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The LATIN AMeRICAN FACuLTy

Latin American dancing was first brought

to the UK in the 1930s by Pierre Jean

Phillipe Zurcher-Margolle (known

professionally as ‘Pierre’), but it wasn’t until

1947 that a section of the Ballroom Branch of

the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing

(ISTD) was formed under the name of Latin

and American Dancing. The committee,

chaired by the renowned Pierre, created the

first Latin American syllabus consisting of

Cuban Ballroom Rumba, Brazilian Samba,

Spanish Paso Doble and American Swing

(Jive). All of these dances were based on the

national rhythms of the countries in which

they originated. The syllabus included ‘crush’

versions of each dance. This was deemed

necessary as due to the popularity of the style

in the venues where Latin American music was

played they were notoriously crowded, hence

‘crush’ style. The demand for examinations

had to be met by the only three examiners

employed at this early stage: Pierre, Doris

Lavelle (who had been his dance partner since

the early 1930s) and Doris Nichols.

In 1951, approval was given for the

transformation of the Latin American section

into a Branch of the ISTD. The existing

committee at the time of Chairman Doris

Established in 1904 the Imperial Society of Teachers

of Dancing (ISTD) is one of the world’s oldest and

most influential dance examination boards. Ever since

its inception the ISTD has developed new styles and

dance genres, and today with 12 faculties, no other

dance examination board has the breadth of genres

that the ISTD offers.

Our mission is to educate the public in the art of

dancing in all its forms, to promote the knowledge

of dance, to provide up-to-date techniques, and to

maintain and improve teaching standards across the

globe. The ISTD is always moving with the times to

keep pace with the latest developments in dance.

We regularly update our syllabi and introduce new

faculties to respond to changes in the world of dance.

Above: Pierre, a pioneer in Latin

American dance development and

Chairman of the Latin Branch of the

ISTD since its foundation in 1951 until

his death in 1963

Above left: Doris Lavelle, Pierre’s dance

partner and one of the first three Latin

American dance examiners employed

by the ISTD (along with Pierre and

Doris Nichols)

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Nichols, Constance Grant, Dimitri Petrides, Gwenethe Walshe

and Harry Tucker remained in office and were joined by Pierre,

Doris Lavelle and Holdora Mac.

In 1963, Pierre and the Latin American Branch committee

were honoured by the Official Board of Ballroom Dancing

when they were asked to describe the official technique of Latin

American dancing for a published textbook. This technique

would then be the one adopted by all societies on the Board.

Pierre was to be the recipient of the 1962 Imperial Award, a

unanimous decision of Council, for his unique contribution to

the technique and development of Latin American dancing. The

Award was to be presented to him at a luncheon at Quaglino’s

restaurant, London on 3rd April 1963 but sadly Pierre passed

away just a week before the event. His colleague and partner,

Doris Lavelle, accepted the Award in his memory and the

Pierre Trophy was purchased for the Branch as a memorial.

The inscription on the trophy begins with: ‘Commemorating

his pioneer work as exponent and teacher in introducing Latin

American dancing into Great Britain’.

Circa 1972, a sub-committee of the Latin American Branch,

comprising Doris Nichols, Doris Lavelle, Peggy Spencer,

Elizabeth Romain, Dimitri Petrides and Sydney Francis, had

been meeting at ISTD Headquarters every week to work on

revisions to the Latin American technique. The long awaited

book of the complete revised technique was completed by 1974

and was subsequently adopted by ADTV (trans. General German

Dance Teachers Association), the supreme examining body of

Germany and was also translated into Japanese for use in the

Far East. Peggy Spencer became the third Chairman following

the retirement of Doris Nichols and served until 1999 when

Elizabeth Romain took over.

The performance presentation of Latin American dance

has moved with contemporary cultural trends. For example,

since the 1980s, the music has slowed down and costumes are

constantly changing in line with fashion. In the 1970s it was

very popular for men to wear catsuits but nowadays they wear

more subdued and casual separate tops and trousers to aid their

movement. For the ladies’ costumes, fringing was popular in the

1980s, then went out of fashion and has now returned. Penny

discs were fashionable in the 1970s, along with ruffles, which

likewise have now returned to style. Feathers and sequins have

been popular or otherwise but nowadays it is more common

to wear diamantes. Hairstyles for the ladies were very ‘large’ in

the 1960s and 1970s, with beehives and pleats, but nowadays

most Latin hairstyles are very slick: in a bun, ponytail or very

smart short or ‘bob’ cut. Recently, Strictly Come Dancing on the

BBC has enhanced the popularity of Latin American dancing,

especially with adults.

In 2001, the Latin American Faculty completed the new

technique in all five dances: Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Cha

Cha Cha and Jive. Faculty committee members held seminars

around the country to explain the new work to members and

students. Lorna Lee served for many years as the fifth Chairman

and now Julie Tomkins takes on that role. She serves on the

committee together with Vice Chair Graham Oswick, Simon

Cruwys, Janet Clark, Matthew Cutler and Jeffrey Dobinson. All

of these, through the Latin American Faculty, look to serve the

members and uphold the principles and high standards of the

Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing.

Julie Tomkins

Above left: Doris Nichols, one of the

first three Latin American dance

examiners employed by the ISTD

Below: Peggy Spencer MBE, currently

serving ISTD President