The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) is an international dance teaching and examination board based in London, England. The registered educational charity, which was established on 25 July 1904 as the Imperial Society of Dance Teachers, provides training and examinations in a range of dance styles and certified dance teacher courses. The ISTD is recognised by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and the Council for Dance Education and Training and is also a member of the British Dance Council. It hosts various competitions in many different formats including Modern Ballroom, Latin American, Classical Ballet and Tap Dance as well as contemporary styles like Disco Freestyle.
Pierre Dulaine is a dance instructor and dancer. He invented the Dulaine method of teaching dance. He also founded Dancing Classrooms, a social and emotional development program for 5th grade children that uses ballroom dancing as a vehicle to change the lives of the children and their families.
Walter William Laird was a major influence in the development of Latin American dancing in Britain after the Second World War. He was World Professional Latin Dance Champion three times. He coached many successful dancers including Allan Tornsberg, Vibeke Toft, Espen Salberg, Jukka Haapalainen, Sirpa Suutari, Donnie Burns & Ian Waite. Peter Maxwell & Lynn Harman were amongst his first major champions and a couple on which much of his ultimate technique was developed. Laird was a Fellow and Examiner of the IDTA, and until 2000, he was Secretary of the Ballroom Dancers' Federation.
BillIrvine MBE and Bobbie Irvine MBE were British professional ballroom dancers. Bobbie Irvine was born Bobbie Barwell in Oudtshoorn, South Africa, while Bill Irvine, born William, was from Low Craigends in Kilsyth. His father was a miner, as was his grandfather, and Bill served in the Royal Navy before starting his dance career. As a young dance teacher he spent a period in South Africa, which led to his meeting Bobbie. They were married in 1957. The pair became South African champions, and later settled in London.
Margaret Ann Spencer MBE was a British professional ballroom dancer, choreographer, competition adjudicator, and organiser.
Paul Harris is an English choreographer, dance teacher and movement director in film, television and theatre.
Hazel Catherine Newberry MBE is one of the United Kingdom's leading ballroom dancers and dance teachers. She was three times undefeated World Professional Ballroom champion, dancing with Christopher Hawkins (2002–2004).
The British Association of Teachers of Dance (BATD) is a UK-based dance examination board, with its Head Office in Glasgow, Scotland. The officially recognised date for the formation of the society is 30 November 1892, making it the first professional dance organization of its kind in the United Kingdom, and the second oldest in the world.
Gwenethe Walshe was a leading British Latin and ballroom dancer. Born in Wanganui, New Zealand, she lived most of her life in England and moved to Australia after her retirement. She arrived in England in 1936, and by 1938 she had founded a dance school bearing her name in London's West End, which is still operating as the Central London Dance. During World War II she worked by day as a WVS nurse and by night continued to run classes, even during air raids. Gwenethe simply turned up the music and the dancing continued!
Kylie Jones is a British professional ballroom dancer. She was the 2000 and 2001 World Ballroom Champion, the 2001 European Ballroom Champion, the 2000 and 2001 Open British Ballroom Champion, and the 2000 and 2001 United Kingdom Ballroom Champion.
Shirley Annette Ballas is an English ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance adjudicator. She specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles which earned her the nickname The Queen of Latin.
Luca and Loraine Baricchi are professional ballroom dancers and dance teachers from the Republic of Ireland & Italy. They twice won the Professional World Ballroom Dance Championship. The couple also won the International Professional Standard Championship in London in 1999–2000, and are former British Open, UK and European champions. After regaining the World title in 2001, they decided to retire from competitive dancing.
Bryan Isaac is a professional ballroom dancer, who teaches standard and Latin American dance in Bristol, alongside Diane Barron. In his younger days he was West of England ballroom champion with Gay Biffen, and took part in international competitions representing Great Britain.
Monsieur Pierre was the professional name of Pierre Jean Philippe Zurcher-Margolle. He was a professional dancer and dance teacher, largely responsible for introducing the Latin American dances to England, and for codifying them, and laying the groundwork for their use in competitions and in social dance. The system he and his colleagues developed became the basis for all Latin and American competitions held under the World Dance Council (WDC).
Lyndon Bentley Wainwright was a British metrologist, ballroom dancer and author. He worked at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) during World War II, and was a chairman of the British Engineering Metrology Association.
Dimitri Petrides was a ballroom dancer who was instrumental in pioneering and developing Latin American dancing in England and later globally. He left Cyprus when he was eighteen with his mother after the death of his father, eventually settling in England. He was one of the founding members of the Latin-American Faculty of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, and wrote the first English textbook on the subject. He was a Fellow and Examiner of the ISTD.
Christopher Hawkins is a highly respected English ballroom dancer and teacher of competitive Ballroom dancing. He won the Professional World Ballroom Dance Championship three times, with Hazel Newberry MBE (2002–2004). The partnership also became champions of the coveted Open British Professional Ballroom Championship at the world renowned Winter Gardens Ballroom in Blackpool. They were also prolific winners of all of the major titles, including the British National, United Kingdom, Asian Open, and European Professional Ballroom Championships. The couple also won the International Professional Ballroom Championship in London in 2002 and 2003.
Izabela Hannah is a Polish-born British ballroom and Latin American dancer. Born in Szczecin, Poland, Hannah began dancing jazz and ballet at the age of 9, and started ballroom and Latin American dancing as a teenager. During her competitive career she won international titles in Europe and the United States, winning the Polish Amateur Ballroom Championships in 2001 and again in 2002.
Barron is a Scottish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
