Back in the early 1960s it was brave for a 16-year-old girl from Hong King to travel right around the world to train as a ballerina. But that’s what Wei Wei Wong did.
You won’t recall her as a ballet dancer, but you will remember her as a part of the Young Generation, who were all over our TV screens in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As the head-dressed, sequinned, high-kicking showgirl dancers fell out of fashion, the young, trendy dance troupe, put together by choreographer Dougie Squires, perfectly caught the mood of the swinging ‘60s.
After three years training to be a ballerina in London, Wei Wei saw an advert to recruit this new group of dancers. She was planning to head to the USA to further her ballet studies, but stopped in her tracks, bowled over by this new style of modern dance.
Dougie Squires was bowled over too, by the response. He saw about 300 dancers, many more than he expected. “It was a nightmare, I had to split the auditions into two parts,” he says. He had a disco section and a lyrical section. Wei Wei was in the latter. “She was so feminine and had a lovely technique,” he remembers.
TV producers loved the Young Generation and they were on pretty much every BBC variety show back in the day, appearing with the likes of Shirley Bassey, Val Doonican and Lulu.
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Denne historien er fra April 2020-utgaven av Let's Talk.
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STOP ME AND BUY ONE: Nigel's on the way with his 1981 Bedford
It’s something we all recall with delight. “Mum, it’s the ice cream man!” Let’s Talk’s motoring man David Clayton meets someone happy to be the owner of a Bedford ice cream van. Bring on the Strawberry Mivvis, choc ices and 99s ...
Beautiful Hill: Normandy Origin For A Name Meaning
Let’s Talk’s surnames expert Derek Palgrave, from Suffolk, researches three more of our readers’ names, the first of which probably stems from the geographical presence of a beautiful hill.
Words of wisdom about a hobby so many of us love
Let’s Talk’s gardening expert Charlotte Philcox has been trawling through some books to find words of wisdom from so many people about gardening and farming. Here she shares just a few.
Vicki remains so positive despite missing her panto
For actress Vicki Michelle, Christmas usually means performing in panto. But, due the coronavirus pandemic, this year will be different. Vicki speaks to Rachel Banham about her plans for the festive season, her outlook on life and her fond memories of filming in East Anglia.
Two centuries on Thomas would be DELIGHTED WITH HIS SUCCESS
He was a man without sight but with such vision. Derek James remembers Thomas Tawell who died 200 years ago.
TURNING 50
Here at Let’s Talk we recognise that our magazine is targeted at those aged 50 and older. So we hope we are always fair to our readers and to the older generation in general. But it seems many believe other media and businesses do not treat older people in the best way.
THE CHASE COULD BE ON FOR a Norfolk home for Bradley Walsh
He is one of the most popular celebrities on television at the moment. He’s a comedian, singer, actor, personality and probably the best quiz show host doing the rounds. David Clayton looks back to when Bradley Walsh came to Cromer.
The calendar is rolling around to the WINTER SOLSTICE
Claire Manion, of Norfolk-based Broadsky Astrology, looks at how we have always honoured the winter solstice, our shortest day.
PEACE, GOODWILL AND PROSPERITY must surely follow
In view of such uncertainty hanging over the rest of this year – and possibly well beyond – it was hard to come up with a suitable offering for December in his usual style, says Keith Skipper. So, he has decided to settle for a festive story set in 1951, that he wrote some time ago.
Friends
Readers of our short stories don’t have to have long memories to recall work by Anne Maxwell, who had a previous short story entry published in the summer.
