Dance school celebrates 70 years and raises funds for charity

Clark School of Dance was opened by Irene Clark on 31 August 1954, and has trained hundreds of local dancers, from tiny tots to teenagers in a variety of dancing styles.

Now run by Irene’s daughter Karen Taylor, the Carr Grange based studio put on a celebratory showcase to mark the special occasion at Wilby Carr Community Centre, joined by families, friends and past pupils, and used the event to help raise funds for St John’s Hospice in Balby.

Karen said: “It was such a fantastic event, and so lovely to see so many pupils take to the stage one more time to perform a tap-dancing time step!

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to our wonderful teaching staff, parents and families for supporting us over the years – and of course all our wonderful family of dancers who have played such an important role over the past 70 years – this has always been a real team effort!”

St John’s Hospice Fundraiser Tracey Gaughan said: “Clark School of Dance is well known throughout Doncaster for encouraging young dancers to flourish, and we greatly appreciate their support of our charity.

“They have supported us in a number of ways over the years in memory of Irene, and we are very grateful to everyone involved for raising such a fantastic sum of money, which will go towards helping local patients and families both in our hospice and in the community.”

St John’s Hospice is run by Rotherham Doncaster & South Humber NHS Trust (RDaSH).

For more information on how to support St John’s Hospice, please visit: www.stjohnshospicedoncaster.co.uk