Ballroom dancing is on the up, fuelled by renewed television interest and has acted as inspiration for two business owners to join forces at least on the polished floor. On January 9, Richard Parkes and Cheryl-Lee Foulsham will appear at the finals of the Champions of Tomorrow competition at Blackpool's Winter Gardens.

But it was through business that they first met. Mr Parkes runs Ontanet, in Bicester, which offers web hosting and telephony services to companies in the region.

His clients increasingly wanted to put video on their websites, so he needed someone to help with film editing and production.

Through a networking connection he was put in touch with Miss Foulsham who runs The Oxford Duplication Centre, Kidlington. The company provides CDs and DVDs for businesses and academic institutions and edits and produces film before duplication.

As luck would have it, Miss Foulsham needed Internet expertise.

"I was looking for somebody who could work with me on the web design and hosting side," she said.

As the business relationship developed, the common interest in ballroom dancing came out. Both had been dancing independently for about five years, and have now been dance partners for six months.

The unexpected aspect of the dancing partnership is the positive effect it has had on both their businesses.

Mr Parkes, 52, said: "Two of my clients are Jaybee Motors in Banbury and the Renault retail group.

"Renault told me recently that 76 per cent of all their calls are driven from the web. Jaybee said the same thing and it went as high as 80 per cent for three weeks in October.”

In turn, Miss Foulsham's customers benefit greatly from Ontanet's involvement.

She had added web design services during her first year in business, in response to customer demand. But she had realised that it had become harder to look after her customers' websites as her core business grew.

"I looked for someone who could help me handle that side of the business and Richard came along," she said.

"When we found out about our love for dancing, it made the business relationship stronger, too.

"We support each other's business and are now part of each other's business network groups. It's helped us both expand our businesses and we’ve both noticed an increase which is absolutely fantastic."

Making a website is one thing but many companies do not realise that keeping a site fresh and developing it is a significant overhead.

This is particularly the case now that search engine rankings are so important and regular site updates have a positive effect on listings.

"All my customers now have their hosting done by Richard — he controls that aspect of my business and that gives my clients complete peace of mind," said Miss Foulsham.

Both dance partners also recognise the broader benefits arising from trying to become dance champions.

"When you run your own business you have to be extremely disciplined," said Miss Foulsham.

"And competitive," Mr Parkes added.

Miss Foulsham, 38, added: "Dancing is exactly the same — you strive to be the best in your dance discipline and to win as many competitions as possible, which is the same as marketing and developing your company. As long as you don’t do the waltz in the quick-step."

The ensuing laughter indicated there is a story to be told and Mr Parkes duly obliged.

"My mind just went absolutely went; we were doing the quickstep and we ended up doing the waltz. And it was in a competition, too,” he said.

"But I do get really big bunches of flowers when he messes up," said Miss Foulsham.

Although they dance socially for fun, both dance partners realise they are competitive, and that dancing provides an outlet for that.

Mr Parkes said: "It satisfies our competitive streaks but when we go to social dances it's light relief, pure enjoyment. And we've made so many friends within the dancing fraternity, it's a great way of socialising."

It's also good for sales contacts, too.

Mr Parkes explained: "I now do the website for the Rover Sports and Social Club in Cowley where we practise, along with organisations such as Dance Rhythms and Silver Slipper.”

He is also launching an online dance calendar for enthusiasts.

And Mr Parkes and Miss Foulsham are both hoping Blackpool will be the next step in their quest to build their careers on and off the dance floor.

Contacts: www.theduplicationcentre.co.uk www.ontanet.com