L&Q dance competition winner ‘on cloud nine’ after victory
A line-dancing grandmother-of-14 is “on cloud nine” after winning a dance competition.
Lesley Jordan, 71, performed a stunning routine to Country Roads, and joked that her win was “something to tell the grandkids about.”
Lesley lives at Elwick Court in Crayford, Bexley, run by housing association L&Q, who hosted the dance competition at the Old Town Hall in Stratford.
Lesley said: “When I found out I had won, I could have cried. I was on cloud nine. I got a lovely trophy with a star on the top and I’ve taken it to every dance class I’ve been to since. It just goes to show, it doesn’t matter what age you are, if you want to do something you can do it.”
Lesley has line danced for 26 years after getting her first taste of it during a country music weekend.
She said that she chose the song Country Roads because it was a favourite of her youngest grandchild.
Leslie, who has a son and three daughters, said: “It’s a bit of a family song, one of my grandsons had it playing in the car when we were driving to Holland for a holiday, and because he’s autistic it had to be on over and over, so we were singing it all holiday.
“I’ve got 12 grandsons - my own football team - two granddaughters and one great granddaughter. I’m 71 so I can still enjoy them all, I’ve always been hands on with school runs and babysitting, and I’ve managed to fit my dancing in as well. I do classes about four times a week and go to live socials too.”
Lesley said she hopes that her win will encourage people of all ages to take up dancing.
She said: “It’s such good exercise, not just for your body but for your mind as well because you have to remember the steps. Then there’s the social side, you have weekends away and everyone’s friendly. The ability level for beginners, especially with line dancing, is so easy and it really is good fun.”
She joked that her win had been “something to tell the grandkids about”, adding, “There are a few dances that I teach them. I was showing one of them how to dance to Staying Alive, and then they all wanted to do it. Whenever we go somewhere with a disco and it comes on, we all start dancing to it.”
The dance competition was held by L&Q Living, L&Q’s care and support arm, in partnership with DanceWest, who have been providing lessons to residents.
Charlie Culshaw, Director of Care and Support at L&Q Living, said:
“The competition was an absolutely fantastic day for everyone involved. It was a real pleasure to watch the dancers and see how much fun they was having. Lesley was a very deserving winner, but we are so proud of all the contestants.
“Dancing has so many physical and mental benefits and it is wonderful to watch the effect it has on our residents.”