The Alice Fund

At the age of eight, and from the first day we met at dance class, we’d become best friends.  Even after finding partners and competing against each other in competitions, that friendship never faltered.  Any rivalry was always tempered with good humour and affection.

Graduating from the under-twelves to the under-sixteen competitions was exciting but that was when everything suddenly changed so dramatically.  Owning just two ballroom dresses was no longer sufficient.  Likewise, the matching satin shoes.  And it soon became apparent that, to compete at a higher level, a weekly lesson with our local dance teacher wouldn’t suffice.  Success would come at a cost.

I was lucky to have parents who were able to support me financially.  But Alice wasn’t so lucky.  Within weeks, she lost her partner to another girl and her dancing days were over.  It was so unfair.

Michael, my partner, stressed I shouldn’t dwell on it.  “You don’t know,” he reasoned, “if Alice would ever have made it to the top.”

“And neither does she,” I argued.  “But she deserved the chance to find out.”

As much as I missed Alice, there was little time to think about anyone or anything else as dancing consumed my life.  It became my world, even when the sheer pleasure of it was denied by the punishing hours of training.  But the training paid off when we reached the pinnacle of our junior dancing career… International Junior Dance Champions.

Over the years, success followed success, as we progressed to Amateur and finally Professional Dance Champions.  And when retirement beckoned, I opened my own dancing school.

And that was when I acknowledged something I’d always been harbouring… a wish that I could have done more for Alice.  It hadn’t been possible to help my friend, but now I had the opportunity to help others like her.

My status in the dance world attracted students more than willing to pay top price for private lessons, empowering me to start a fund.  A fund for less fortunate dancers who showed promise, enabling them to reach their full potential… the Alice Fund.