ADS Ballarat DanceSport Festival
Marge Welsh
This event came into existence 25 years ago when two members of the ADS Victorian Executive travelled to Ballarat and met with Marge Welsh over coffee to discuss the viability of running a dance event in Ballarat. Marge and her husband Jim (who had passed away some time before) were originally from England and were protégés of Mickey Powell. Mickey had encouraged them to open a dance studio in a regional area and so the highly successful Jim Welsh Dance Studio was created.
The first Ballarat Festival, despite all odds, was held at the old Civic Hall, organisers were Bruce Saunders and Fay Studd. Since then the event has not looked back and has become a firm favourite with the locals, as it is their once a year opportunity to see competitive dancing.
Sadly, Marge Welsh has now passed away. She was a lovely lady who brought a lot of joy and self-esteem to many, many young people around Ballarat. Marge’s perpetual trophy will be presented at this year’s event to the winners of the Adult Open Standard, a style in which she and Jim excelled, having been past winners of the Australian Championship.
The ADS Ballarat DanceSport Festival will be held on Saturday 28 March at the Mars Minerdome Wendouree. The organiser, Shane Lawton, can be contacted on 0423 051 324.
