Past Programs
Popular Culture - 2008
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Dance! It's Never Too Late
02/03/2008
Aspire to dance: Dance to inspire. It's never too late as we discover when we visit a small hall in a Masonic Centre in suburban Sydney. It has been the home of the Glyn and Moriarty Ballroom Dance Studio for 23 years. This is no ordinary studio though, Alan Glyn and Joan Moriarty have been teaching for 42 years. They have even taught teenagers who are now mothers, and their daughters are now learning as teenagers!
Alan began dancing at 16 and went on to become a competitive amateur for ten years. Joan was no stranger to the dance floor either, when she met Alan she had been dancing since her mid-teens, also in competition.
Joan said 'If you can't beat them join them', so they began a professional dancing partnership and before they married they decided to start their own studio.
The studio attracts people from all walks of life, all ages, and a mix of nationalities. They come to gain medals, train for competitions or just learn for enjoyment.
Antonio grew up in Portugal. He wants to become a dance teacher and return to Portugal to teach. Antonio has always had a passion for music and in the program he plays the accordion, which he learned as a child.
Alicja left Poland about 20 years ago. She is now retired and has the opportunity to take up a beloved interest not explored since her childhood.
Brian has a South American wife who is his inspiration to learn the sensuous group of Latin dances. Brian is 70 and his wife is in her 60s. They have been married for 30 years, so it really is a case of 'never too late' to learn something new.
Craig had time on his hands, so he went to the studio and found that he just loved dancing and is working his way through his medal assessments.
Ken and Bev agree that a competition dancing partnership is harder than a marriage relationship. They are making it work and winning trophies in the process.
- Watch the short film Silk 'n' Sequins.
Smokers and a Pleasure Worth Dying For
27/01/2008
Once smoking was regarded as both a pleasure and a right; and wherever you looked, advertisers had a brand for you. Whether your secret self image was international jet-setter or cowboy, sophisticated gent or regular Aussie larrikin, the enticement was there to light up. Not any more. Yet smoking is still legal and still brings great pleasure to millions. Smokers are just more conflicted now.
Today's cigarette packets are decorated with pictures of gangrenous feet and victims of mouth cancer. The message is strong - and repulsive - but are you going to give up? How does one renounce that path to relaxation and that connection with your vision of a more glamorous or masculine self? How do you beat addiction - and would you be the same person if you did?
In the 1950s, smoking was a family affair.
