Bill Irvine (30 January 1926 – 13 February 2008) and Bobbie Irvine (27 July 1932 – 30 May 2004) were

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

professional

ballroom dancer Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...

s. Bobbie Irvine was born Bobbie Barwell in

Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, while Bill Irvine, born William, was from Low Craigends in

Kilsyth Kilsyth (; Scottish Gaelic ''Cill Saidhe'') is a town and civil parish in North Lanarkshire, roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland. The estimated population is 9,860. The town is famous for the Battle of Kilsyth and the relig ...

. His father was a miner, as was his grandfather, and Bill served in the

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before starting his dance career. As a young dance teacher he spent a period in South Africa, which led to his meeting Bobbie. They were married in 1957.Irvine, Bill & Bobbie 1974. ''The dancing years''. The pair became South African champions, and later settled in London. The Irvines won 13 world titles between 1960 and 1968 in the

Professional Latin This page lists the official World Champions – Professional Latin of the World Dance Council (WDC). The championships are authorized and organized under the auspices of the WDC, and held annually in the last quarter of each year. The competiti ...

and Professional Modern categories of ballroom dancing. Their principal ballroom teachers were Eric Hancox, Len Scrivener and Sonny Binnick. They were coached in the Latin dances by

Nina Hunt Nina Hunt (1932–1995) was a Manx Latin American dance coach and choreographer. She had a high reputation for coaching competitive Latin dancers. Biography Hunt was born in 1932 on the Isle of Man. She came to England to become an actress an ...

, who became a great friend of the couple. They were honoured for their achievements during their careers by appointment as

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in 1967, the first such award made for Latin dancing.

Victor Silvester Victor Marlborough Silvester OBE (25 February 190014 August 1978) was an English dancer, writer, musician and bandleader from the British dance band era. He was a significant figure in the development of ballroom dance during the first hal ...

was awarded the higher honour of

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

on 1961. In his case, contribution as a musician and as a dancer would have been considered.

Competition record

The Irvines' main competitive titles were: *1960: World 9 Dance, World Ballroom *1961: World Latin *1962: World 9 Dance; International, British and World Ballroom *1963: World, British Star and International Ballroom; World 9 Dance *1964: World, British and Star Ballroom *1965: World and Star Latin *1966: World, British and Star Ballroom *1967: World and Star Ballroom *1968: Star Ballroom; World Ballroom; World Latin

References

British ballroom dancers Entertainer duos Members of the Order of the British Empire Married couples {{dance-bio-stub