Principle – Carol:
I started dancing in 1950 and ballet soon became everything to me, I also trained in tap and acrobatics and, as I got older, ballroom and Latin American followed, but ballet was my passion. I passed my scholarship to go to ballet school and eagerly awaited the hard work I knew I’d have to do. Unfortunately, before I got there an accident happened and a back injury prevented ballet ever being a career. About a year later my family moved from London to Southampton. I gave up the idea of being a dancer professionally and worked, met my husband and had children, but I only had to hear a good piece of music and my feet still wanted to dance.

Life can work in strange ways sometimes and this is where a bit about my youngest daughter, Lisa, comes into the history. At the age of four she had an accident that resulted in a leg muscle needing a lot of physio to strengthen it. My first thought was dancing and she joined the local pantomime company who used children for the chorus tap dancing. It was agony to go with her and keep still, I so wanted to get up there too but it was only for children. After a while, just through chatting, the Principal realised I knew as much as herself and she asked if I was prepared to show some adults who’d shown interest what I knew just for fun. I didn’t hesitate.

Lisa quickly showed she loved the ‘stage’ life too, in her very first season she stepped in to an acting role as a skeleton when a ‘big brave’ boy backed out! The Principal was pleased and asked if she’d like to do something in the following pantomime, which she did, so I took her along to rehearsals. This is where a whole new world opened up for me. I always took part in the drama productions at school when growing up but pantomime was new to me and such fun. Two days before the next production was taking place the Principal Boy had to drop out and there was no one to take her place. Because I’d attended rehearsals I was asked if I’d try to do the smaller Principal Girls role if the Principal changed from the girl to step in as the boy. Rather than it all be cancelled I said I’d try. Apart from completely freezing on my first line until prompted, all went well and I was hooked!

In the following production I had a small role and a song when someone chickened out and Lisa by now had extra bits to do besides her dancing. The adult ladies I was teaching were enjoying their hobby as a keep fit exercise. For personal reasons the Principal announced next years production was to be her last. There were a lot of disappointed people. Because I had the separate fun adult class, which had now grown, suggestions were made that I could do the children’s classes as well. I wasn’t too sure about this turn of events but after talking to all the mums I said I’d give it a go for just one more year. That was 1979! NSD&D was born!

I’m sure if video was around for our first show I wouldn’t have continued, but everyone enjoyed it and the adults who’d only been learning for fun were involved too. I enjoyed writing at school and gave writing a favourite pantomime of mine, Dick Whittington, a go. It was a huge success and the idea of only doing a year was forgotten, I loved it and ideas just flowed.

I have to stress at this point, none of the shows or pantomimes I’ve produced could have been done without the support of my husband and two children. They were, and still are, my inspiration for just being.

As a group all pupils discussed how things were going to be run if the school was to flourish and rules were set out. The formation of the school was not by any means a financial venture, I wanted any child or adult who ‘wanted to give dancing a go’ the chance to learn at a reasonable cost and subscriptions were, and still are, kept as low as possible. The main aim has always been to help people of all ages pull together and as I still have a lot of my original group, plus children and grandchildren of original members, we must be doing something right. It is because we want to keep the good atmosphere that I have never wanted to make the school a ‘job’. We’re self supporting and all helpers are volunteers.

With the closure of our Town Hall some years ago it became too hard to continue with a yearly big pantomime. We have scaled these down to our practise hall and actually most of us enjoy the intimate audiences more.

As my youngest daughter grew up and developed a love of the stage to match my own she took her dancing exams and started to help me and now does most of the choreography.