Conference on Fred Astaire

During a four-day conference in June, more than 75 people from across the world gathered in Oxford, England to celebrate the singing and dancing legend Fred Astaire.

For the world's first conference on Fred Astaire, his 66-year-old daughter, Ava Astaire McKenzie, flew from her home in Ireland to host dignitaries at the conference, including Mr. Astaire's record producer, Ken Barnes, and a group of biographers. The conference featured more than 16 presentations on Astaire's life and included performances from Fred Astaire performer David Benson and world renowned pianist Jack Gibbons.

Organizer Kathleen Riley was quoted in an Oxford Mail article as saying: "I think there are few popular entertainers like him who have had such an extremely long career signing, dancing and choreographing and had such an impact on popular culture. We had a great reaction from everyone who attended. It was a scholarly event so we took a serious look at Fred Astaire's work, but it was also a lot of fun with good acts and people signing along and enjoying themselves."