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PANS PEOPLE
THE GIRLS WHO BRING GLAMOUR TO THE
SHOW!
Pan’s People – a handful of very dishy, very dolly dancing birds – are now a
household name. Thanks entirely to Top of the Pops.
For it’s the TV show which has been responsible for shooting the girls to the
top in their particular dancing field.
It’s Pan’s People who add the sex appeal to the show, with their intricate
and exhausting, yet exciting dance routines.
They’ve been dancing on the show for six years. They followed in the pretty
footsteps of the Go Jos, the first dance group to flit in and out of the TV
show. The Go Jos, who were run by Miss Jo Cook, danced regularly on the
programme for a couple of years.
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The Gojos
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Pan’s People first came together as six talented girl dancers, all determined
to set a new trend as an entirely “different” group. They had done a little
TV before, but mostly on the Continent.
Five were English, one American. The odd girl out was Felicity (she likes to
be called Flick) Colby, born in New York and originally trained as a ballet
dancer.
It was Flick who did most of the choreography. The group was always a pretty
close-knit unit, and they decided amongst themselves on the sort of work they
would tackle.
The group was made up of Flick, Ruth Pearson, Deedee Wilde, Louise Clarke,
Barbara (Babs) Lord, and Andrea (Andy) Rutherford.
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The Original
Pan’s People Line-Up
Back Row (Left to Right) :
Louise Clarke , Andy Rutherford, Ruth Pearson ,
Dee Dee Wilde , Babs Lord
Front Centre :
Flick
Colby
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When Andy left to have
a baby, last year, a new girl, Cherry Gillespie, came in to join the group.
Flick Colby quit the actual dance line-up a couple of years ago in order to
work solely as the group’s choreographer. She now spends most of her time
dreaming up new dance routines for the girls, and puts them through their
paces every week.
”We were always much more than a dance team. More of a group,” says Flick.
“Except that the girls don’t sing. They do what they’re best at – which is
dancing.”
”We were kinda like session musicians. We just got together because we all
liked dancing. We just wanted to go out and start leaping around. So we did.
And we’ve stuck together ever since.”
She describes their style of dancing as “kinda funky.”
”For a long time, dancers were treated as moving wallpaper. Now all that has
changed. Dancing has become an involved part of any TV show.”
”As a dance group, Pan’s People have always had ‘something to say’. And this,
I hope, shows in our dancing.”
The girls were all picked, says Flick, because they were good dancers, not
necessarily good lookers. Although good-looking girls obviously help any act
along.
But she admits: “The more they dance, the more sexy they are – to watch. But
Pan’s People have never been ‘teasers’. We’ve never tried the alluring
technique.”
There is, nevertheless, a great deal of sex which comes into the act when the
Pan’s are on stage. It’s there, in their dancing. And this is what makes them
so fascinating.
Flick came to Britain in 1966. Over the last few years, she has also been
involved as a choreographer, away from Pan’s People. She was the
choreographer on the musical “Catch My Soul” in London, and then later in
Paris. She has also worked on the Les Dawson series, “Sez Les”, for Yorkshire
TV.
Since she changed to become solely choreographer, she says, “My relationship
has changed tremendously with the girls.” But she has no trouble from the
girls when it comes to them learning a new dance routine. It’s all a matter
of practise, hard work, and more practise.
”I often receive letters from young girls who think it is very attractive to
be a dancer on TV. But I have to tell them, quite honestly, that it’s really
one hell of a hard slog,” says Flick. “It’s groovy. But hard work.”
The girls rehearse three days each week for the TV show. They do a new
routine in each programme, and work starts on Monday morning with Flick
“scripting” the dance routine. Then they have a costume fitting. And
rehearsals go on, right up to the dress run-through a few hours before the
final show.
”Chicks change tremendously from, say, the age of 18 to when they become 24
or 26. All this has got to be taken into consideration when you are working
with a group of girls,” says Flick. “All their varying personality changes
are reflected in their dancing. They often have a completely new attitude to
the job in the space of those half-dozen years or so.”
Why Pan’s People? the name is simply. “Pan is the name of the Patron of
dance,” explains Flick.
As well as appearing on Top of the Pops, Pan’s People have also appeared on
many other TV shows, including the Cilla Black series, the Bobbie Gentry
shows, the Frankie Howard shows, and the Georgie Fame / Alan Price show “The
Price of Fame”. They dance a lot in nightclubs and discos, too.
It’s not so surprising, either, that they have a great many admirers. Their
unofficial “Fan Club” extends around the world. For Pan’s People have been
claimed as official Pin Ups to many Armed Forces units, including several
ships. And also to prisoners serving jail sentences.
This, they find extremely flattering.
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Pan’s People Circa 1973
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