History

Kingston Ice Dance Club (formerly Humberside Ice Dance Club) was formed in the late 1980s by Elizabeth Gibbs and a dedicated group of skaters to promote ice dancing in the Humberside region. The club’s first meeting was in the form of an Ice Dance Social, which was very unusual at the time. The success of this event led to the formation of the club in March 1990. Ice Dance Socials are now common at Dance clubs across the country and it all started in Hull in December 1989! The club is also fortunate to have Lawrence Demmi, the former British and World Ice Dance Champion, as club president.

The club meets on a weekly basis for social dancing and the membership age ranges from 7 to 70! When the club started it had 112 members and five of those original members still skate regularly today. Everyone at the club is encouraged to try new dances and learn new skills, with senior members assisting beginners to pick up the basics. The dances played at the club range from the Prelim Foxtrot up to the Cha Cha Congelado, so there is always something to test even the most experienced skater. There is currently no ice dance coach at the Hull Arena but a number of members take an ‘Edges’ class run by the figure coaches.

The lack of a Dance Coach has not held the club back though; Kingston competed in their first NRIDL (Northern Recreational Ice Dance League) competition in 1999. The club has been very successful over the years and has won the ‘Overall Points’ trophy 7 times and the ‘Skating Points’ trophy 6 times since 2000. Kingston also always sends skaters to compete in the National RIDL finals. Not satisfied with this, club members also compete in other national competitions. Donna Roberts and Andrew Hudson were British Adult Champions, Advanced Category Couples Dance, in 2004 and won silver in 2006. This competition involves skating two of the Level 7 and above compulsory dances and a 2.5 minute free dance. Donna Roberts and Chris Lawes also won the Mercian Recreational Shield in 2007, and these are just the highlights of recent years!

Travelling for tuition has become rather a feature of the club and also leads to another excuse for socialising, making new friends and meeting up with old ones. Club members regularly travel to Sheffield for coaching and attend dance workshops all over the country. Being such a friendly club, members have also taken to holidaying together and now you can go on ‘Ice Dance Holidays’ all over the world. Kingston club members have visited Andorra, Germany and Slovenia in search of a relaxing holiday with an edge!

The club’s original social background remains strong with the club hosting a range of events throughout the year, including Easter and Christmas Dance Socials, a Christmas party and its leg of the RIDL competition. Club members also take an annual skiing holiday with ice dancing friends from other clubs and members of the ‘Kingston Cobras’, the recreational ice hockey team also based at the Hull Arena.

So, if you are interested in Ice Dancing, making lots of great new friends and live in the Hull or the East Riding of Yorkshire region why not come down to Hull Ice Arena on Tuesdays at 8.15pm. Kingston Ice Dance Club would love to meet you!!