Ballroom couple waltz their way to national title victory

The hard work has paid off for a couple from Pulham St Mary who have won a major amateur dancing competition in Blackpool.

In what is one of the highlights of the dancing calendar, Jane Corby, who works as the PA to the directors at Jarrold, and her husband David, a science teacher at Lynn Grove High School, won the over 35 UK Pre-Amateur Ballroom title in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.

The competition, also known as the Champions of Tomorrow, is entered by competitors from across the country – the over 35 category contained 47 couples.

Mrs Corby, 48, said: 'To win at Blackpool was such a magical event. That's where all the major competitions are held. We were hoping to get to the final and to win is quite a difficult task and it was just fantastic.

'Following on from this win, David and I will now go on to dance in events known as Senior One. These are the top events in the country for our age group and we plan to work our way up to the top in this category.'

Mrs Corby comes from a ballroom background. Her parents danced together and even appeared on Come Dancing. But Mr Corby, has only been dancing for eight years.

She said: 'My parents were very influential on my dancing. My father taught me to ballroom dance when I was seven years old.

'My parents competed as amateurs for many years and when my mother died, I then went on to compete with my father.

'It's quite amazing we won this competition. To lead a dance is really difficult and it was a real achievement for David to win this title.'

The couple, who practice for two hours three times a week and attend dance lessons at the Lait Dance School in Ipswich two to three times a week, spend most Sundays competing in competitions around the country and are now planning their next title wins.

Have you got a hobby that has brought you success? Email rebecca.murphy@archant.co.uk