1963 - 2003
The following appeared in the programme for "The Slipper and the Crown" which was performed at the Princes Hall, Aldershot on Sunday 25 May 2003 to celebrate 40years of teaching.
"YOU'LL NEVER MAKE A LIVING AT IT"
So said my
dad back in 1960 when all I ever wanted to do was teach dance. He made me learn
shorthand and typing just in case (I hated it, but 1 guess they have come in
useful).
However, 1 was a stubborn teenager and didn't listen (things were no different
then!). I had been dancing since the age of 4 in Ealing, West London and had
been student teaching at "The Sheila Frith School of Dance". I was hoping to
take my Teaching Diploma with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. After
I qualified, we moved to Fleet and I decided to go ahead with my plans for a
school.
The first classes were held at the W.I. hut in Crookham Village. 5 pupils
responded to an advert in the village post office. Since then the school has
branched out into Farnham and Fleet and over the years there have been hundreds
of girls (and a few boys) who have attended classes in tap, modern dance and
ballet. Most of
them come along to enjoy a
challenging hobby and meet their friends
-
but a number of them
have gone on to make a career on the stage, in television, or start their own
dance schools both in this area and all over the world (one even had a school in
Alaska)
Of course, this makes me very proud, and I'm especially touched that they still
let me know how they are and also, that so many have taken the time to be with
us today. The nicest compliment is when ex
-
pupils bring
their own daughters along saying, " I enjoyed it so much, I wanted her to have
the same chance". However, it's the shows they remember more than anything and I
hope the girls who are dancing today will have the same happy memories.
In these days when "a job for life" is a rarity, I feel privileged to have been
able to do a job I love for 40 years....................... When the school
reached it's 20th year, my dad grudgingly admitted that he may have been
wrong. God bless you dad.
Carrie Gilmour
The Cast of 
GILMOUR SCHOOL of DANCING provide the following classes:
Classes are held in Fleet and Crookham
Phone 01252 543865 for full details & prices