BALLROOM DANCING

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22405, 12 August 1947, Page 7

BALLROOM DANCING

Crowded in between dancing lessons, engagements,- demonstrations and farewells, the Gisborne Herald managed to achieve a brief interview with Miss Margaret Michael, Wellington, during her 17-hour visit to Gisborne last week when with Mr. Jimmy James she gave several ballroom dancing demonstrations at tiie Army Hall. Miss Michael, who arrived in the Dominion recently from London, is a fellow and examiner of the N.A.T.D. (London). Mr. James is also a fellow and both are fellows of the LatinAmerican branch so that their comments on dancing trends in this country are those of highly qualified exponents of ballroom dancing and should be of interest to devotees of ballroom dancing. Miss Michael told a Herald reporter that she thought Gisborne dances had a jolly atmosphere, but that the patrons did not take their dancing seriously enough and lacked uniformity of style. Miss Michael was disappointed that there were no candidates for medal tests. Gisborne was the only centre she had visited where she had not had the opportunity of examining, but she hoped that next time she came to Gisborne there would be some candidates for examinations.

Commenting on dance bands and orchestras in New Zealand, Miss Michael remarked that they all played good rhumbas, but very few achieved good tango time. Latin-American dances were enjoying a big vogue in New Zealand at present and were in full swing in Wellington. While she had observed that there was some interest in such dances in Gisborne she found that dancers here paid greater attention to the standard dances, the quickstep and foxtrot.

Commenting upon the standard of the London society, she said that New Zealanders attempting the examinations had had some failures but she had found that they took these failures very well. People in the Dominion were impressed by the high standard, not depressed by it, and "liked it tough.” If they were unsuccessful they came up for another try later on, ‘which was one of the things she admired most about New Zealanders.