the time they dedicate to dancing and both are keen to work on cruise ships or become teachers themselves in the future.

“Some people when you ask them what they’re doing at the weekend say they’re probably going to sit at home watching TV and playing on the PlayStation,” says Joshua. “But we go all over England and come home feeling happy.”

BABY Ballroom begins on ITV1 at 6.25pm on Saturday.

lauradavis

The judges’ advice >>>