He is the entrepreneur behind one of Britain’s largest companies and has given his name to two schools in the county.

Portslade-born Sir Rod Aldridge is the founder of FTSE 100 outsourcing company Capita and is worth £130 million according to The Sunday Times Rich List.

But what does the former post boy credit with his meteoric success?

“Dance,” he says. “As a child I was a very shy individual but I became very competent at dancing and it gave me added strength and confidence in my abilities.”

Sir Rod’s mother and father, Doris and Leonard Aldridge, met through dancing and shared their passion with their young son who was a keen footballer and cricketer. Rod joined a local dance club, aged seven, and was soon competing competitively in ballroom and modern sequence.

“It wasn’t as popular back then as it is now with Strictly Come Dancing - but I had a great time. I danced at the Royal Albert Hall and the Blackpool Tower Ballroom competitively. I did that up until the age of 21 when other things took over, but I had a great career in that world,” the 69 year-old says.

After failing his 11-plus and leaving Portslade county school for boys with a handful of O-levels, Rod credits dance with being his salvation and arming him with the determination and confidence to climb the long career ladder.

“It helped me in business because to stand in front of an audience and speak at a conference, you’ve got to be able to have the same characteristics as dancing in front of a lot of people.”

Starting out as a post boy at East Sussex County Council, Rod worked his way up in numerous financial posts in local government in Sussex, before becoming a chartered public accountant in 1970, and later founding Capita in 1984.

Rod went on to take the company to great heights and it is now the UK’s largest outsourcing and professional services company and on the FTSE 100 Index. He left his role as chair of Capita in 2006, to form the Aldridge Foundation, an educational charity which sponsors academies Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA) and Portslade Aldridge Community Academy (PACA).

Having personally benefited from the transformative power of dance, Rod is now behind behind plans for a new community dance studio. The Aldridge Community and Learning Space will be housed in The Dance Space, South East Dance’s cutting-edge dance facility to be launched in 2019, as part of the multi-million pound Circus Street Market regeneration project.

“I am delighted to be funding the community studio and it is very close to my heart. The Dance Space will be an amazing asset to the city and the facility will very much be a part of the Brighton scene,” he said.

As well as a space specifically dedicated for use by people of all ages who want to explore an interest in dance, the high quality dance studio will also be the fixed home for South East’s Dance and the Aldridge academies’ new flagship BTEC National extended diploma in performing (dance) course, equivalent to three A Levels, which launches in September 2017. The project designed for students keen to explore careers in performing arts will give them the opportunity to work with guest dancers, teachers and industry experts.

He says: “Coupled with the academic work and our already great studios in our academies, the community studio will give students access to opportunities through our great partnership with South East Dance.

"If you are a talented dancer who wants to follow that profession, it gives you the best of both worlds.”

He adds: “South East Dance does still need to raise important funds to make The Dance Space happen, so I am inviting other individuals, local organisations and companies to join with me in showing their support.”

If you would like to show your support for Brighton’s new home of dance, contact Francesca D Purcell, head of development at South East Dance, on 01273 696823 or email her at francesca.purcell@southeastdance.org.uk .

There will be an Aldridge South East Academy of Dance open evening at PACA in Chalky Road, Portslade, on Tuesday, February 7 from 6pm to 8pm and BACA in Lewes Road, Brighton, on Thursday, February 9 from 6pm to 8pm.