Maureen Hughes - The Pocket Guide to Ballroom Dancing

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T here is nothing that can replace a family, and certainly no one who will give you that never-ending and unconditional love and devotion, and so to mine I want to say a big thank you. Thank you to all of you, for everything. I want to say sorry, too; sorry for not being there and for being so preoccupied for months on end in a way that I know only my fellow writers and their families of course! will understand. Its no excuse though, for I should have logged off my computer and logged on to all of your more important needs, because I love you all dearly.

To my friends too, who are not only consistent in their support, but helpful in so many ways; I want to say a special thank you to Jo for putting up with me for over fifty years, from childhood through to retirement. And thank you to Carol, who seems to know something about everything, which means that when there isnt a book on the subject then I just ask Carol! Finally, a big thanks to my agent, Hilary at Straight Line Management, who I know has spent so much time chasing up people on the phone for me when I needed to do an interview. Mind you, she is rather partial to a good chat! And a final thanks must go to her assistant, Charlotte, for putting up with all those mundane jobs.

When writing this series of books, I made it my policy to contact anyone about whom I had written (or their estates in the case of the deceased). I then gave each individual the opportunity to amend, add or omit anything he or she wished from their particular piece. I did this because I wanted each and every one to be happy with the way in which I had portrayed him or her. The majority were delighted to be given the opportunity to vet the text and in addition many went to great lengths to make it read exactly as they wished, and so to all of you I hope that you are indeed happy with the end result. I wasnt going to single anyone out here, but I must. I must say a huge thank you to the great and gracious Peggy Spencer, who went to so much trouble to ensure that I had all the information I needed, and to her daughter Helena too, who I know had a hand in helping out. What a wonderful lady Peggy Spencer is for she is still actively involved in the world of dance, despite being in her ninetieth year; what an inspiration to us all! Thanks too to the lovely June Rycroft for her help; another lady who dances on whilst many of her contemporaries have hung up their shoes to rest their feet.

Thank you, to Mike Cooper, who was a great help to me on the Sequence Dance section and was so fascinating in his enthusiasm, and Mike Chadwick, who clearly loves his native Blackpool as much as a dancer loves the Foxtrot. Thanks too, to John Leach from Dance News Ltd., and to Derek Young of the Theatre Dance Council International who both went out of their way to help me. A special thanks to Paul Michael Jones (affectionately known only as PM), who is also the son of Stephanie Jones, my illustrator, and who acted as intermediary between us for no other reason than a sons love for his mother, which clearly shone through. The Jones Family Stephanie, Steve and PM as experts in the dance world were also always on hand to answer my questions, for which I am grateful. And finally, thank you to Marcus Hilton, a gentleman who in the dance world has the label Mr Nice Guy and I soon learned why, for it was never too much trouble for him to help and advise, even when he was on the other side of the world!