Duesbury Aldred Dance Centre Blog

It’s October so that means our annual trip to the seaside for fresh fish and chips and of course the social ballroom and Latin couples competitions. The spa at Whitby is a lovely ballroom; it has a large wooden floor and looks out from its cliff top position onto the beach and sea. Through the large porthole windows we can watch the ships sailing past. I would totally recommend the trip to anyone who gets the opportunity.

It was a bumper turn out today with most of the first rounds being danced in either two or even three heats. Therefore, any recalls, never mind final places had to be worked for. We were an all adults group today, made up of some regular attendees and some first timers to Whitby. Everyone looked lovely and ready for the challenges of the day ahead.

In the ballroom events there were four rounds in the Open Adult Waltz and Quickstep competition. Andrew & Dawn, Dennis & Sue and Chris & Serena danced three rounds to reach the semi final. Making the final round were Paul & Karen and Craig & Karly, coming 5^th and 6^th respectively.

In the Under 35 years Quickstep there were three rounds. Making the final were Paul & Karen and Craig & Karly, coming 4^th and 7^th respectively.

In the Over 35 years event there were only three couples but Chris & Serena danced the tricky Slow Foxtrot to finish in first place.

In the Over 50 years Waltz there were seven couples and our team couldn’t have done any better as Andrew & Dawn came first with Dennis & Sue second.

It was then time for the sequence section which was an Open Adult Saunter Together. There were 24 couples in the first round and everyone made at least the semi final, with Paul & Karen, Craig & Karly and Andrew & Dawn being successful in reaching the final. Paul & Karen secured 4^th place then Craig & Karly and Andrew & Dawn became inseparable and achieved a joint 5^th place.

The sequence section also had an open ‘fun’ Square Tango event. This could have been seen as a bit of a conundrum as how do we have fun in the tango!! However, it was the largest event by far with about 70 couples starting off. Along with our regular competitors Rob (Karly’s Dad) & Julie (Craig’s Mum) took to the floor and secured a recall to the second round. Well done on your dancing and entering into the spirit of the competition. Sue & Dennis also decided to bring about the changes as they reversed roles and it has to be said Dennis held his elbows up extremely well in the follower’s role!!! After five rounds, Paul & Karen came out victorious with leader Sue and follower Dennis coming into second place.

After the prize presentation for these events it was nearly 5pm and thoughts were starting to drift towards my fish & chips but there was still the Latin section to come so focus had to be regained for a few more hours.

In the Under 35 years Cha Cha Cha there were 14 couples, Craig & Karly reached the semi final and Paul & Karen reached the final, securing 6^th place.

In the Over 35 years Rumba, there were the same three couples and Chris & Serena made it a double by also winning this event.

In the Over 50 years Cha Cha Cha there was again seven couples. We secured 1^st and 2^nd spots again but this time with a reversal of fortunes with Dennis & Sue winning and Andrew & Dawn taking the runners up position.

In the Open Adult Rumba and Jive competition, Craig & Karly and Paul & Karen reached the final. Being placed 4^th and 5^th respectively.

In conclusion, the day had a lovely atmosphere with some great music, dancing and of course fish and chips for supper.

It’s now full steam ahead to the British Sequence Championships at Blackpool next weekend and then two weeks later the ISTD Grand Finals. Can we take this opportunity to wish everyone the very best of luck at both these events. For those of you who may not have heard there has been a partial collapse of the ceiling in the Empress Ballroom at Blackpool. This has been a major concern to the dancing world but repairs are underway and we have received clarification that the sequence festival will be held in the Spanish ballroom in the Winter Gardens complex but that the Empress Ballroom will be reopened in time for the ISTD event. This has been made possible by a false ceiling being erected with scaffolding roles holding it into position. Therefore, it is not a totally ideal situation but we are exceedingly grateful to be given access to the ballroom at all and we’re sure it won’t spoil a fabulous weekend.

The summer holiday’s are turning into a distant memory and the new term begins. This is one of the busiest and most exciting term’s on the calendar and it kicked off on Sunday with our sequence couples competition in Chesterfield.

The morning was given over to the children’s events and whilst we only had one couple representing the school they did a sterling job. In a couple of their events, Jack and Leila were the only competitors so had to perform their test dances on their own. A daunting task for some but Jack and Leila rose to the occasion and put on a lovely show for the audience.

Then it was into the afternoon session and the turn of the adults. In this part of the day we had great representation across all the grades. In the amateur classical sequence and modern sequence events Josh and Grace put on a great display to be awarded second place. In the senior classical sequence and modern sequence, Stuart and Andrea performed well to also secure two second places. In the under 35yrs social classical sequence, Paul and Karen were awarded second with Craig and Emily close behind in third. In the over 35yrs classical sequence, Neil and Carla were second, Andrew and Dawn third, Dennis and Sue fourth and, making their sequence debut, Chris and Allison were sixth.

These places were largely maintained in the social modern sequence event.

There was also a little time for some fun events. Josh made one little girls day by winning the two step fun event with her. In the adult fun event we had intense rivalry which culminated in Stuart winning and Andrea coming second (I have the feeling we may be hearing about this for some time to come!).

Another first, was that Luke adjudicated his first Chesterfield event, which was a very proud moment.

Finally, days like this do not run themselves and we would like to thank Ruth, Joan,  Allison, Dawn, Janice and Brian for their crucial contributions.

Moving forward we have a period of intense work prior to the two main Blackpool events in October and November……exciting times…..

The final competition before the summer break was a Blackpool qualifying event, this time at Castleford near Leeds. The advantages of Castleford over the usual venue of Pudsey is that as it’s closer we got an extra half hour in bed but it does have the challenge of the octagonal dance floor. We were a reasonably large group, although there were a few absences due to holidays and one group were unfortunately left stranded on the M1 with a puncture. We also had a few new members to the qualifying team and everybody was very welcoming to Ellie, Shanae, and Charlotte Brightwell.

Within the children’s individual events, the results were positive, thus there being many final places including Kaitlyn, Ellie, Shanae, Paige, Chloe, Luke, Jack, Isobel, Grace S, and Leila, many of these being first places. The overall results of the individual children events were high, which resulted in many trophies. All competitors within the children’s individual Ballroom and Latin events reached the final with many results being first, second, and thirds.

The children’s couple results were also positive, with both couples reaching the final with Luke and Chloe achieving a first place with their Tango and Rumba which are difficult dances for a couple’s event. We would also like to congratulate Jack and Leila, for reaching both of their finals with their couple’s events, and gaining first place in their couples Rumba.

As the morning progressed, a fun competition was introduced to all competitors, which included three people, one being under 12 yrs, one between 12 and 16 yrs, and the other being an adult. This dance consisted of CCC, however one competitor had to have no feet touching the floor at all times. This resulted in Grace, Grace, and Leila winning first place, followed by a third from Jack, Karly, and Chloe, with an addition of Paige, Shanae, and Charlotte also competing.

As for the Juvenile and Junior sequence three dance, all of our competitors had danced to their best abilities and in doing so achieved high results such as seconds. The juvenile sequence being Washington Two Step, Woodside Waltz, and Let’s Jive; all reaching the semi finals. The junior sequence three dances being Windsor Glide, Emily’s Foxtrot, and Shoebury Samba resulted in finals from both Jack and Leila achieving high results. Adult sequence also resulted in high places such as second, third and fourth places. Everyone danced the final in the over 35yrs, with final places in the over 50yrs and Emily reaching the final in the under 35yrs.

Once the children had collected their results, it was the adults turn for their individual competitions. All competitors had reached their finals in their Ballroom resulting in high positions such as firsts, seconds, and thirds. This was also the same case within the Latin with firsts from Charlotte Be, Craig, Hazel, Allison, and Neil.

The adult couples all reached the finals, with all competitors presented with either a first, second or a third. These being from Craig & Emily, Karly & Charlotte Be, Chris & Serena, Josh & Grace P and Neil & Carla. The chosen dances for adult couples were Tango, Waltz, Rumba and Samba, these being more difficult than other couples competitions; however this did not push any of the competitors off track, and fortunately achieved many firsts.

 

As always, days like these are a team effort. Firstly, thank you to Emily, who has written this blog (she is with us this week on work experience). Also, thank you to those who partnered on Sunday. For varying reasons we were without our usual team of Luke, Ruth, Liam and Alex, therefore Josh and Grace stepped up to the task and carried it out very efficiently. Also, to all chauffeurs, supporters and financiers, you are all crucial.

We have a few more weeks of hard work before the summer break, in which to consider a few more finer points of technical detail. We can then all recharge our batteries and return ready for some hard work (and fun) in the autumn term. We have Chesterfield open sequence event first week back, Whitby in October and various other sequence events, prior to the British Sequence Championships in October and ISTD Grand Finals in November, both of which are in Blackpool. Then, without, hardly a pause for breath we will have NATD exams and Strictly George Spencer.

As this is probably the final blog before the break, Boris would like to take the opportunity to wish you a happy summer and to thank you for your hard work, dedication and loyalty over the last term and hopes you are looking forward to the next term. He is currently packing his shorts (Bearmuda style of course) ready for his break.

The Mystery Blogger appeared to cause some difficulties this time with most people completely on the wrong track. However it was a joint effort this time by Isobel and Chloe so thank you for a detailed and well written report.

Well done also to Hazel who was closest and so has been awarded the prize.

Look out soon for a report from Castleford.

“We would just like to start off by saying what another fantastic competition organised by Robert and Louise! Everyone who competed gave it their all and as usual all our fellow Duesbury Aldred friends danced amazingly! Adult and children alike gave it their everything, and it showed in the results!

Here is a summary of some of the day’s highlights:

We started the day with Ballroom, our favourite ballroom dance was the quickstep! We particularly enjoyed it as it was very upbeat and lively.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the sequence, from the adults dancing the Saunter Shiraz down to the much anticipated under 6’s dancing the walks and points. Each and every dancer gave it their everything!

We have a split decision on our favourite Latin dance of the day!

For one of us it was the Tango! This dance is such a powerful dance and we are sure that this saying runs through most dancer’s head whilst dancing the Tango… “Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow!” It certainly runs through our minds a lot.

Our other favourite Latin dance was the Cha-cha-cha! This is because it’s such a lot of fun to dance and before the music even starts out come the cheeky cha-cha-cha hips!

The biggest highlight of the day for us was the last dance of the day! The fun dance! Everyone seemed to take to the dancefloor but a special mention must go to Luke! Even after spending the entire day partnering other dancers he still managed to take a barn dance and put a Luke twist and shimmy into it. We left the dancefloor in fits of giggles!!

The fantastic results the dance school achieved is in part due to our amazing teachers: Robert, Louise, Luke, Ruth, Liam and Alexandra. They each deserve a huge round of applause for the outstanding dedication they put into teaching. Another huge mention must go to all the parents, carers, grandparents and supporters for all the hard work they put in behind the scenes!”

Thank you to our Mystery Blogger/s – remember there is a prize for the first correct guess.

 

Yesterday was one of the highlights of the dancing year, our own competition at West Park. Almost the entire dance school were out in force, most to compete but others just coming along to support. The atmosphere was terrific all day long and everyone seemed determined to give their best. In many of the finals we managed a clean sweep of all the final places and there many first places which was excellent.

For others there were personal bests whether that was making it around the floor, making a final, getting a recall or just being part of the event and there were also some first timers too. Boris and the gang (or should I say sloth!) thoroughly enjoyed themselves and are already planning their next get together.

A massive thank you to all those who helped out on the day: Maria, Martin, Anita, Caroline, Janet, Beverley, Joan, Julie and Andy Hall. Of course we couldn’t do it without our regular partners: Luke, Ruth, Alex and Liam, I am sure everyone appreciates your dedication. Also a big thank you to all of you who took on partnering duties, mostly alongside competing: Karen, Josh, Grace P, Craig, Molly, Paul, Andy, Neil, Claire, Emily and Karly and for coming along to lessons and classes to practice. It is a real team effort and great to see how everyone pulls together to help make it the success that it is.

Our Mystery Blogger will once again be making an appearance, look out for a report soon.

It seems ages since we have been at a competition, in fact it is March since we had a team outing and so it was good to be out in force once again. Boris expressed how excited he was at seeing all his chums once more and watching everyone dance.

The occasion was the ISTD Sequence Medallist Festival at West Park Leisure Centre so a nice short trip for most of us and plenty of dancing. More importantly there were qualifying place up for grabs for the ISTD Grand Finals in November.

Today was all about sequence and alongside the regular three dance qualifying events there were a number of events covering Classical, Modern and Latin Sequence as well as some Couples and Adult and Child events.

As always the team performed brilliantly with 34 first places overall secured by Charlotte Brightwell, Grace S, Olivia, Grace P, Josh, Karen H, Jack, Karly, Christine, Carla, Kaitlyn, Chloe, Debbie, Alexander and Allison. Furthermore many of these were multiple winners.

In the couples events, Grace S & Chloe won in their first outing together with a very controlled Gainsborough Glide and there were also wins for Josh & Grace and Neil & Carla. In the Adult and Child event, from an entry of around 25 couples, Andy & Grace and Josh and Olivia were tied for first place a great result from all.

With so many excellent performances to choose from it is impossible to mention them all but some of the other highlights were: Olivia securing three first places in her one dance events and a second in her three dance event against some tough competition, Karly winning two of her individual events, Paige, Miriam, Charlotte Bennett, Alexander, Geraldine and Allison all qualifying for the Sequence events at Grand Finals and Kaitlyn’s very cheeky Cha Cha Cha.

Many thanks go once again to our hard working partners: Luke, Ruth, Liam, Alex as well as those who partnered alongside competing themselves: Josh, Grace P, Karen, Libbie and Emily. Also thanks go to Maria and Jean for their help on the door, anyone else who helped in any other way and of course everyone who came to support.

Only two weeks until the next big outing which is of course our own event. Make sure you are there, we couldn’t “bear it” if you’re not!!!

Easter usually means chocolate eggs, bunnies and a long weekend but it also brings the Southport Sequence Festival.

In action this year were Dawn & Andy, Carla & Neil, Grace & Josh and Andrea & Stuart. The first event in which we had some interest was the Dancer of the Year in which Carla & Neil were placed 3^rd and Dawn & Andy 6^th, a good start to the weekend. In the Senior Modern Sequence event Andrea & Stuart were placed 3^rd and Grace & Josh danced their first competition in the “Amateur” grade, having moved up following their successes last year. This was the event which Liam and Alex won last year and although they have now retired from Sequence competitions it was nice to see them in attendance throughout the festival supporting their fellow competitors. Grace & Josh gave a good account of themselves but unfortunately they didn’t get a recall on this occasion.

In the over 35 years Classical Sequence event Dawn & Andy turned the tables on Carla & Neil finishing 3^rd and 4^th respectively. The Latin sequence events followed and this usually creates some interest and excitement with both dancers and audience since this is one of the few places which puts on such events. This year we had separate events for both under 35 years and over 35 years. Carla & Neil won their event with Andy & Dawn 2^nd and Grace and Josh came 2^nd in their event. The finale of the day was the Pro-Am event, which replaced the usual team match, in which Alex & I were placed 1^st. A great overall team performance then after which we retired to the bar where “Liam and Alex” could be seen tucking into a picnic and a few glasses of wine.

The next day began with Dawn, Andy, Carla, Neil, Grace and Josh all in action once more. In their two dance event Carla and Neil secured 3^rd and Dawn and Andy 4^th whilst in their four dance event Grace and Josh gave a much more assured performance but unfortunately did not make the final. However, Grace looked lovely in her new dress and Josh very suave in his new tail suit. I am sure that these will be performances to build on for the future.

All too soon it was the final evening of the festival and all our dancers were in action once more. Andrea & Stuart, once again, were placed 3^rd in their event whilst Carla & Neil excelled themselves with a 2^nd place in their Modern Sequence event followed by Dawn & Andy in 4^th place in the same event. Grace & Josh again performed well in their Modern Sequence event but progressing to the final was always going to be difficult especially when only five were recalled. Another successful day then for the team and afterwards we retired back to the hotel to relive some of the highlights of the weekend of which there were many.

Roll on next year!!

Thanks to all of you who posted a guess and the mystery blogger was in fact Craig. Many of you guessed correctly and after careful consideration Hazel has been declared the winner. Your prize is on its way.

Thank you to Craig for his lovely article and roll on our competition in June when another mystery blogger will be invited to share their thoughts on the day.

The Mystery Blogger reports on from recent event, but can you guess their identity???

Competition time again but this Sunday it was on our doorstep and run by our very own Robert and Louise, along with a great many selfless volunteers. With such a wondrous sense of community and support at this event, it easily makes it my personal favourite every year. All of our competitors were dressed to the nines with the boys suited up and the girls looking as elegant as always and wearing their diamonds. We had a few new competitors joining us for their first competition who provided some incredible entertainment and equally fantastic results which only added to the atmosphere during proceedings.

Starting with the adult sequence first and the dances chosen for this year were the Liberty Two Step and Tango Serida, which are both hard dances to perform with very sharp and precise movements. This section consisted of around an hour’s worth of hard-fought competition before the final rounds were completed. Everyone partnering for our school barely had chance to catch their breath before being delightfully recalled to the next round, either for themselves or their respective partners (of which I had two). A partner who definitely deserves an honourable mention is Karen Hoskin who I don’t think anyone saw off the floor for the entire day, I’m sure all of your partners are incredibly grateful.

Magnificent results were achieved in spades throughout all sections, from sequence to ballroom and all the way through into the later latin events where everyone still gave their all. The raffle tickets were sold by our trusty team and later drawn throughout the day. One of my supporters is definitely a big fan of the raffle and luckily won one of the fantastic prizes.

My personal highlight of the day has to be watching the 6 years and under walks and points. In this event all of the future stars spaced themselves out and put on a fabulous performance winning the hearts of all the crowd. Even more so when the spacing seemed to vanish and it gave the appearance of a formation dance with Robert leading them around the floor!

Speaking of stars, S club’s reach for the stars made its regular appearance and ended the day on the high note upon which it began. I look forward to dancing with everyone again for our second Dancesteps competition of the year in June!

Your mysterious blogger.