Sassy dance duo mark 20 years
Dance brought them together nearly three decades ago, and now Judy and Les Remnant are celebrating a long stretch of helping others get their groove on in the Far North.
The couple started their sequence dance classes in Kerikeri when they shifted up north to retire 20 years ago. They began teaching at the Union Church - the former Countdown site - where they stayed for about 14 years before moving to the Waipapa Hall for another six years.
‘‘We’ve got six people that started with us,’’ Judy says. ‘‘They’re now in their 90s....and they’re the first on the floor.’’
The Remnant’s teach sequence dancing including the waltz, gypsy tap, foxtrot and latin.
The couple recently started classes at Oakridge Villas retirement village in Kerikeri, where classes run every Thursday from 7-9pm. They’re free and open to everyone.
The couple met at a singles dance in Wellington. ’’We started dancing and she said ‘you can dance’ and I said ‘so can you’,’’ Les says. ‘‘After that we used to go to all the dances in Lower Hutt. We got together and got married and have danced ever since.’’
In the good old days, people always used to meet at dances, Les says. ‘‘But today the young ones don’t want to learn but they don’t realise what they’re missing.’’
They both reckon it’s a great way of meeting people.
‘‘It gives you a chance of meeting someone new,’’ Les says. ‘‘There’s a hell of a lot of lonely people out there.’’
Got a heart-warming story? Email jenny.ling@fairfaxmedia.co.nz