Ribble Valley mayor to swap rugby field for ballroom

4:30pm Monday 17th November 2008

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A MAYOR who is the self-confessed ‘worst dancer in the world’ is leading a borough’s fitness drive by taking up ballroom dancing.

Coun John Hill, Mayor of Ribble Valley, will take to the floor in a ‘Strictly Come Ballr-oom’ session at Longridge Civic Hall at the end of the month.

And Ribble Valley residents are invited to join in during a series of free sports and leisure sessions to see how they can improve their fitness.

Coun Hill will be put through his paces by former European freestyle dance champion Lisa Garstang. He said: “I was scrum-half at Clitheroe Rugby Club for years and am the worst dancer in the world. I don’t have two left feet, I have three!

“I cannot get to grips with dancing, so much so that my wife refuses to dance with me, but I have always wanted to learn and the strictly come ballroom session is the ideal opportunity.”

Dance partner Lisa Garstang, proprietor of Burnley Dance Studio, said: “He will be gliding across the dance floor by the end of the session.

“Everyone can dance, even rugby players. Just ask Austin Healey, who is blazing a trail in Strictly Come Dancing!”

The mayor’s dancing debut will be on November 29 from 3pm to 3.45pm. Residents can enjoy free sporting taster sessions from 9am to 8.45pm.

The exercise sessions, dubbed Activathon by the council, will include aerobics, judo, yoga, circuit training, women’s self-defence, salsa, strictly come ballroom and a tea dance.

Free taster sessions will also take place at Longridge Sports Centre in Tang Soo Do and hockey on December 2 and women’s football and senior badminton on December 4.

The sessions are organised by the Ribble Valley Sport and Physical Activity Alliance, coordinated by Ribble Valley Council. The council said it wanted to improve sports and leisure opportunities for its residents, particul-arly among the under 16s and over 45s, women, the disabled, ethnic minorities and rurally isolated people.