14/06/2025
In July 2027 the beautiful ballroom will be 100 years old. I am a Westonian who first danced at the Winter Gardens around 1958, although I did not meet ballroom dancing for another 55 years! As a celebration of the centenary, I am researching for a book to be called ‘A People’s History of 100 years of Ballroom dancing at Weston Winter Gardens’. Of course, the building has hosted many events as an entertainment space over this centenary but this book will focus on celebrating 100 years of ballroom dancing (including: ballroom, latin & sequence, social and competitive, special events, balls and festivals) in the Winter Gardens Pavilion.
Through this book I hope to pay tribute to:
1. The many people who have danced there over these years and the memories they, their parents and / or grand-parents have shared, both through social ballroom dancers and competitors, in the many events, including special balls and festivals, held there.
2. Those who have facilitated the 100-year legacy of ballroom dancing, that is, local teachers who gave us the skills, and music hosts who bring the joy of music to our dances.
3. The custodians, currently Weston College, who care for one of the most beautiful ballrooms in the country. The ballroom has a long and interesting history, for example, it survived the war and became home to the BBC during those years. It retains its place as one of the most iconic landmarks in Weston and has sustained dancing, albeit with its ups and downs, for 100 years.
So – can you help?
If you would like to share your own memories, or those of your parents, or grandparents, I would be very grateful. I expect to be inundated so cannot promise to use everything I receive but I will do my best. Are you willing / able to share photographs, memorabilia such as programmes, newspaper cuttings, anything related to ballroom dance at the Winter Gardens? (Everything must be labelled with names, your home town, and dates, if possible. Let me know if you want anything returned because everything that is donated to the research will be offered to the Somerset Heritage Centre archives when the book is finished). I am also using the archives of this centre for my research and social media sites; local historians have been very helpful. It will be most challenging to trace back to the opening on July 14th 1927 and those early decades but it appears to be something of a hey day period of big band dances in a flourishing seaside resort. Let’s celebrate all of this with this lasting tribute to 100 years of ballroom dancing at Weston Winter Gardens.
