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Enid Goodwin Dance School Perry Barr

Vivienne14

Vivienne14

Kentish Brummie Moderator
Staff member
Does anyone remember this dance school in Perry Barr? Can't remember the name of the road but I think it was not far from the Odeon cinema. Used to go there every Saturday in the late 50s/early 60s. It was, I think, a single story building like a bungalow. Pretty glitzy inside. Viv.
 
Hi, You are correct they was in Perry Barr , First they where on the Birhfield Road in a large house but the one you are talking about was in Livingstone road opposite the Odeon cinema. I was there in the late 50s and early 60s. Used to go to the Crown and cushion first for a quick pint. Mike
 
Yes Mike Livingstone Road rings a few bells. Didn't realise the school had been in different premises before I went there. Is the Livingstone Road place still there? viv.
 
Not sure , I think it was closed when they built the flats,the road might still be open from the other end of the road. Mike
 
HI VIV
Yes they are correct my oldest brother ron and his one time girl friend rita whom was a pa at the icii witton used to go there to learn ballroom dancing
after work she his now his wife they are in there 70 s now they learnt there steps there and eventual they left when it closed down and they went to laura dixons
where they went into competitions and on T V and became champions ballroom dancers in a varitity of dance and years ago before this addition of dancing competions was on
in this last period of time i think it was a peter hobliey whom used to do the programe in those days they won numeroius prizes and they had there daughter learn to ballroom dance when she was born and she done well but later retired from dancing after meeting boy friend sadly she stuck with it to mature
my oldest brother followed my mother foot steps and her mother our grand mother into dancing but theres was stage tapp dancing for a troop in the aston thearters
and it was my grand mothers grand mother in the 1800s had a dance school in nechells in the 1800s that taught her to dance and she then inturned but my mother into dance school like my mother done with my oldest brothere whom started in enidfs operry barr astonian
 
That's lovely Astonian. Ballroom dancing was a very specific art as I remember. I did bronze and silver IDMA medals when I was very young but then moved on to a tap and ballet school. It's nice to hear of your brother and his wife having lots of success in competitions. I wish I'd stuck at it now. Funny thing is though I can't remember one step of those dances. I suppose that's because of lack of practice. But I do have very fond memories of Enid Goodwin's school. Lots of glitter, waxy dance floor (the wax used to be stuck to your shoes after a session), nice frocks, orange juice in the interval (unfortunately nothing stronger! But I was far too young to drink anyway) ........ Happy days. Viv.
 
HI VIV
Thanks for your lovely reply yes it also keeps you fit we go dancing and we do line dancing but i can also manage a good walz around the floor
as you know they are usening chalk in most places and they used it at the big national competitions at the northbeck hotel
on there ball room where theyu hold the golden boot awards which we go every year to in black pool
and yes like you i keep to the orange juice whilst dancing especial#y the line dancing but i get bye on that
other wise like you but the line dancing its abit ventureous than the walz which i have no problems
take care best wishes Astonian
 
The place is still open and run by a friend of mine called Francis Dawson, she used to run The Broadway dance school on Broad st then when it was pulled down she bought this dance school, it is very popular and they win loads of comps
 
I always thought it was called Goodwin-Harding after it moved to Livingstone Road. In the early sixties a small group of us local lads used to go on the occasional Saturday night, but unfortunately I could never dance a step (and still can't). I remember there was a couple of hefty ladies who made sure you stayed on the floor and didn't spend your time chatting up the talent. We stopped going when one of us was refused admittance for being sloshed (true) - they were very strict about alcohol. I also remember a very tall man who I think was the Harding part of the set-up. I'm surprised to learn from Patty that it's still open.

Big Gee
 
Thanks Patty. I've looked on the google link (you have to work your way up the road on street view to reach the building) And hey presto, that's the very place! After all these years it's still there. The entrance is still the same with those window panels on either side of the doors. I could have sworn it was a bungalow, but maybe the back of the building is a single storey building? The school next door wasn't built when I used to go there. Many thanks. Viv
 
Yes the back is where the dance floor is the single building, the front reception and cloakrooms and stairs to the kitchen and attic
 
Ah that'll be it. Thanks Patty. Yes I remember changing into dance shoes and handing them in to a cloakroom on the right of the entrance doors. Presentation evenings were always glitzy. I was lucky to get a special dress for those. I suppose I would have been about 7 or 8 at the time. Still got the medals with my name on the back. The silver's rubbed off in places on the silver one though! Viv.
 
My wife and I went in 1969 so that we could dance the first dance at our wedding. Her mother , my mother in Law met her second husband there and won lots of medals. The Buddy Holly song "Brown eyed Handsome man" was our Quickstep music. Glad its still open.
 
Leonard hope you were step perfect for the big day! That's reminded me of a tradition at E G school. If it was your birthday, you had to dance the anniversary waltz with someone of the opposite sex in front of everyone. Usually this would be someone you fancied. The lights would be lowered, on went the mirror ball and off you'd go. To me as an 8 year old this was thrilling, but excruciating. Viv.
 
I started to learn ballroom at Nineveh Dance Studios and then moved on to Enid Goodwin and I can remember the kiss waltz as well. I used to go with my brother and his mates. It was a very different quick step they did there as to anywhere else I have been to, but I always remember learning and dancing it to Gary Bond's Quarter to Three.
 
Do you know Carolynn I thought the waltz ended with a kiss but thought maybe I'd imagined that (or maybe I was so traumatised that I've blocked it out!!). All good, clean fun. Viv.
 
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I remember this place so well, I started going with my late mother Evelyn Bailey in the late 60s/70s I have very fond memories of it, I met my first husband there, we had some great times at the dancing school, I always remember Enid being a very stern woman and still have memories of her shooing me away when I went up to get our cards signed!!
 
No problem I'll sort them out it must of been the first dancing dating agency lol I met my first husband there too !!
 
Would love to see some photos of EG's too. I remember the place had a great atmosphere. There was a slightly raised area/stage at the end of the dance room, with a glitzy backdrop where the teacher would stand and talk you through the steps on a microphone (was it Enid Goodwin herself in the very late 1950s/60s? Blond woman). And of course there was a big glitter ball hanging from the ceiling.There was also a hatch at the other end where you could get refreshments. And when you changed into your dance shoes I think you handed them in to the right of the entrance doors. Did I imagine it or were there decorative lights along the apex of the roof outside all year round? Viv.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Would love to see some photos of EG's too. I remember the place had a great atmosphere. There was a slightly raised area/stage at the end of the dance room, with a glitzy backdrop where the teacher would stand and talk you through the steps on a microphone (was it Enid Goodwin herself in the very late 1950s/60s? Blond woman). And of course there was a big glitter ball hanging from the ceiling.There was also a hatch at the other end where you could get refreshments. And when you changed into your dance shoes I think you handed them in to the right of the entrance doors. Did I imagine it or were there decorative lights along the apex of the roof outside all year round? Viv.
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Your right Viv it did have a great atmosphere, there was a raised stage as you walked in in the top right hand corner, it was Enid herself I remember her blond hair! There was a very small bar as you walked I'm to your left and they did have lights outside all year round
 
I went to Enid Goodwins on a Saturday lunchtime for a while - it was a class for children/ teenagers.
I can still remember the instructions to learning the quickstep - forward, side close side, step back, forward, cross and forward...! It's imprinted in my brain.
 
Hi,
Now that I have the attention of all you supreme dancers and Astaire wannabes, can anyone remember the name of a Dance School up town near the Law Courts? It was on the second floor of a building and was designed by some sadist who thought it would be funny to put a post in the middle of the floor. Many first timers, myself included, who were paying an unusual amount of attention to their feet would feel the full impact of the immovable pole. Sometimes, as luck would have it, they just drove their instructor partners into the pole and dodged personal injury. Wherever the school was, or whatever it was named, I was introduced to the fun and pleasure of ballroom dancing learning the fundamentals of the Quick Step, Waltz, Fox Trot, Tango and, the new dance at the time, Cha-Cha. Unfortuately, as my body and mental capacity to follow complex moves have slowely dwindled over the years, I now only do a Quick Step which I slow down if a Waltz is played and sit down for any other dance. I also have this funny habit of looking over my left shoulder for hidden obstructions. I wonder where that came from ????
 
Vivienne14 said:
Does anyone remember this dance school in Perry Barr? Can't remember the name of the road but I think it was not far from the Odeon cinema. Used to go there every Saturday in the late 50s/early 60s. It was, I think, a single story building like a bungalow. Pretty glitzy inside. Viv.
Click to expand...

Yes, I attended the Enid Goodwin Dance School very early seventies. I recollect it was located near to the Cinema mentioned. It was a large ground storey building.
I most likely drove to it so it was probably in Wilmore Road or Livingstone Rd. It was hidden beyond the two prominent high rise flats now recently flattened.

Hopefully, this is of some help.


Owl
 
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