Paddy Jones

Sarah Patricia "Paddy" Jones (born 1 July 1934) is a British salsa dancer, best known for winning the Spanish talent show Tú sí que vales alongside her dancing partner Nico in 2009. In 2014, Paddy and Nico competed in the eighth series of Britain's Got Talent, where they finished ninth overall.

She is the current Guinness World Record holder for the 'Oldest Acrobatic Salsa Dancer'.^[1][2]

Early & personal life

Paddy was born in Stourbridge, England. She started dancing classical dance when she was 2½ years old and at the age of fifteen began taking classes in more disciplines.^[3] However, she left dancing at the age of 22 when she married her husband, David. They moved to Gandia, Spain in 2001 when her husband retired, but David died of leukaemia just two years later.^[4]

After the death of her husband, Paddy decided to take flamenco classes at Nicolás "Nico" Espinosa's academy of dance, where she learned to dance salsa and formed the salsa dancing duo "Son del Timbal" with Nico (who is 40 years younger than her).

Career

Tú sí que vales

Paddy & Nico went on to enter the Spanish talent show, Tú sí que vales, eventually winning the show on 2 December 2009. They also won €10,000 and global fame after being compared to Susan Boyle.^[5]

Split

After the international success, the couple competed in Bailando 2010 (the Argentinian version of Dancing with the Stars). Since they were voted off Showmatch (in round 11) the relationship of the couple had been fraught. Nico, decided it was time to move on, shutting down the bar he ran in Gandia, Spain, where Paddy lived, and moved away from the area.^[4] Nico has since moved back to Gandia and the couple are again performing at Salsa congresses around the world.

Britain's Got Talent

In 2014, Paddy & Nico auditioned for the eighth series of Britain's Got Talent. Their audition was broadcast on ITV in the UK on 12 April. At the end of the audition, judge Amanda Holden used her Golden Buzzer to send the pair straight through to the semi-finals.^[6] On 29 May, it was reported Paddy & Nico would have to withdraw from the show after Paddy cracked her rib while rehearsing a new routine with Nico, with Amanda Holden expressing her disappointment, "Ever since I first saw Paddy dance, I fell in love with her. ... And I really think she could've won the whole show".^[7][8] However, the following day it was announced that Paddy & Nico would still compete in the show, with Paddy's health having improved since the injury, and she was given the go ahead from doctors. Paddy said she had told the producers of the show that she believed she was "fit enough to dance", commenting "[Britain's Got Talent] is something I very much want to do."^[9] Paddy and Nico were put through to the finals of the show on 31 May, passing the semi-finals with three favourable votes from the judges over singer Bailey McConnell. They performed another routine at the live final on 7 June 2014, coming in 9th overall.

La France a un incroyable talent

In November 2016, Paddy & Nico auditioned for the French version of Britain's got talent, La France a un incroyable talent. They got a unanimous vote to the next round.

References