Warwick & Paula ARMSTRONG

Allemander Rounds, Brisbane

Warwick has been going to dances all his life with his Mum & Dad learning to Square Dance in the fifties. In 1979, at the age of 16 he started attending beginner courses in Round Dancing with Elva Hoppe and the Carousel Round Dance Club. The next year he was teaching Rounds at the start of the night at the Allemander Square Dance Club at Annerley. He was attracted to Square Dance calling after a caller school run by Vaughn Parish in 1983, and was running at least one club a week from 1990 until 2006. This also included the shared running of a plus club for 13 years until 2004.

In 1984 Paula first started going along to the Carousel Club with Warwick after commencing Square Dancing the previous year. They continued to be active members of Elva’s club right up until she passed away in 1988. In August of that year, after Elva’s club records were given to them, Paula and Warwick started the Allemander Round Dance club at Calamvale Community hall, where they still dance today.

They have been active participants in all the International teaching weekends hosted by P K Rounds and later by QRDA from when these weekends started in 1994. Paula and Warick have also attended all National Conventions since 1997 and it has been through these National events that they feel privileged to have met so many wonderful people throughout Australia in the dancing area.

Choreography has played a large part in the running of the Allemander Club for generating new routines or teaching materials. Paula and Warwick's skills in this area have been acknowledged with awards for two dances by Roundalab and with another dance currently on the Australian National List.

Warwick has been both President and Secretary of the Australian Round Dance Association, and is currently the President of the Queensland Round Dance Association. He has held this position now for ten years. Paula is currently the Education Officer for the Australian Round Dance Association.

The Armstrongs have been blessed with three children who have all had small stints of dancing, but at this stage in their lives would prefer the company of friends doing other things.

Currently Paula and Warwick are running two nights at Calamvale and one night at Jimboomba through the week,and run the only Carousel status club in Australia once a month at Jimboomba.