Llysfaen dancer's British championship hopes

Aug 7 2008 by Richard Evans, North Wales Weekly News

Josh is in the groove

A DANCER from Llysfaen hopes to jive his way to a world title after being crowned a British champion.

Together with his dancing partner, Joshua Simonds, 19, attended a modern jive contest at Weston-super-Mare last month and came up trumps after being awarded two prestigious UK titles.

Cardiff business student Josh and his partner Danielle Moore from Bristol were crowned under-21 UK champions, but they impressed a panel of 12 judges made up of dance champions and experts so much that they not only won the award for less experienced dancers, but also the prestigious advanced category.

Now the former Ysgol Bryn Elian pupil, of Dolwen Road, hopes to go a step further and compete in another UK competition this winter and also has his eyes firmly fixed on the World Championships next spring.

“The judges gave us some really good feedback to work on to improve.”

Josh took up modern jive after attending an event at the Semaphore Lodge pub in Llysfaen while he was still at school three and a half years ago. After initially dancing with an older partner, Josh met Danielle at an event a short time ago and, at 18 years old, Josh feels Danielle is the perfect partner to develop with as a pair.

“Modern jive is very intense, you’ve got to put a lot of hours in,” he said. “Danielle and I bounce off each other, we complement each other. I’m really confident now. I love it and now I’ve got a partner the same age we both can learn and work together.”