Belfast's oldest and longest-running dance school is still going strong as it now approaches its 65th year in business.
Clarke's Dance Studios on Donegall Street in the city centre is maybe most known by passersby in town due to its retro sign out the front, but for those who attend its classes or social dances, it's the great craic and friendships that stand out.
The school was first opened by Cecil and Eileen Clarke in 1958, with the business now run by their son, Alan.
Dancing until he was around 10-years-old, Alan stopped until he was inspired to tie up his dancing shoes once more by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.
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After a number of years dancing competitively in his late teens and early 20's, Alan started teaching classes at the school, and has been teaching for 45 years now.
"The staple diet for my parents would have been ballroom dancing at that time," Alan told Belfast Live.
"We had competitive couples we put through their routines and we had a lot of success in competitions. Latin American dancing started to develop a bit more around the early 1960s, and that took off as well.
"I started dancing when I was about 18, I danced for a number of years, mainly in the Latin style. I won the All-Ireland Championships in around 1977/78.
"I danced until I was about 24, which isn't a long time but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I then started teaching. I thought I'd have a go and because it turned out so successfully, I'm glad I did.
"My parents ran the business and we used to have the pop nights as we called them, where we had the likes of Rory Gallagher and Van Morrison in playing before they were all big.
"The place would be packed, it was half a crown, two and sixpence to get in. There were lines up the street to the chapel, it was one out, one in it was so busy."
Alan said his classes are now fully booked, and over the years they've been able to expand their offerings to include hip hop and K-pop dancing styles, which his eldest daughter Natasha takes classes for.
He said they get a wide range of people through their doors, aged from 16 to late 70s, wanting to learn a variety of dance styles, with the most prominent cohort being the social dancers.
For many people, especially after the coronavirus pandemic, it's all about learning a new skill and making new friends.
"The reason people come isn't the reason they end up staying," Alan explained.
"A couple will maybe come to try something different, but then they come here and have great craic, meet new people, and make new friendships. I've had people coming to classes here for 40 years now.
"If they don't come to a class anymore, they'll maybe come to the social dances.
"It takes your mind off everything else. For an hour a week, you could come in and jive or cha cha, and forget about the outside world."
Over the years, Alan said he's loved hearing everyone's stories of their memories of the dance studio.
He said: "So many people have been through the doors over the years. People would pass me on the street and ask if I'm Cecil's son, because I look very like my late father. It's just lovely to hear peoples memories of the place and how they've enjoyed coming here over the years."
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