Last waltz for Billingtons

Dennis and Brenda Massey in practice for tomorrow’s finale.

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IT’S the end of an era for Billingtons Dance Academy as it prepares to hold its last dance before closing the doors.

The Ascroft Street dance studio has seen generations of Oldhamers glide and sway, twist and turn, under the expert tuition of various owners.

From guiding those who first set foot on the dance-floor to helping dancers perfect tricky manoeuvres at competition level, Billingtons has nurtured the passion for dance in Oldham for more than eight decades.

The last dance comes tomorrow and will be a sad farewell for many wohave fond memories of the place.

Famed for ballroom dancing, with a history stretching back 82 years, Billingtons was the catalyst for many marriages that have weathered the test of time. Many times, couples celebrating their golden or diamond wedding anniversaries have told Chronicle reporters how they met during dances at Billingtons.

As time and fashions changed, lessons widened to offer not only ballroom and Latin American styles but many others too, from salsa to nostalgic old-time sequence dancing.

Nora and Albert Billington put their name to the school in 1934 and handed over almost 46 years ago to Moorside couple Dennis and Brenda Massey.

Dennis recalled: “The Billingtons took it over from Turners. I don’t know how long it had been a dance school before that, but it’s certainly the end of an era now.”

The pair have decided to retire after what Dennis calls: “a life of pleasure.”

He said: “We were pupils at Billingtons and Nora asked us to help out when her husband, brother, and one of her top teachers all died within months of each other.

We helped, but then had to give up teaching because we were spending so much time competing.

“In 1979 we bought the business but kept the name - everyone knew it.”

Mrs Billington continued to help out occasionally as a dancing teacher after she stepped aside for the Masseys. She was awarded the MBE for services to dancing in 2000, and died seven years later at the age of 98.

Dennis added: “We didn’t aim to teach but it has been a real pleasure. Pupils have been coming to us for up to 40 years. It’s like a family.”

Tomorrow they will get together at Billingtons for a farewell social dance: “We wish our pupils all the best for the future,” he said. “We hope they carry on dancing and find a place to dance like they had with us.

“We’ve enjoyed our time here, and though we have always taken the dancing seriously, we had all had some good laughs.”

Two years ago Dennis was awarded an Exceptional Long Service Award to mark more than 45 years as a member of the International Dance Teachers Association.

Foxtrot down memory lane: the Chronicle would love to hear from anyone who wants to share special memories or photographs from Billingtons. Email news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk or ring 0161-622 2118.