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PAN’S PEOPLE
Pan’s People are as much a part of Top of the Pops as the DJs who present the
shows and the pop groups themselves. It is difficult to remember a time when
they weren’t dancing on the programme. In fact it is seven years since they
started dancing regularly on the show.
The group started in 1966 when six girls, already impressive dancers, joined
together. The original line-up in those days was Flick Colby (who now does
the choreography for the group), Ruth Pearson, Babs Lord, Dee Dee Wilde,
Louise Clarke and Andy Rutherford. But Andy (real name Andrea) left to have a
baby a couple of years ago, and she was replaced by Cherry Gillespie.
Before coming to Top of the Pops, they had worked on a TV series in Amsterdam
and also done a couple of TV shows in Britain. But it was Colin Charman who
gave the group their first real break with an appearance on Top of the Pops.
And they have never looked back.
The Pan’s girls usually have two or three days to learn a routine, and Flick
Colby takes a day to choreograph it. “But it’s getting faster every week,”
she tells you. “It’s amazing just what you can do under pressure.”
Flick decides, with the director of the programme, which record Pan’s People
will dance to. Usually, they try to give Flick a choice, but the record has
to come from the Top Thirty.
”I try and get as much variety as possible into our dancing,” Flick explains.
“Dancers get bored doing the same things over and over again.”
How has the dancing changed over the years since they started on the show? “A
lot,” says Flick. “Especially in the clothes the girls wear. And because the
clothes have changed, the dancing has changed too. There were certain things
the dancers could do in a mini skirt that they just couldn’t do in a long
dress. And you can do things flailing a long dress which would look
ridiculous in a mini skirt.”
Every week, Pan’s People have to appear in a different set of costumes, and
these are made for the girls after Flick has decided what record they will
dance to, and how they will tackle it. Then she tries to find a costume which
will suit the music.
”We get quite a lot of letters from people who want to borrow the costumes,
or asking where they can buy them,” says Ruth.
They get a lot of fan mail. “We get lot’s of letters from the forces,” says
Dee Dee. “And from little girls who
enjoy the dresses we wear. A lot of people also ask us to write down the
dances we do – just as if you can stick a dance in an envelope!”
Ruth tells me: “There are a couple of girls who formed there own group and
they usually pick the same record as us, then do their own version of a dance
routine then come down to show us.”
Pan’s People have all had formal dance training and were unanimous about
always having wanted to become dancers. So what advice, I wondered, would they
give to young girls who wanted to become professional dancers?
Firstly, it seems, you must start early in life and you must be prepared to
do a lot of hard work. Flick emphasises the importance of self discipline and
says that if you really work hard, you can get somewhere. Ruth says that she
felt too many people seem to think of it as a terribly glamorous job, and
although it does have its moments – I would hardly call rehearsing in an
empty rugby club glamorous!
The other thing to bear in mind is that a dancer’s career is a relatively
short one, and there is always a great deal of competition for jobs.
“Obviously, you go on dancing for as long as you can,” says Louise. “Some
people have still been dancing when they’re thirty-five.”
But what happens to them when they give up dancing? “You don’t have to go
into complete retirement,” says Cherry, who is the baby of the group. “You
can, of course, try and carry on as a choreographer, or maybe start to teach
dancing to younger girls.”
PAN’S PEOPLE LINE-UP
Pan’s
People 1973
Left to Right : Babs Lord, Louise Clarke, Cherry Gillespie, Ruth
Pearson, Dee Dee Wilde
Dee Dee Wilde was born Patricia Wilde in Farnham, Surrey. From the age of
three until she was seventeen, she lived in West Africa. Before joining Pan’s
People she was with a small group of dancers, and toured Spain.
Ruth Pearson was born in Kingston, Surrey, and started dancing at the age of
seven. When she was thirteen, she was awarded a grant from Surrey County
Council to the Ballet Rambert. At seventeen, she left to attend the Corona
Stage School, and she taught at LAMDA while still only seventeen.
Barbara (Babs) Lord was born in Wolverhampton. She started dancing at the age
of three in her mother’s stage school. She later spent six years at the Arts
Educational Trust stage school.
Louise Clarke comes from London, and started dancing when she was four. At
eleven, she went to the Corona Stage School and while she was there did a lot
of child modelling, TV and film work.
Cherry Gillespie was born in Hemsby, near Great Yarmouth. She started dancing
when she was four. At thirteen she went to an adult school, having
accomplished ballet at a junior school. And she joined Pan’s People straight
from dancing school.
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