For many of the team this was the last competition of the year. Not long after attending Blackpool for the ISTD event we were thinking about qualifying again for Blackpool next summer and we are are pleased to say everyone did so. That said there was a good turnout and some decent competition, in some of the sections. All of the juveniles and most of the juniors needed a recall to make their finals and many of the adults had other dancers to try and beat.
Rosie had two new dances (to her) to perform today, the quickstep and jive which are tricky when you are only six year’s old. Nevertheless she danced them both admirably and secured a final place finishing third in her quickstep.
Ashleigh finished second in both of her events whilst Brooke, Tabatha and Megan were all recalled to both their finals. Brooke took first place in her ballroom and second in the latin, Tabatha was third in ballroom and sixth in her latin and Megan was placed fourth in ballroom and fifth in latin.
In the adult section there were first places for: Paige, Alison T, Lisa and Kathryn whilst Rebecca and Karen won both of their events. All of the adult events were straight finals and Craig, Chris, Paul, Stephen, Angela and Hazel, sadly had no competition but it is still good practice to get out on the floor and dance in front of an audience in a competition setting and try and put into effect what has been learnt in lessons.
Boris and friends, of course, were in attendance and it will also be their last formal gathering of the year so they were excited to all be together once again. They do like this event as they get to sit on the table, have room to spread out and get a good view of everyone’s dancing!
Still to come, we have the NATD exams in a few weeks before the party season kicks in so Boris will be kept busy.
Another weekend, another trip to Blackpool this time for the ISTD Grand Finals. Always a tough event with dancers from across the country qualifying to take part in this national event. With ballroom, sequence and Latin, as well as two new open events involving the Viennese Waltz and Paso Doble, there was plenty to test our team of dancers.
The juveniles were first in action with Rosie, Alisha and Olivia taking to the floor. With several heats from the first round and some tricky dances, this was not going to be easy. Alisha and Rosie both danced a lovely tango, Rosie making the semi final but sadly Alisha didn’t get a recall this time. Olivia also danced nicely in her event but again missed getting a recall. The sequence followed and both Rosie and Alisha took to the floor with the Veleta, the first time this event had been danced at Grand Finals. In the final Rosie was placed third and Alisha sixth. In the Latin everyone danced nicely again but unfortunately no one managed to secure a recall this time. Rosie also paired up with a girl from another dance school for an impromptu couples partnership and despite having little practice to sort out a routine received a recall in their ballroom event and made the semi final of the Latin, an excellent result.
The juniors followed and in the team today we had regular attendees, Chloe, Kaitlyn, Tabatha and Brooke with the addition of Megan and Ashleigh, for the first time at this event. Again they all had to navigate several heats and rounds to progress further which they all did. With Ashleigh, Megan and Tabatha reaching the semi final of their events. In the open Viennese Waltz Ashleigh, Tabatha, Chloe and Brooke all received a recall with Tabatha again securing a semi final place.
In the sequence events Brooke, Tabatha, Kaitlyn and Chloe all reached the final being placed second, third, fifth and seventh respectively. A great achievement and well deserved. Some of our dancers were also pleased to come in on Saturday especially to partner our friends from Barbados in the sequence events, to help support and encourage them in this style. A lovely gesture which I know they appreciate.
In the Latin only Chloe managed to secure a recall in the graded events but in the open Paso event Tabatha, Megan and Ashleigh were all recalled to the next round and once again Tabatha made it to the semi final, a brilliant achievement dancing against higher graded dances all performing open choreography.
Sadly none of our junior couples received a recall in their events despite some good performances. However, Ashleigh and Megan had teamed up together and danced with confidence in spite this being their first outing together, a daunting place to make your debut, even for seasoned competitors.
So ended day one and there was time for a quick meal before returning to the ballroom for the evening social dance and get together. Tonight was a tribute to Liz, the former DJ for many years at these events who we sadly lost recently and it was great to see everyone joining in and having fun.
Day two saw another early start and it was back to the ballroom for another epic day and it was the turn of our adults to see what they could do. Once again we had some first timers at this event, Rebecca, Stephen and Angela. The day began with the sequence events and here we had our first winner of the weekend with Craig taking first place closely followed by Grace, Emily, Paige and Charlotte in second, fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Chris was the winner of his event but had to perform a solo demonstration to achieve it (no easy task on the Wintergardens floor). Whilst Serena, Lisa, Carla, Andrew and Neil filled second to sixth places in that order in their event. Finally Rosalind finished second in her event with Dawn and Hazel taking the next two places. We were off to a good start.
In the ballroom events there were semi finals for Rebecca, Serena and Allison and making their finals were Angela (sixth), Lisa (fourth), Paige (sixth), Craig (second), Hazel (fifth) and Grace, who made the final of both her graded and open event finishing in fifth place in both. We also had our second winner of the day with Rosalind in her ballroom graded event. Almost everyone else received at least one recall which was pleasing to see as the standard was high, as it always is.
The latin section followed and this time there were semi finals for Stephen, Kathryn, Paige, Craig, Emily, Serena and Carla in both of her events. We also had further finalists with Lisa securing a sixth place, Rosalind second and Hazel eighth.
Next came the couples events in which we had Rebecca & Fearn, Chris & Lisa, Andrew & Dawn, Craig & Grace, Charlotte & Emily, Hazel & Kathryn and Stephen & Angela dancing. Rebecca & Fearn were delighted to get a recall in their tango. Andrew & Dawn were placed second in their ballroom event with Chris & Lisa made both ballroom and latin finals finishing third and fifth. We then had our third win of the weekend with Craig & Grace securing a win in their ballroom event and they also made their latin final being placed fourth.
A great weekend for everyone and as always there were some personal successes and a few disappointments. It is tough of course but gives our dancers the opportunity to mix with some of the country’s best dancers in their respective age and grade categories and helps them understand what is needed to progress further.
As always we need to acknowledge the tremendous effort and dedication of our team of partners and assistants including some who were stepping up for the first time at these events. Many thanks therefore to Luke, Liam, Ruth, Grace, Craig, Emily, Charlotte and Paige. I am sure everyone appreciates the hard work you all put in on their behalf which is not just about partnering on the day but also learning dances and routines, attending lessons and being available as required throughout the weekend. In addition, Ruth of course keeps us all in check with the clipboard, a vital role, as is keeping us supplied with tea and coffee so thank you to Julie for that. Finally, all the family and friends who support our dancers both on and off the floor it can’t be done without you.
Boris, naturally, was in attendance from the first steps to the last, along with his chums, a couple of whom were seasonally attired. He was pleased and excited to see our dancers perfoming to their best ability and delighted to welcome our new team members. He was also delighted to see the return of Michael who had returned from his adventures and he kept a close paw on him to make sure he didn’t wander off again!!
Next year marks the 25th celebration of this event which we have attended since 2004 and so we hope many of you will also want to be part of this landmark event too.
We now pause for a moment’s breath before we focus on the NATD exams closely followed by the Christmas build up.
