Birstall dance teacher still dancing after 25 years!
Chris Beaumont and her dance pupils celebrating 25 years of the Chris Beaumont School of Dance, Birstall Community Centre, Market Street, Birstall.
SHE spent 10 years touring the country as part of the band Young Love, she’s performed for her crush, Prince Andrew, and she’s just celebrated 25 years of her self-titled dance school.
Chris Beaumont has no regrets in life.
Dancing from the age of two, Chris qualified as a dance teacher when she was 16. But she decided she was too young to start teaching, so joined a pantomime dance chorus for two years.
“I wanted to be on stage,” she said.
“I wanted to perform.”
After two years Chris, who lives in Gomersal, auditioned to be a singer and dancer in the trio Young Love. In the band Chris travelled the world.
“My most memorable trip was in the Falklands,” she said.
“I’ll never forget it. We were the first show there after the war and all the soldiers were still there.
“I can’t explain it – we had to travel everywhere by aircraft because there were still land mines everywhere, but the reception we had was unbelievable.
“It was humbling; we were honoured to be there. We felt we were doing our bit for the country.”
While in the Falklands, Young Love performed for Prince Andrew – the subject of a rather large crush for Chris. So when she physically bumped into him while rushing about onboard a ship, she said she was mortified.
“Prince Andrew was a gent! He laughed and accepted my apology,” she remembered.
The band did a lot of work for the forces, and even travelled to Beirut, where the buildings were either blown up or riddled with bullet holes.
She said: “It didn’t feel real what was going on there. We had to wear bullet proof jackets, and could hear the gun fire going on around us.”
It was while performing with Young Love that Chris found love with the band’s agent, Tim, who she married in 1985.
After 10 years of travelling, Chris, now a mother of two, decided enough was enough.
“I’d be travelling to Torquay, doing a 15-minute set and coming home again,” she said.
“I decided to open my own dance school, putting my qualifications to good use.”
For the first three years, the Chris Beaumont School of Dance in Birstall was make or break. Chris was considering giving up, when suddenly the school took off, and went from strength to strength.
“A lot of my children have gone on to professional dance colleges and to become performers,” she said.
“In the last 25 years there have been a lot of talented kids through these doors. Some are still in touch, and others now bring their children to me, which I take as a huge compliment.”
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Weather for Batley
Thursday 23 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 6 C to 10 C
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Wind direction: North
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