A Little Club History

The club was originally formed in Putney, by a group of novice fencers who wanted to come together and learn to fence without the pressure of having to impress more experienced fencers.

A small subscription bought basic equipment and electrical apparatus, and the club was established at Dance Attic under the name Salle Rouge.

Dance Attic's relocation to the Old Fulham Baths brought the club to Fulham and, when a change of coaching structure brought the opportunity to reconstitute, the club renamed itself Club des Artistes (most of its members at that time being involved in the arts or an art related field).

Unfortunately, the move meant that the room allocated to the club was really too small to be practical, and so we moved to First Steps School of Dance and Drama on Lillie Road, whose studio space with its wooden floors and mirrored wall proved much more suitable. Soon, though, we had outgrown that venue too and we moved to our present home, the church hall of St Etheldreda's on Cloncurry Street. Here we have storage for our equipment and floor space enough for two full length pistes and a coaching area in a very light and airy space. The club is still growing though so perhaps we may have to move again!

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