Patrick Kerr (20 February 1941 – 15 August 2009) was a British dancer and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

who introduced and demonstrated dances on the influential TV show ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

''. Born in London, Kerr played guitar in local bands before establishing a career as a dancer with his partner and future wife, Theresa Confrey. Science & Society Picture Library
Retrieved 18 December 2018 They appeared on television and then accepted an offer to perform on cruise ships travelling to the US. Returning to Britain in 1963, TV producer

Elkan Allan Elkan Allan (born Elkan Philip Cohen, 8 December 1922 – 25 June 2006) was a British television producer and print journalist. Allan is best remembered for his creation of the pioneering 1960s TV rock/pop music show ''Ready Steady Go!''. ...

hired them to demonstrate some of the latest

dance craze ''Dance Craze'' is a 1981 documentary film about the British Two-tone (music genre), 2 Tone music genre. The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness (band), Madness, whom he met during th ...

s on his new show, ''Ready Steady Go!''. Initially with Confrey, he performed a new dance each week, some being new American dances and others being based on those seen in British clubs or the products of his own imagination. Obituary: "Patrick Kerr: Dancer and choreographer who got the nation's teenagers moving on 'Ready Steady Go!'", ''The Independent'', 28 August 2009
Retrieved 18 December 2018 After a brief spell as a recording artist under the management of

Eve Taylor Eve Taylor (born Evelyn Henshall, 28 February 1915 – 31 August 1983) was a British talent manager, notable as one of the early female music managers. She managed singers Adam Faith, Sandie Shaw and Val Doonican, and composer John Barry (compo ...

, he returned to ''Ready Steady Go!'' as a dancer and co-presenter with Cathy McGowan. He and Theresa Confrey also set up a

boutique A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...

, Hem and Fringe, in

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

. When the TV show ended in 1966, Kerr joined a version of pop group The Ivy League for a while. In 1978, he and Confrey set up a dance studio in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. The initiative was successful, and developed into the Bodywork Company Dance Studio, aimed primarily at training dancers and singers for theatre shows and

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

. Kerr died in 2009, aged 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Patrick English male dancers English choreographers 1941 births 2009 deaths