LEITH

The PORTHOLE

a Window on Leith.

THERE may still be Leithers who will recall having benefited from the expert tuition of Professor Charles Wood who, in the Palace Ballroom in Constitution Street taught newcomers the intricacies of old time dancing.

Professor Wood was responsihle for dances such as the Windsor Waltz, the Waverley Two Step and his most famous, the Pride of Erin Waltz. He wasn't a Leither by birth but he first came to Leith in 1936 and established a dance studio in Leith Walk and later he took over the Palace Hallroom which he ran for a number of years.

He becme one of the world's Ieading old time dancers and even at the age of 75 he won a first prize of £50 In at a competition in London. His partner was Miss Alice Ross who danced with him in competitions in the United States, Canada and Australia.

He was regarded as one of the last of the dancing professors, a title given to dancing instructors at the end of the last century but in 1957, at the ripe old age of eighty he finally decided to retire.