Person Open DS/UK/13814 Laird; Walter William (1920-2002); British professional ballroom dancer Laird Walter William 1920-2002 British professional ballroom dancer Male

Walter William Laird (26 July 1920 – 30 May 2002) was a major influence in the development of Latin American dancing in Britain after the Second World War. He was World Professional Latin Dance Champion three times. He coached many successful dancers including Allan Tornsberg, Vibeke Toft, Espen Salberg, Jukka Haapalainen, Sirpa Suutari and Donnie Burns Peter Maxwell & Lynn Harman were amongst his first major champions and a couple on which much of his ultimate technique was developed. Laird was a Fellow and Examiner of the IDTA, and until 2000, he was Secretary (and later President) of the Ballroom Dancers' Federation. International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes RAHdroberts 3/13/2014 Rachael.Fragola 3/1/2022 9f011dcf-800f-4661-80cf-f86afafb8484