Deane won the British foxtrot championship in 1929, and reached the height of her popularity in 1933, called her Annus mirabilis by The Times, when she and her partner Timothy Palmer won that year's British and world championships in ballroom dancing. The theatrical impresario George Black capitalised on her fame to introduce her as Edna Deane, the Queen of Dance, during a performance of the Crazy Gang at the London Palladium. She retired from dancing in 1935 and became a dance writer and choreographer. Deane authored a ballet poem, Boutique Fantasque, which was broadcast on BBC Radio, published a book Ballet to Remember in 1947, and wrote, directed, designed and choreographed several stage productions for young actors and dancers.
