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Buster began his step dancing career at the age of nine, when his father managed to arrange for some lessons with Donnie Gilchrist. Buster went on to win his first Open International Junior Step dance Championship at the age of 12 and, two years later, captured the Senior title which he held for several years.
As they say in the boxing world, Buster Brown is the undefeated North American Step dancing Champion. He won the title three consecutive years and then retired from competition. In a three-month period, Buster toured across Canada, performing 72 one-night shows, hitting every major city, and appearing at events such as the Calgary Stampede, Edmonton’s Klondike Days, and the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. He performed on many major Canadian country television shows and jamborees, appearing with Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette, Mel Tillis, Graham Townsend and Al Cherney, and travelled to Nashville, Tennessee and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pauline’s career began at age three as she watched Buster giving lessons to her cousin. At 12, Pauline was an assistant teacher for her cousin and, subsequently, for Buster. Pauline captured the title of Quebec Champion in 1982 and, in 1984, travelled with Ronnie Prophet and the Family Brown on a Canadian Northern military tour to places such as Goose Bay, Alert, Inuvik, Yellowknife and the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Together, Buster and Pauline taught hundreds of students throughout the Ottawa Valley, some for as long as fifteen years. We are now beginning to see second and third generations of their original students, some of whom have gone on to travel the world, performing and carrying on the Ottawa Valley step dancing tradition. Sadly, Buster passed away on April 15th, 2014.
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