* THESE DANCE NIGHTS HAVE SINCE BEEN CANCELLED*

Seventy-nine-year-old Paul Barton is inviting seniors and more to join his Tuesday night ballroom classes in Eccles.

Open on Tuesdays from 8pm to 10:30pm at Eccles Town Hall, Paul encourages all ages to come down.

Paul added: “A lot of people are nervous when they first dance, I know I was. Some just want to be sociable one or two people on a table or just float around. But there’s no need to be intimidated because it’s such a friendly environment.

“So, come in for a bit and watch the demo. There are many here.”

“One of the reasons I started this was because I knew it will keep me fit,” said Paul. “The people that come here are a lot older than you think. But they look better because it is a pleasure and it keeps them fit.”

Paul Barton, Host of Eccles Ballroom Dance Nights.

Paul often reminisces on his love for Ballroom, he added: “I found a lady I could dance with who could teach me by letting me dance with her and I leant by watching other men and what they do with their feet.”

Even with the pressure of funding to keep the Town Hall open, Paul expresses his reasons to continue his Ballroom dance nights.

“If you sit in a chair all day and you’re old, you just feel down. But this is like community socializing for mental and physical health. I’ve made lifetime friends because of this.”

With a mix of Fox-Trot, Line Dancing and more, two friends and dance partners Allan and Anne also recent Tuesday night goers share their love for Ballroom and Sequence dance.

Ballroom dance partners, Allen and Anne.

Alan says, “I like dancing. COVID put a stop to us dancing. It feels good to get back into this now because in a way this is exercise, you are moving your body but you’ve got to try and remember the steps!”

Anne hopes that the dance night still continues because “it’s good for you mentally and also because I have an amazing dance partner.”

Eccles Town Hall is located next to Eccles Metro link- Church Street, M30 0LH.

For more information visit here

4 Comments

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *