MY DANCING SCHOOL ON TELEVISION'S FILM 24 NEXT WEEK

I’m so thrilled that the documentary filmed in my dancing classes has finally made it on to the small screen.
Strictly Tango, which had its cinema debut first - as “London Tango” it opened at the Notting Hill Film Festival this summer - has now had its first outing on the Sky digital station Film 24.
Viewers who did not catch it the first time around will have a chance to watch “Strictly Tango” again on January 7 at 8.10pm, and the film will get further repeats on January 9 and 16at 8pm.
And what better material for prime time, as that other “Strictly” has proven, than watching a group of people pursue their passion for dance.
As the principal of Simply Dancing Partners, the school I set up three years ago out of my own passion to take to the floor, my affections are reserved for the scenes filmed with other aficionados of Ballroom in my Mayfair classroom and the Tango Teas which we organise on behalf of the Waldorf Hotel.
This is where television divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyds Platt learned to dance with Andrew Cuerden, one of the Strictly Come Dancing professionals. The whole point of Simply Dancing Partners is that every pupil gets a trained professional to partner them and help them advance as fast, in many cases, as the celebrities in the television show.
Also featured is Ian Waite, who partnered Jodie Kidd in Strictly, and Hanna Haarala who is Andrew Cuerden’s professional partner.and, like him, often teaches private lessons for clients of Simply Dancing Partners.
The film also features the Portugese Latin champions Elena Plescenco and Carlos Custodio, who also regularly teach our clients and perform for us at events.
And, I should add, moi, the woman who couldn’t bear to be a wallflower in dance class after 35 years in a dance-free zone. So I followed my dream to create a school where no woman would ever have to wait to dance with a man who knows all the steps and is adept at taking his partner around the floor.
If viewers look closely at the scenes of our classes they will see that every female client is partnered by an attractive professional partner who dances to a very high standard. This never happens in any other dance school in the UK; female clients often have to wait for their turn to dance with the teacher (who could be a woman) or the few men who voluntarily go to dance lessons and who are also in the early stages of learning. I recently spoke to a client who had clearly had lessons before she came to a private lesson in our studio and she informed me that this was the very first time she had danced with a man!
The Film 24 outing is just the start of many great things for “Strictly Tango”. It has also been bought by SIngapore Airlines and Qantas as part of their in-flight entertainment package, and is under consideration by other broadcasters and commercial film buyers. Watch this space - and don’t forget to swtich on Film 24 on January 7.
If you’re inspired to learn yourself, call me on 020 7736 4493 or visit www.simplydancngpartners.co.uk.”