History
The history of Scarborough Dine and Dance
The name Scarborough Dine and Dance is the new name that was adopted by the North Side Residents Association (NRSA) at its AGM on 7th January 2015.
The NRSA was originally formed on 12th November 1953 mainly by a group of hoteliers from the north side of Scarborough. It was established with ‘the object being to foster friendship amongst people of the North Side and welcome those into its midst who may be lonely or strangers to the district by organising social activity such as whist drives, dances, concerts, matters of town interest, or anything which might be of moral and mutual benefit for all concerned’
Having no home base, NRSA members used their own premises to provide the venues for committee meetings and functions. Being hoteliers, there were always rooms available somewhere to hold whist drives, beetle drives, jumble sales, buffet dances etc. However, by 1955, it was recognised that there was a real need for a more permanent home.
Over the following years, the NRSA grew steadily, and became more adventurous in its offerings to members, with day trips being arranged to commercial and theatrical venues over the North of England. Cookery lectures, treasure hunts and dancing classes were held, and an amateur theatrical group was started. Their charitable works included free annual Christmas parties for children, and regular fund raising events for local charities. An annual dinner dance was held, which was often attended by the mayor or deputy mayor.
In 1965 there were 100 regular members, and by 1967, this had increased to 134. This increase in membership was now putting pressure on the size of venues available amongst themselves for the main functions, which resulted in a series of complaints following one event when the room was clearly not big enough. As a result, discussions were held with Scarborough Town Council about the use of, what was then known as The Corner Café, which was located at the North end of the Royal Albert Drive adjacent to the old outdoor swimming pool. The first NRSA function was held there in 1977, which was so popular and successful that more functions were held there over the next few years. So successful had it now become, that by 1981, membership had risen to 381, and the dinner dances had become one of the most popular regular events on the social calendar. The only real problem with the venue, was that it could not be made available during the busiest months of the holiday season when summer holiday shows were taking place. Hence the current pattern of nine monthly dinner dances was established.
During the following years, the monthly dinner dance at what was more recently known as The Corner became the cornerstone of the association. Members came and went, and other events were dropped as attitudes to entertainment changed, but the dinner dances continued. In 2006, the decision was taken by Scarborough Borough Council that The Corner was to be demolished to make way for a new leisure development, and the last dance to be held there took place in April of that year. Fortunately, the Council were able to offer the Spa Ocean Room as an alternative venue. Not only was the ballroom much larger and better than the one at The Corner, it had a far superior view, and so the opportunity was seized upon by the committee. The only real drawback was that it was on the South side of the town, and was not so easily accessible to the membership. Following the move, numbers started to fall away. Whether this was due to the new location or the break in continuity from events at The Corner is not known, but by 2014 there were only 170 members with attendances at dances having dropped to an average of 100. Something had to be done, and it was evident that a boost in membership was needed.
The first thing to go would be the name. Instead of appearing to be a North Side only private club, it would be opened to all, as either members or non-members. In fact, it was already attracting dancers from York, Bridlington, and surrounding areas, mainly by word of mouth. Therefore, the name was changed to Scarborough Dine and Dance, to make it more obvious who we were and what we do. Better advertising of events took place through local radio, local newspapers and flyers, and a website was created. www.scarboroughdineanddance.co.uk
Music at the dances was initially provided by playing CD’s through the Spa sound system, followed by Steve and Cindy providing live music with vocals and keyboard backing. This was the first time live music was provided on a regular basis, and following the decision by Cindy to retire from live performances during 2017, we found a live band, Hep to the Jive, which continue to provide our music today in what we think is an event unique to the area. Although membership numbers have never reached the previous heady days of 1981 or even 2014, we have a reliable and loyal core membership that have continued to support us since the Covid pandemic, and we continue to attract new members.