For the select group travelling to Daventry on this sunny Saturday (yes, Saturday!) morning there was one aim – to qualify for NATD Grand Finals in July. Due to illness, unavailability and the competion schedule not quite being back to normal after the disruption of lockdown, this was the last chance for those who had not already secured their Blackpool place to do so. The event, which is traditionally Latin only, even had some Ballroom events added to allow for those final spots to be claimed in both branches.
Daventry is usually a Sunday competion with dancers arriving early to a somewhat sleepy town still waking up, however today we were greeted by the start of a Park Run commencing at the Daventry Leisure Centre! Still, it got us energised and in the right frame of mind for the task ahead.
As we stood in the queue waiting to go into the sports hall, we habitually looked around for the other Duesbury Aldred jackets which means that the team is out in force until we remembered it was just the 2 team members today – Hazel and Jack with support from Jayne and Steve.
Jack was up first to perform his Samba. Although the music was slower he gave a lively solo performance for the audience. Hazel followed not too long after with her Rumba – also a solo performance, which earned extra applause from the crowd!
After the Latin prize presentation we moved onto the Ballroom section of the day. This time, both Hazel and Jack were performing Tango. Again these were solo performances, with both receiving praise regarding their technique. This was wonderful to hear and is reflective of the high standard which our school adheres to.
After the Ballroom prize presentation there was a quick lunch and then having acheived our objective, we moved onto the ‘fun’ events for the day! Those who have been to Daventry before will be familiar with the Jean Johnson Memorial Ragtime Swing event. This is held every year at Daventry in honour of the late Jean Johnson whose favourite dance was Ragtime Swing. There are juvenile, junior and adult events for this. Hazel and Jack decided to make the most of the journey and paired up to take part. They were placed a respectable 5th out of 8 considering neither had done this dance for a considerable time and their only practise together had been 5 minutes before the start of the event!
To finish off the day, there was the “Rose Bowl” event. In this one, a dancer pairs with a non-dancer to do waltz. The dance floor was the most crowded it had been all day and it was great to see everyone beaming as their parents/family/friends took to the floor and had a go. A great way to end a successful day.
Hazel and Jack were both scheduled to be dancing again the next day in Lutterworth, so Boris’ friend Zoe congratulated them on ‘Mission Accomplished’ today and told them to have a relaxing evening to prepare for their second qualifying event in 2 days!! Zoe will need a good rest after 2 solid days of cheering!
Thank you to Ruth for going to Daventry to partner and also sending in this report.