Thelma first started square dancing when it first came to Adelaide in 1953 but had to leave when her husband Tom came home from Korea. She then became a stay at home mum raising four children.
In 1986 a friend suggested they take their husbands along to the National Square Dance Convention in Adelaide to see the square dancing but on seeing the Round dancing for the first time, Thelma and Tom got hooked on Rounds.
They started with Peter Heath at Round ’n Round. In 1987 they started square dancing with the Allamanders class. After graduating they danced with Shooting Stars, Festival City and the Outlaws. Thelma also started cueing that same year and was soon cueing for Peter and also the three square dance clubs. She then moved on to cue at all Society dances, Round Dance Association dances, and has since cued at all State Conventions and almost every National Convention. Thelma was made a life member of SASDS as well as the SA Round Dance Association. Thelma and Tom were honoured to be made Life Members of the Australian Round Dance Association.
They started their own club T & T Rounds in June 1991. They have run numerous learners classes. They have choreographed a dance for 13 Round Dance Festivals and have won on three occasions with “Lucky Lips”, “Waltz to Sorrento” and “Victory of Love”. Thelma’s “More than Ever Rhumba” and “Lucky Lips” are on our National List. Although Tom can no longer dance, Thelma still runs her club on Fridays and two sessions on Sundays, teaching from Phase 2 - 6.
Thelma and Tom have travelled all over Australia, and from New Zealand to Hawaii where she has cued her Rounds, as well as the Victorian Round Dance Festivals, and is looking forward to attending the 3 day Seminar and the Convention in 2015.