IT might be the last waltz for Shobdon’s dancing instructor Mike Evans, but the show will go on.

The inspirational Mike, who founded the MiJen Dance Club 23 years ago with his late wife Jenny, has just celebrated his 80th birthday and has decided to bow out. However, the enthusiastic group will dance on with new leaders.

Membership of the club, launched back in 1996, has remained strong and around 60 dancers are still keeping in step. Mike and Jenny had danced at Blackpool, Torquay and Bournemouth, winning a number of trophies before launching their teaching careers by holding line dancing classes in Shobdon village hall, a move that enabled them to fund weekly sessions in Torquay to become fully qualified instructors.

Line dancing proved a huge success and the club organised many social weekends at the Torquay leisure hotels. Eager pupils went on to take up sequence dancing, initially these teaching sessions were held in Staunton-on-Arrow village hall and it was not long before Mike and Jenny started their own sequence dance club in Orleton village hall before moving the venue to Shobdon.

In 2006 the couple started classes for beginners in Shobdon and at Aymestry, and even though Jenny sadly died in December that year, Mike has carried on with the weekly dances. No longer novices, the

dancers still regularly take to the floor to dance with Mike.

Having reached a major milestone, Mike has decided to take a step back from dancing. Said Terry Teale: “He has left many people with fabulous memories and a passion for dancing.”

A number of dancers have been part of the club since the beginning. Over the years, the MiJen Group has held weekly raffles and to date more than £53,000 has been given to local and national charities and good causes.

Said Mr Teale: “The dance group will continue with new leaders and we hope Mike will still attend when he can.”