Dancing Through The Generations with Keith and Judy Clifton! – Part 1

One of the most popular interview requests from listeners and Kevin’s followers on social media, has been this week’s very special guests: Keith and Judy Clifton!

As well as having raised Kevin and his sister Joanne to become two of the nation’s most recognised and well-loved dancers, Keith and Judy are legends in their own right, having conquered the world of Latin American dance as champions, and having founded a highly influential and well-respected dance school, The Clifton Dance Academy.

It’s a family affair this week then, as Keith and Judy talk about their own careers in the world of dance, their own love story (and maybe even spill the beans slightly on Kevin’s upbringing…) in this first part of a conversation between the dazzling Clifton family!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Keith and Judy were the World Number One Latin American dancers, as well as UK and international champions. Since then, they have become famous in Grimsby as the founders and instructors at Clifton Dance Academy. 

• It’s a strange paradox that in front of an audience, Kevin finds it easier to become an extrovert, but in a smaller group of people, introversion suddenly takes over. This is a quality that Kevin shares with his mother, Judy. 

• There is a safety in performing on stage. Even those who find personal interactions difficult, find that they are suddenly able to express themselves. There seems to be a mental barrier that is impregnable between the stage and the audience. 

• Dance gave Keith huge amounts of confidence. Whereas his fellow teens and friends were still shy and finding out about themselves and their personalities, Keith had levels of confidence that were allowing him to express himself more openly. 

• Nowadays Joanne is far more competitive than Kevin, whereas in days gone by, it would have been Kevin who was more into the competition side of dancing. 

• Keith, similarly, has found the competitive side of his life is less interesting to him these days. It’s far more important to enjoy each moment than ensure that he is somehow doing better than someone else. 

• Ballroom dancing is a strange form of competition. As an art form, Kevin finds it difficult to understand how one performance can be judged against another. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘You showed me Agadoo!’ 

’So I could potentially be a cross between Geronimo and Jack The Ripper?’ 

‘I wore some velvet bell-bottom trousers’ 

‘It must be love!’ 

‘You’re too tall - no you’re too short’ 

‘Dancing is an art, not a sport’  

ABOUT THE HOST

Kevin Clifton is a professional dancer who has been performing & competing at the highest level for over a decade. Kevin has worked on shows like 'Burn the floor' & 'Rock of Ages' to 'Strictly Come Dancing' one of the biggest TV shows in the UK which Kevin won in 2018. 

 

CONTACT METHOD

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