20 years in the business for Surrey dance specialists

Emma Harris of Surrey's First Dance shares her fondest memory marking twenty years in business...

“How did it start? Well what seems like an age ago now in 1999, some friends of mine were getting married and one night they asked me, 'Emma could you make up something for our First Dance?' I was a dancer at the time so perhaps not that strange a request but still a little odd I thought,” explains Emma.

“So we met up in their kitchen, opened a bottle of red wine and I choreographed something to the beautiful John Denver piece Annie's Song. A waltz if you will.

“A few weeks later at the wedding, they performed their dance and the guests went mad! In a good way. Hmm…there might be something here! I thought. And so it began...

“I started doing first dances for friends, friends of friends and then finally I set it up as a business in 2004 and we have been going from strength to strength from there. I have had lovely teachers along the way (my sister Katie being one of the main teachers) and I can hand on my heart say that I have taught absolutely lovely couples. Not one pair of rotters at all!

“We've taught thousands of couples now, some mainstream, good ol' fashioned traditional routines, some a bit quirky, some abroad, some Christmassy, some a medley with bridesmaids and groomsmen, some for the 2nd time around (I'm not kidding!) and some that have become my best friends - one groom is now in fact my youngest son's godfather!

“I have had a ball, have loved every single minute of teaching and here's to the next 20 years!”

Check out www.firstdance.co.uk