South Shields dance teacher to hold reunion for pupils past and present

A South Shields dance teacher who has seen generation of pupils pass through her classes is hoping to reunite pupils past and present at a special event in the town.
Dance teacher Viv Needham.Dance teacher Viv Needham.
Dance teacher Viv Needham.

Viv Needham, 70, who runs Viv Needham School of Dance is holding a reunion for students she has taught at her school and at the Jean Heilbron school over the years.

The event is set to take place at Sutton Hall in South Shields on Saturday, March 31, from 7pm onwards.

Dance teacher Viv Needham.Dance teacher Viv Needham.
Dance teacher Viv Needham.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Everyone who has passed through either school while Mrs Needham was teaching over the years are welcome to come along.

Mrs Needham - formerly Noble- started dancing aged three, along with her youngster sister Jennifer.

She teaches Latin American; Modern Ballroom; Modern Sequence and Tap and Stage.

In the past she has also taught keep fit.

Dance teacher Viv Needham.Dance teacher Viv Needham.
Dance teacher Viv Needham.

Her classes are taught at Harton Methodist Church and at Sutton Hall in South Shields each week.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “I left school at 15 and went to work for dance teacher Jean Heilbron in South Shields and worked there for 30 years until she died aged 86 in 1995.

“I then went on to set up my own school in 1996 which has been going for 22 years.

“In that time I have taught thousands of pupils and even taught ballroom at Plessey factory and keep fit at Deans Hospital.”

Dance teacher Viv Needham.Dance teacher Viv Needham.
Dance teacher Viv Needham.

She added: “I have taught three generations of families and have a couple of members of staff who have been with me for years.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Viv’s school teaches dance to children as young at three, with her eldest pupil being in her 80s.

She has been teaching for more than 50 years and said that dance has been her life long passion and since TV show Strictly Come Dancing took off she believes she has seen an increase of students take up ballroom.

She added: “It is a life long passion, there was never anything else that I wanted to do.

Dance teacher Viv Needham.Dance teacher Viv Needham.
Dance teacher Viv Needham.

“Since Strictly I have seen a lot more people coming in and being interested in ballroom, although people expect to be able to dance like that straight away!

“I think it is lovely that shows like that have helped increase it’s popularity, it has been good for business.

“I would love to see a good turn out for the reunion.”