Dancers urged to support local waltzing competition

Local dancing enthusiasts are being urged to dust off their dancing shoes for the final two heats of a new Social Old Time Waltzing Competition in memory of a midland dancing enthusiast in Athlone GAA centre on Sunday nights. The first two of the four heats for the John Burke Memorial Trophy have yielded good crowds with the grand final pencilled in for April 17 next featuring 16 competing couples. "The standard so far has been very good. There are lots of good waltzers," Anita Burke, who organised the contest in memory of her late husband, John, a well-known local dance enthusiast for many years. "People can still come and try and qualify even if they didn't get through in the last two weeks. Having said that, it's all a bit of fun and not too serious," she added. Dean Lane and Gracelands will provide the music at the next heat on April 3, which is also Mothers Day, with plenty of dancing in between the competitive action from 9.30pm to 12. Admission is just €10. Prospective entrants just need to turn out and register to compete. Two adjudicators from other counties will be charged with the task of picking the four entrants to go through each night. "It's a good night's entertainment. We'd love to see more local people coming along," Anita concluded.