My Great Grand-father was Charlie Rodney, the first General Manager of African Consolidated Theatres.
His daughter married and became Margaret Rodney-Hudson, a professional dancer and sometime Head Tiller Girl, before branching out on her own and subsequently going on to train multiple troupes of Dancing Girls under various names, that performed all over the world.
They took part in 4 Royal Command performances, [which was a bigger thing in those days than now....]....as well as performing on the first ever Television Broadcast from Alexandra Palace in 1932.
She also ran the Victoria Palace Girls, who were resident at the Victoria Palace for the entire time of the Crazy Gang run of shows, with Flanagan and Allen, Naughton and Knox, Nervo and Gold.
She also was famous for the Eight Step Sisters, who bizarrely, used to tap dance on the Radio, of all things, before the days of Television.
Sadly, there seems to be only one piece of film surviving of her girls, and not the best one at that. So always a dilemma whether to include something that is sub-standard, or nothing at all.
I have chosen the former, as I feel it is of historical interest to me and my family, even though I wish we had a better example.
