About DSI TV

DSI - DanceSport International Ltd. formerly known as Hearn & Spencer Ltd., was founded in 1982 byGeoffrey Hearn and Peggy Spencer MBE, who had taken over “The Alex Moore Letter Service”, which had been running since 1933. The Company utilized the “green room” studio within the Spencer Dance Centre, as an office by day but each evening everything had to be packed away in readiness for the evening dance lessons.

The Letter Service was a monthly letter sent out to Dance Teachers all over the world, giving news and new dance variations. Geoffrey used his technical knowledge as a qualified Teacher/Examiner, and he developed this service into a 24 page magazine, giving variations in both Modern Standard & Latin American dances. For both intermediate, social dancers right through to advanced level choreography. In 2004 this publication received another "facelift" and was renamed "The Choreographer". The last publication was printed in December 2008 after more than 25 years of service to Dance Teacher’s the World over.

Malcolm Hearn joined the Company in 1982 and expanded its Mail order Sales Service from a handful of books and LP records to today’s comprehensive list of media products.  1987 saw the start of the company’s venture into Video production, with it’s first title called “Ballroom Lines”. We are still producing top quality dvds, our latest being called “The Irvine Legacy” featuring Oliver Wessel-Therhorn with William Pino & Alessandra Bucciarelli.

Keith Hoyle joined the company in 1994 and his first job was to increase the company’s market share of the shoe business, and so started the journey into shoes. In 1996 the Company purchased the liquidated stock of "DanceTogs" - a well known shoe and accessories business, and with this purchase came the Exhibition rights to sell these products at the prestigious Open British Championships in Blackpool.

In 1996 Geoffrey & Peggy sold their shares in the business to Malcolm and Keith, who became business partners. Geoffrey still continues to work with the company on a consultative basis, and has produced dvds for us on a freelance basis, and is the author of two best selling books on Advanced Techniques. 

In 1997 the Company purchased a Jewellery business called “Golden Girl” and again their Exhibition rights at the Blackpool Festival.

In 2000 we decided to start the dress making department we employed a designer & four machinists and we are pleased to say that the original four machinists are still with us, but the machining team now numbers twelve. With 23 staff in total making up the dress & tailoring departments.

It was at this time that we also decided to change our business name from Hearn & Spencer Ltd. to DanceSport International Ltd., as this more accurately reflected the nature of the business at the time.

In 2001 Gerald Schwanzer joined the company as Sales Director. His considerable knowledge and wealth of experience on the fashion side of our industry inspired the company to produce a range called "Visions". This included exciting new fabrics, rhinestones, laces, and dancewear; thus we were in a position to present the complete package for all aspects of dance.

One of the most successful ventures to date was the introduction of our Juvenile & Junior range for Boy’s & Girl’s, and with this came a request to dress the British Teams for the Junior Dance Festival in Blackpool. Something we were very proud of. 

Development is an on-going part of our business, with new shoes being offered for both the Competitive and Social dancer; we are constantly bringing out new dress designs and are always on the look-out for new products to add to our catalogues. We also hope to develop and expand our dealer network all over the world to be able to offer dancers the ability to purchase from a local source.

As Dancesport had become the generic name for the sport of Dance we found others using the name which sometimes reflected badly on the company. So the company reinvented itself as DSI

In 2003 DSI was appointed as the official agent for Preciosa rhinestone’s in the dance market.

In 2005 Keith decided to retire from the Company and Gerald purchased his shares to become Malcolm’s new business partner. The past few years have seen phenomenal growth in the business.

The Company goes from Strength to Strength and with the appointment of Vicky Barkess as Creative Head for the Company we have worked on some memorable projects. We are currently working with the BBC for “Strictly Come Dancing”. We are now in the sixth year of our co operation with them, and our involvement increases with each year. In 2009 we provided “Wizard of Oz” inspired character costumes to feature as the centerpiece in the Harrods Christmas Windows. Each character was given a “Strictly DSI” makeover.

Over the years we have invested in a number of products & businesses to improve our position within the market place. Two years ago we took over the running of a shoe factory to ensure continued production and quality control. Our latest development has been the release of our “Rude Nude” tanning products. All these projects have been self financed through careful planning and prudence.

We are one of the few companies able to offer Ballroom & Latin dancers throughout the world a total service by Mail Order. We are also pleased to welcome many visitors to our Showroom in Croydon, where customers may browse at their leisure, listen to CD’s, view dvds and select shoes etc. from the stocks always available.

In 2012 DSI TV was launched at the British Open Championships in Blackpool. It has gone from strength to strength with many of the major competitions being Live Streamed to a global market, in addition to a comprehensive back catalogue of past competitions, lectures, congress and instructional videos all on line for Members to view.

Website Privacy Policy

We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors; this policy sets out how we will treat your personal information.

(1) This privacy policy

This privacy policy was made using an SEQ Legal privacy policy template created for http://www.employmentlawcontracts.co.uk.

(2) What information do we collect?

We may collect, store and use the following kinds of personal information:

(a) information about your computer and about your visits to and use of this website (including your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views, and website navigation;

(b) information relating to any transactions carried out between you and us on or in relation to this website, including information relating to any purchases you make of our goods or services;

(c) information that you provide to us for the purpose of registering with us;

(d) information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our website services, email notifications and/or newsletters;

(e) any other information that you choose to send to us;

(f) we do not intend to or currently store any financial details such as credit or debit card numbers;

(3) Cookies

A cookie consists of information sent by a web server to a web browser, and stored by the browser. The information is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. This enables the web server to identify and track the web browser.

We may use “session” cookies on the website. We will use the session cookies to keep track of you whilst you navigate the website;

Session cookies will be deleted from your computer when you close your browser. 

We use Google Analytics to analyse the use of this website.  Google Analytics generates statistical and other information about website use by means of cookies, which are stored on users' computers.  The information generated relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of the website. Google will store this information.

Google's privacy policy is available at: http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html.]

Most browsers allow you to reject all cookies, whilst some browsers allow you to reject just third party cookies.  For example, in Internet Explorer you can refuse all cookies by clicking “Tools”, “Internet Options”, “Privacy”, and selecting “Block all cookies” using the sliding selector.  Blocking all cookies will, however, have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites, including this one.

(4) Using your personal information

Personal information submitted to us via this website will be used for the purposes specified in this privacy policy or in relevant parts of the website.

We may use your personal information to:

(a) administer the website;

(b) improve your browsing experience by personalising the website;

(c) enable your use of the services available on the website;

(d) send to you goods purchased via the website, and supply to you services purchased via the website;

(e) send statements and invoices to you, and collect payments from you;

(f) send you general (non-marketing) commercial communications;

(g) send you email notifications which you have specifically requested;

(h) send to you our newsletter and other marketing communications relating to our business which we think may be of interest to you by post or, where you have specifically agreed to this, by email or similar technology (you can inform us at any time if you no longer require marketing communications);

(i) provide third parties with statistical information about our users – but this information will not be used to identify any individual user;

(j) deal with enquiries and complaints made by or about you relating to the website;

Where you submit personal information for publication on our website, we will publish and otherwise use that information in accordance with the license you grant to us.

We will not, without your express consent, provide your personal information to any third parties for the purpose of direct marketing.

All our website financial transactions are handled through our payment services provider, PayPal.  You can review the PayPal privacy policy at www.paypal.com.  We will share information with PayPal only to the extent necessary for the purposes of processing payments you make via our website and dealing with complaints and queries relating to such payments.

(5) Disclosures

We may disclose information about you to any of our employees, officers, agents, suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes as set out in this privacy policy.

In addition, we may disclose your personal information:

(a) to the extent that we are required to do so by law;

(b) in connection with any legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings;

(c) in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk);

(d) to the purchaser (or prospective purchaser) of any business or asset which we are (or are contemplating) selling; and

(e) to any person who we reasonably believe may apply to a court or other competent authority for disclosure of that personal information where, in our reasonable opinion, such court or authority would be reasonably likely to order disclosure of that personal information.

 Except as provided in this privacy policy, we will not provide your information to third parties.

 (6) International data transfers

Information that we collect may be stored and processed in and transferred between any of the countries in which we operate in order to enable us to use the information in accordance with this privacy policy.

Information, which you provide, may be transferred to countries that do not have data protection laws equivalent to those in force in the European Economic Area.

In addition, personal information that you submit for publication on the website will be published on the internet and may be available, via the internet, around the world.  We cannot prevent the use or misuse of such information by others.

You expressly agree to such transfers of personal information.

(7) Security of your personal information

We will take all reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.

We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure (password- and firewall- protected) servers. All electronic transactions you make to or receive from us will be encrypted using SSL technology.

Of course, data transmission over the internet is inherently insecure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data sent over the internet.

You are responsible for keeping your password and user details confidential. We will not ask you for your password (except when you log in to the website).

(8) Policy amendments

We may update this privacy policy from time-to-time by posting a new version on our website.  You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes.

(9) Your rights

You may instruct us to provide you with any personal information we hold about you.  Provision of such information will be subject to:

(a) the payment of a fee (currently fixed at £10.00); and

(b) the supply of appropriate evidence of your identity (for this purpose, we will usually accept a photocopy of your passport certified by a solicitor or bank plus an original copy of a utility bill showing your current address).

We may withhold such personal information to the extent permitted by law.

You may instruct us not to process your personal information for marketing purposes by email at any time.  In practice, you will usually either expressly agree in advance to our use of your personal information for marketing purposes, or we will provide you with an opportunity to opt-out of the use of your personal information for marketing purposes.

(10) Third party websites

The website contains links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of third party websites.

(11) Updating information

Please let us know if the personal information which we hold about you needs to be corrected or updated.

(12) Contact

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our treatment of your personal information, please write to us by email to dsitv@dsi-london.com or by post to:

Units 4 – 8 The Courtyard, Aurelia Road, Croydon, CR0 3BF, UNITED KINGDOM.

(13) Data controller

The data controller responsible in respect of the information collected on this website is:

DSI London Ltd

 

List of cookies we collect

The table below lists the cookies we collect and what information they store.

COOKIE nameCOOKIE Description
CART The association with your shopping cart.
CATEGORY_INFO Stores the category info on the page, that allows to display pages more quickly.
COMPARE The items that you have in the Compare Products list.
CURRENCY Your preferred currency
CUSTOMER An encrypted version of your customer id with the store.
CUSTOMER_AUTH An indicator if you are currently logged into the store.
CUSTOMER_INFO An encrypted version of the customer group you belong to.
CUSTOMER_SEGMENT_IDS Stores the Customer Segment ID
EXTERNAL_NO_CACHE A flag, which indicates whether caching is disabled or not.
FRONTEND You sesssion ID on the server.
GUEST-VIEW Allows guests to edit their orders.
LAST_CATEGORY The last category you visited.
LAST_PRODUCT The most recent product you have viewed.
NEWMESSAGE Indicates whether a new message has been received.
NO_CACHE Indicates whether it is allowed to use cache.
PERSISTENT_SHOPPING_CART A link to information about your cart and viewing history if you have asked the site.
POLL The ID of any polls you have recently voted in.
POLLN Information on what polls you have voted on.
RECENTLYCOMPARED The items that you have recently compared.
STF Information on products you have emailed to friends.
STORE The store view or language you have selected.
USER_ALLOWED_SAVE_COOKIE Indicates whether a customer allowed to use cookies.
VIEWED_PRODUCT_IDS The products that you have recently viewed.
WISHLIST An encrypted list of products added to your Wishlist.
WISHLIST_CNT The number of items in your Wishlist.