Month: April 2024

Dudley and Daventry to be precise!

Yesterday was quite a rare day….double competition day.. Robert and I were at Dudley scrutineering and adjudicating at a sequence  competition whilst there was a final NATD qualifier event taking place in Daventry.

In Dudley we were joined by Chris and Lisa who had a very brain intensive day. They had 12 dances to perform, broken down into 3 three dance events, 1 two dance event and a 1 dance event. They delivered each 16 bar routine without any hitches and were rewarded with one 1st place, two 2nd places, a third and a fifth. Congratulations to them both on another improved and successful performance. Also, thanks to Andrew and Dawn for coming along to support the event. 

Huge thanks also go to Ruth and Luke who accompanied the other team to Daventry, which by all accounts was a very successful day and below you can read Ruth’s account of the day;

The weather was not enticing as we started the journey down to Daventry this Sunday. The rain was pouring down, and umbrellas were required to get from the car park across the road to the leisure centre. Once inside though, everyone was in good spirit and ready for a day of dance!

Out to secure their Blackpool places and/or get some all important match practice were Rebecca, Karly, Heather, Kathryn and Hazel. There was a busy schedule planned, starting with the latin qualifying events. Rebecca was up first with her Samba in one of the busiest of the adult qualifying events. She earned herself 3rd place. Heather was up next, also with a Samba and also finishing in 3rd place!

Kathryn, Karly and Hazel all had the floor to themselves for their events, and put on good performances which the audience appreciated. It can be a daunting thing when you’re out on the floor by yourself, so well done to them!

Next in the running order were the ballroom qualifying events. These events were only for those who had not already qualified, and as such only Rebecca and Karly were taking part. Both took 1st place in their events and secured their Blackpool places (with Karly also getting double winning sashes!).

Once the serious business of the qualifiers were done, it was time to move into the social events. First was the Jean Johnson Memorial Ragtime Swing event. The adjudicators were told to keep an eye out for the smiling people to recall. Fortunately we had some smiling partnerships in the form of Rebecca and Karly, Kathryn and Hazel, and an impromptu partnership of Heather and Tim (of Broadway Dance Centre). It was a very busy dance floor and 3 heats were needed to start. All 3 couples did well to make it to the semi-final.

Next were the ballroom couples events. Here, Hazel and Kathryn were the only couple in their event, but they took to the floor with determination, and put on a confident performance of their waltz.

The last event of the day was the Rosebowl. This year it was a waltz and was open to dancers dancing with a non-dancer. We were all thrilled to see Rebecca and her grandma taking to the floor. The competition here was fierce, however their practice in the living room the night previously must have paid off as they did get a recall! We think the Jelly Babies they had may have helped too…

And then before we knew it, the day was done, ending with a demonstration of the Cha Cha Slide from our adjudicators! What a treat!

Many thanks to Luke for all his partnering and support on the day. And thank you to the supporters who came along and cheered for our dancers. Sadly we had no bear representation today, but I will tell Boris all about our great day and wonderful dancers next time I see him 😊

Thank you to Ruth for “holding the fort” and for her lovely blog. After a very busy April we can all enjoy a long Bank Holiday weekend before the second ISTD qualifier of the year, which is taking place at, a new to us venue, of Market Harborough. Boris will definitely be there!!

The sun was once again streaming through the windows as the alarm announced it was time to get up. Another Sunday, another competition but this time the alarm call was not so early and the journey was just a short hop to the Festival Hall, a venue which we know well and today would essentially be a “home match”.

The NATD area event was not a qualifier, just a social event with a revised programme today combining, couples, individual and solo events. We had a fairly full team in action and with no grades, just age divisions, it would be interesting to see how the new format would play out. It did mean that some of our bronze and below medalists were pitched against higher grade dancers and the adults were just split between under and over 35 years.

Boris of course had a prime seat for all proceedings and was especially pleased to see Mr Benn make a welcome appearance along with all his other chums and they were also joined today by Bobo who had come dressed to dance.

We began with the ballroom events, starting with the couples then the individuals and solos (where dancers are unpartnered). Everyone had to fight for their places today as there were few straight finals and in some cases there were three heats and several rounds to negotiate in order to make a final. The couples events saw wins for Tabatha & Kaitlyn and Chloe & Brooke. Paul & Karen also won their event with Andrew & Dawn, Chris & Lisa and Stephen & Angela following in second, third and fifth.

Both Rosie and Alisha were recalled to their ballroom final being placed first and fifth. Olivia and Scarlett had the largest entries in their age sections and both danced well reaching the semi-finals with Scarlett making the final to finish third. In the junior events, Kaitlyn won with Tabatha runner up and then Brooke won with Chloe and Sophie closely behind in second and third places. Craig won the under 35 years event with Emily third. Then Paul won the over 35 years section with Karen, Andrew and Chris also making the final being placed second, third and fifth respectively.

We next had the solo events where the dancers have to dance on their own, not an easy task but nevertheless our juniors decided to take up the challenge and whilst nervous to start with they all accomplished it with great maturity. Kaitlyn won her event with Tabatha second and Brooke won her event followed by Chloe in second.

With the benchmark set and confidence riding high we set about the sequence events. Rosie won again with Alisha in second place this time, Olivia had three recalls to her final and came third overall whilst Scarlett was a little hard done by to be placed second in her event. Success continued with Tabatha winning followed by Kaitlyn in their event, a result matched by Brooke and Chloe in their event with Sophie following in third place. Charlotte won her event with Emily second and Fearn sixth and then in the over 35 years section Paul came first followed by Chris in second, Karen third, Andrew fourth, Lisa fifth and, locking out the final, Angela was sixth. It was great to see so many other schools taking part in the sequence events with most events having one or more rounds before the finals.

The sequence couples events followed a similar pattern with Tabatha & Kaitlyn, Chloe & Brooke, Charlotte & Emily and Paul & Karen all winning their events with Chris & Lisa and Andrew & Dawn filing the places behind Paul & Karen. Once again some of our younger dancers took to the floor for the solo events and Rosie and Alisha were again placed first and second, Chloe won her event with Brooke second, likewise Kaitlyn and Tabatha.

The Latin section began with the fun competition which was the Bossa Nova 23 in which couples of any age could compete against each other. With almost 40 couples taking to the floor there were five rounds to make the final. Rosalind and Alison T had formed an impromptu partnership for this event and had a couple of recalls and Chloe & Brooke reached the semi finals. However it was Chris & Lisa’s crowd pleasing variations which swayed the judges to win the event with Paul & Karen finishing 4th.

We were then swiftly into the Latin section which followed a similar pattern to the ballroom and sequence sections. Rosie completed a clean sweep by being place first in her individual event with Alisha again placed second. Olivia won her event and Scarlett was sixth. In the junior section Chloe won both her individual and solo event as did Kaitlyn, Brooke came second in both and Tabatha came second in her solo and third in her individual events. Once again both junior pairing won their couples events. Sophie made her Latin final finishing fourth.

In the adult section Charlotte had another win with Emily and Craig placed third and fourth and Charlotte & Emily danced a really strong Paso to take second place in their couples event but could have been placed higher. Karen won the over 35 years section with Lisa, Paul and Chris claiming third fourth and fifth respectively and in the couples, Paul & Karen won once more with Chris & Lisa, Andrew & Dawn and Stephen & Angela taking third, fourth and sixth. Lisa also decided to take part in the adult solo Latin event and surprised herself with another win.

This competition features large returnable trophies for many of the events and with 20 of them collected by our dancers we had a fantastic day out as a team. Boris and the bears were overwhelmed by the successes over the last two weekends and is pleased to see the developments and improvement everyone is making.

As ever the support for each other and also our spectators was unmatched and thanks go again to our expanded team of partners today of Luke, Ruth, Craig, Grace, Charlotte, Emily, Brooke, and for the first time Chloe, your assistance is always valued and appreciated. Also a big thank you to Ruth for her sterling work on the clipboard and for helping to fill out and collate the trophy forms, no easy task!!

We have two more events next week, an open sequence competition and a NATD qualifier for those yet to qualify for Blackpool before we have a slight breather after a hectic few weeks.

It was a small but select group that made the trip to Whitby, equipped with dance shoes rather than buckets and spades. The ballroom, perched high on the cliffs gives a magnificent panorama of the beach and the bay and the weather was fine and calm, always a bonus when coming here so it was a pleasant drive over the moors.

The programme was different from normal with a mix of individual and couples events together with a number of Classical Sequence events which we were keen to support. Brooke, Craig, Dawn, Andrew, Chris and Lisa were our team representatives today which meant an early alarm call, earlier still for some. 

The day began with the Classical Sequence section and there were some good entries in these events considering it was the first time they had been run and there was also a good standard of dancing. All the competitions today were split by age but not grade which means the dancers were competing against dancers of all levels. Everyone had some competition today and there were recalls for many. In the end, Brooke, Craig, Chris and  Andrew all won their events and Andrew & Dawn won two of their couples events and were runners up in the open adult event where they were competing against adults across all age groups.

The ballroom section followed and still more competitors turned up for this meaning that competition in this and the Latin section would be even stronger. Again our dancers proved themselves up to the task and the successes continued with Brooke and Craig both winning their events and Lisa won both of her individual events. Chris & Lisa and Andrew & Dawn both won one of their couples events with Chris & Lisa taking the runner up slot in the open adult event. The Latin events saw wins again for Brooke, Craig and Lisa and whilst their were no couples wins, both Chris & Lisa and Andrew & Dawn reached the final of the open adult event.

Finally we came to the fun competition which was the Bossa Nova 23. This was open to couples of all ages so was the largest entry of the day. Andrew & Dawn, Chris & Lisa and Craig & Brooke all took to the floor and had recalls with both Craig & Brooke and Chris & Lisa making the final. Craig & Brooke took the top slot completing a clean sweep of all their events. Well done to everyone for taking part it was a great team effort with everyone helping out partnering each other and Brooke and Chris making their partnering debut.

Boris was of course on hand, the fish and chip supper afterwards means that it is one of his favourite events. He was very disappointed that Mr Benn had not made an appearance however and felt stern words needed to be had with his owner! Otherwise he was delighted with everyone’s performances and thought it was a fun day out.

Tradition dictates that we then adjourn to the Magpie Cafe to sample Whitby’s finest before returning home tired but pleased with our efforts.

Next week we have another NATD event and will look forward to seeing you then and Boris will be hoping to see Mr Benn!

So Easter is upon us once more and of course that means the Easter Sequence Festival. This time we were back in Scarborough, once again experiencing the joys of the cliff side hike. Fortunately the weather was kind to us and we did not have to endure this in the wind and rain.

An early alarm (isn’t it always) heralded the start of what is always an action packed weekend and Friday began with the professional Inventive Dance competition in which Ruth and Liam were taking part with their respective partners Karen and Charlotte. Ruth made the semifinal with her Cha Cha Cha and partnered Karen in the final with her Tango. Liam reached the final with all three of his dances and won with a lovely Saunter.

Next came the amateur competitions in which Josh & Grace, Stuart & Andrea, Neil & Carla and Chris & Lisa were all competing. Chris & Lisa had the most competitors in their event being open to all age groups and were delighted to make the final being placed sixth. Stuart & Andrea and Neil & Carla were placed second and third respectively in both their events and Josh & Grace won their event. A good start to the day and we just had time to unload the car and have a quick bite to eat before returning to the ballroom for the evening session.

The evening session of the competitions saw all four couples in action once again and sadly Chris & Lisa did not reach their final this time. Stuart & Andrea were placed second once again closely followed by Neil & Carla in third. Stuart & Andrea also came fourth in the open Valse Martine event and Josh & Grace won both of their events ending a very successful day.

With the sun beaming through the windows and the sea as calm as a mill pond we once again began our descent of the cliffs in close formation for day two of the festival. Once again all four couples would be action in both the afternoon and evening sessions. This afternoon saw Chris & Lisa secure third place in the over 35 years section and Stuart & Andrea taking the runner up spot in both of their events. Neil & Carla were placed third in one of their events and fourth in the other and Josh & Grace continued their winning streak in their first event but were then pipped at the post in their second. We had a little more time before the evening session, time to eat and relax a little and then off once more.

The evening session brought the open pre champ modern sequence title which was one of the largest entries so far and, in which Chris & Lisa were recalled to the final and were placed fifth, a very good result. We also had the Senior classical sequence where Stuart & Andrea once again finished second with Neil & Carla in fifth. In the Pro Am competition, Liam & Grace were placed first and completing the evening Josh & Grace won the Amateur modern sequence title. It was then off to the “after” party for those with any energy left (or those with plenty of stamina). Of course with the change to British Summer Time, we would be deprived of an hours sleep although thankfully we didn’t start until the afternoon the following day.

Bonnets, bunnies and bears! Easter Sunday arrived and the final day of the festival was soon upon us and it some ways it seemed that we had only just arrived. A sea mist had descended over the town but thankfully it remained dry and still.

Thankfully we didn’t start until lunchtime today so we could get ready at a slightly more sedate pace.

Easter Sunday always brings the eight dance events (although it used to be ten dances when Luke danced as he likes to remind us whenever the opportunity arises!) and these test the memories as well as the technical expertise of the dancers. After Louise performed the traditional bunny giving ceremony, we were on with the dancing. Chris & Lisa were placed fourth in their eight dance, third in the over 35 years pre champ and after being recalled through two rounds were placed sixth in their Latin event. Stuart & Andrea secured their (by now familiar) second place in two of their events but did go one better by winning the Tango competition. Neil & Carla came third in all three of their events whilst Josh & Grace won their eight dance event.

The final evening arrived all too soon and with the Open Amateur, Senior and Pre Champ events as well as the Open Latin event, we were in for an exciting finale. Chris & Lisa rounded off a very positive weekend by being recalled to the final and securing fifth place. Neil & Carla were fourth in the modern sequence whilst Stuart & Andrea finished second but were only one mark away from securing the top spot. All eyes were then on the prestigious North of Britain Amateur title which would be hard fought. Josh & Grace proved they were up to the task with a serene performance and taking the title by winning four out of the five dances and following in the footsteps of Luke & Joanne and Liam & Alex who have previously won this event.

The final event of the festival was the Amateur Latin competition in which both Josh & Grace and Neil & Carla were competing, finishing second and third respectively. It is always produces a great reaction from the crowd and the dancers can relax and enjoy the moment which they both did.

Congratulations to everyone who took part you were amazing and a great credit to our dance school. There were memorable moments for everyone whether that was improved performances, making finals, having the courage to take part and of course winning. Boris was of course on hand to witness every step and was delighted to see the improvements everyone is making. The support, as always, was incomparable but most important was the team effort and team spirit which was on display.

Emotionally and physically drained we, of course, returned to the hotel for the traditional post match analysis and reminiscences from a great weekend.