Frances Dawson

I was born in Cork Eire and came to Birmingham England when I was 12 and have lived here ever since.  I married and had two children Paul and Lorna.  My son Paul is a church Minister with five great kids.  My Daughter Lorna is in Musical Theatre and presently starring in a musical production of Romeo and Juliet in Vienna.

I came into dancing whilst finishing my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.  I fell in love with it; not dance itself, as I lacked rhythm, but the teaching of it.  I immediately saw its potential for making even non academic people very happy, and give them confidence and style.

I started teaching 25 years ago and loved every minute of it.  John Travolta changed my life with Saturday Night Fever.  The dance studio I had purchased was in Broad Street in March 1987; and it thrived with queues along Broad Street with people wanting to learn John Travolta’s moves.

The School went from strength to strength until the reconstruction of Broad Street and I had to find another place very quickly.  I found my present studio in Perry Barr and now, 18 years on, the Broadway Dance Centre is famous as the family dance centre.  We cater for kids of 3 up to 83 and many kids who train here have gone on to London Stage shows; become British and International Ballroom and Latin Dance Champions;  appeared in Pop video’s and performed in musical theatre both at home and abroad.

The dance centre has been responsible for changing many lives; keeping kids off the streets; giving them a purpose and a sense of style, plus a goal with exams, competitions, shows and charity work.  Links with Age Concern and all these are a family affair.

In June 2006 myself and a fabulous team of like minded pupils travelled to Romania and created a beautiful dance studio in a dilapidated orphanage.  This project was the culmination of months of planning an fundraising by the pupils of the dance studio so they may help children less fortunate than themselves.  It took only two weeks of exceptionally hard work by the team to change the lives of 200 children and give them an aim in life.