Celia Gaze, 53, wasn’t about to let two left feet get in the way of her Strictly dream
WORDS: SARAH WHITELEY
My brow furrowed as I concentrated on moving my feet. ‘One, two, step,’ I muttered to myself. ‘Excuse me,’ a voice suddenly said, interrupting me. As I looked up, the woman in front of me with her trolley was grinning. ‘Can I just squeeze past you?’ Blushing, I gave her a smile, then stepped to one side. I’d done it again – found myself dancing down the aisles in the supermarket!
It was February 2023 and I’d signed up to Bolton Hospice’s Strictly Learn to Dance competition. Now I was in the midst of lessons and it was taking over my life – in the best possible way.
NEW INSPIRATION
Like most little girls, I’d gone to ballet and tap lessons but quit when it became obvious that I had two left feet. It was only when I fell in love with Strictly Come Dancing as an adult, with its glittery costumes and impressive routines, that my interest was piqued again. And when I watched Dragons’ Den’s Sara Davies, a curvy entrepreneur like me, I was inspired.
‘I’m going to learn to dance,’ I told my partner, Stephen, 55. The hospice’s fundraising event – 12 weeks of lessons, finishing with a grand finale in front of a live audience of 750 people – was well known in our local area, so I signed up. In my 50s, and not having danced since I was a kid, it was a huge step outside my comfort zone, but I wanted to challenge myself.
There was no way I could persuade Stephen to join me, so in January this year, I went to my first lesson to meet my partner. I was paired with a Liverpudlian man called John. ‘I’m Celia,’ I introduced myself. ‘And I have to warn you, I can’t dance at all.’
‘Neither can I,’ he replied. ‘Sounds like we’ll be perfect partners!’ Over the next few weeks, we laughed our way through lessons. We had four dances to learn – the opening
