Maggie was watching Pointless recently and there was a round about castles, they gave a list of castles and the contenders had to pick out the real ones from the made up names, one of which was Vernon Castle. Of course we meet in the Vernon Castle Room as well. So who is he? Vernon was born in Norwich in 1887 and moved to New York in 1906 where he obtained work as a comedy actor, singer, dancer and conjuror. He met Irene in 1910 and they were married in 1911. They travelled to Paris in 1911 and became the rage of Parisian Society, but what dances did they popularise? They returned to New York and received wider acclaim and appeared in a number of Broadway shows, but what famous composer’s first show in 1914 did they appear in? What ballroom dance did they refine and popularise? They then decided to open a dance studio but what extortionate fee could they charge their rich clients? The Castles became trendsetters of their age but what social stigma did the Castles help to eradicate? What hairstyle and clothes did Irene introduce? Vernon was keen to serve in the First World War but how did he serve and what prestigious award did he win? To answer these questions and to find out more information, please select the following link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_and_Irene_Castle
Here is a short film of Vernon and Irene dancing. I am not sure what the judges on Strictly Come Dancing would have made of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkqf9_Wr_Vs
Here is a BBC article about Darcy Bussell opening a plaque at the Nelson Hotel (which is built on the site of Vernon’s home):
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