Yesterday was a sequence only Blackpool qualifier competition. The event we usually call Whitwick but this year the venue changed to West Park, Long Eaton. This meant we were on home ground and also that we had an extra 15 minutes in bed (nice).
We had a strong turnout both in quantity and quality. In the Juvenile event, Grace S won, Chloe was 2nd and Isobel was 4th. They were all amazing but special mention must go to Isobel who has worked so hard to be ready for her first sequence three dance event and on the day rose to the challenge and performed way beyond expectation. She also looked lovely in the new dress she’d had for the occasion.
In the Junior event, Molly won, Olivia was 2nd and Jack was 3rd. They all looked great and importantly have now qualified to dance at Blackpool.
In the under 35yrs event we had seven dancers. Josh and Grace had the added challenge of partnering each other and should be pleased they secured both 1st and 2nd spots. Emily came a very satisfying 3rd, with Libbie, Craig, Paul and Karly coming in close behind.
In the over 35yrs event there were only four entries. So our team of Karen, Serena, Neil and Chris were responsible for putting on the show. Today Karen turned the tables on recent results, proving how close everyone is and how such minute details and adjudicators personal preferences can change a result.
In the over 50yrs event we had nine dancers. Carla maintained her winning form and came out top again, closely followed by Dawn, Christine, Andy, Sue and Dennis.
This event has more spectators than our usual competitions and we were very proud of the display you all put on for them. As we were such a large team today, lots of partners had to the drafted in. Huge thanks to Luke, Liam, Alex and Ruth who came especially to partner and also to Josh, Karen and Molly who partnered as well as competed.
After the competitions, Liam and Alex treated us all to a super demonstration of classical sequence dancing. Showing us why they are the four times reigning undefeated British amateur champions. Alex looked beautiful in her white dress and Liam rather dapper in his tail suit. They performed a medley of classical waltzes, gavottes, saunters and two steps. I could see the audience trying to keep up with the long list of dances being displayed.
Liam and Alex bear were immaculately turned out to support their namesakes. In fact our family gathering of bears was so large today they needed their own table, a chair will no longer suffice. They all watched on attentively although we had a few tears at the end as one poor little bear was sadly left behind. Boris is currently providing support and hopefully he will be reunited with his owner soon (unless of course he decides it’s more fun to stay with Boris).
So there we have it. Another successful day. Next week we are off to Pudsey hoping for more Blackpool qualifying slips to be secured.
A nice day out, and lovely to see everyone dancing and looking so smart! Looking forward to my first inventive dances next year, Skywalker Samba and Chewbacca Cha Cha Cha!