Julie Earnshaw started dancing when she was four years old at a local school in Bedworth, where she still lives. She was introduced to dance by her Mother, who had potential as a dancer in ballet and tap when she was a little girl, before contracting polio when she was five. When this put a stop to her dancing she was determined that when she had children they would have the opportunity to dance.

Together with her sister she began learning Classical Sequence – perhaps a sort of compromise between ballet and ballroom? She competed at Junior level but turned professional and became a teacher at 16 years. With her then husband, Barry Earnshaw, they took the `All England` title and also arranged 19 new winning dances. Some of us remember Julie as a Judge on “Come Dancing” on BBC TV, the original ballroom TV programme and fore-runner of the now current and successful “Strictly Come Dancing”. Julie was impressive on television, being particularly notable as a young, attractive, female and a judge in a very male dominated media in those days. She was decisive and gave a clear delivery, as I remember. She also appeared on “Dinky Dancing” on ITV.

As well as appearances on the television, she and Barry ran a school together for 10 years.

Julie has now built up a very successful school on her own and for the last 25 years has organised dance holidays. She coaches in Japan as well as the UK and she trains Juvenile and Junior Classical Formation teams. She has had success in training several British Champions and she frequently judges the Sequence Championships at Blackpool. Julie has also won the prestigious Carl Alan Award for Classical Sequence teacher.

Julie particularly enjoys lecturing and anyone who attended this Spring Refresher could not have failed to have been impressed by her lecturing skills. She was once seen lecturing in a hat at Congress too! She also examines for the ISTD as well as judging.

Asked has sequence dancing changed since she started? She answered "in classical sequence the music has not changed and the sequence steps do not change but the interpretation is according to the individual which is a good development. There is no alteration to the basic fundamentals of elegant poise and always being expressive. Classical sequence gives good basics for ballroom dancers because of the discipline of the feet. Some of our great champions, Richard Gleave and Lindsay Hillier, for example, started as classical sequence dancers."

Julie gives you the impression that she will be successful in anything she undertakes. Fortunately for the classical sequence world she has chosen a career in dance.

Just be extra careful when lowering from an elevated step, always lower with control and not abruptly.

Under-turned outside spins will be followed by a forward movement, unlike the outside spin which makes a full turn and is followed by a backward movement.

Never allow your body weight to fall backwards.

Ending a figure always requires maximum control.