Duesbury Aldred Dance Centre Blog

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.

Thank you all for taking part once again, it was not an easy one this time although some of your guesses were quite close. However one person correctly identified the Mystery Blogger as Brooke. Well done Jean, a prize is on its way to you and thank you Brooke for your excellent report.

Look out for future reports from MB. You never know who it might be next!

Spring is officially here and that can only mean one thing, a return to Kirkby for our Dancesteps competition.  Wow what a day it was!  After another year, we return for another ‘family reunion’ as one may call it.  Starting very early to get ready and a foggy drive we arrive to see our wonderful dance family, who filled over half of the Festival Hall alongside the other dance schools who had travelled to support and compete at this event.  It was lovely to see everyone’s eager faces and positive attitudes, ready to take part in the Dancesteps competition once again.

Commencing firstly with the junior 12-15’s, who showcased a beautiful Waltz and Quickstep, setting the bar for fellow competitors.  Elegant and sparkly dresses took to the floor as the nerve racking opening to the competition commenced.  However, the mood was lightened with the enthusiastic audience who supported throughout the whole day!

Following on from the ballroom section we then continued with the Sequence event, which I personally find the most difficult. It was wonderful to see so many competitors who took to the floor, starting with the juveniles Gainsborough Glide, what a lovely performance!  Continuing onto the juniors, who then danced an elegant but sharp Veleta and Tango Serida (a personal favourite of mine).  Following on into a delightful walks & points from the 6 years and under, so amazingly proud!  Closing the sequence section were the adults, showcasing their Saunter Shiraz and Liberty Two-Step, finishing off with a starter Tango Serida.

Last but not least we had the latin section, full of energy and great music.  

My favourite event of the day had to be the 16-35’s couples jive, keeping in the  tradition of dancing to “Reach For The Stars”, everyone spectating got involved with this song too! A great end to the day.

The day was completed with a friendly barn dance, getting friends, parents and grandparents involved, giving everyone a chance to take part.  Afterwards the trophies and tokens were handed out to those who had won an award.  It has to be said that these events are so special due to the abundance of support and enthusiasm within the dance community.  I would also personally like to say a great thank you on both mine and my fellow dancers behalf, to all who helped partner on the day. I hope to be at a level to be able to return the favour one day. It was a pleasure to dance and perform for everyone there, alongside our “dance family”. I and many others, look forward to next year’s Dancesteps event!

Spring has sprung  and the first Sunday in March always heralds our own competition at the lovely Kirkby Leisure Centre. It is a favourite of Boris and the Bear team as not only do they get special reserved seating but they also get to see everyone, as we have a full school turnout for this event. A report from the Mystery Blogger will follow, who will it be this time? As always people have different goals whether that be getting a recall, making a final, doing better than last time or even just dancing better under the pressure of an event. However in today’s role of honour there were first places for:

In the ballroom events: Rosie, Kaitlyn, Paige, Heather, Carol, Peter, Craig, Neil, Grace P and Alisha Rose. In the Sequence events: Rosie, Olivia, Tabatha, Craig, Karen and Heather. Whilst in the Latin events: Tabatha, Paige, Lisa, Peter, Craig, Paul, Neil, Grace P and Sophie.

In the couples events there were wins for Tabatha & Kaitlyn, Paul & Karen and Craig & Grace and then in the Adult and Child CCC under 12 years section, Paul & Olivia were the only couple from the school to make the final. In the over 12 year section we had a better showing with Emily & Chloe winning and Craig & Megan, Karly & Tabatha and Charlotte & Brooke filling places second, third and fourth in that order.

Of course thank you to all our helpers both the professionals and those who partner as well as competing: Luke, Ruth, Liam, Grace P, Craig, Charlotte, Emily, Stuart, Andrea, Paul, Karen and Grace S. Alongside our support team of Julie for Scrutineering, Andrew for the music, Auntie Joan for ticket collecting, Jean & Beverley for door duty and Rob & Debbie on the raffle. Finally for those who come along to support your contribution is amazing and valued by the competitors. It’s a real team effort and one which we can all be proud to share in.

Is it really a year since our last presentation dance? Once again the school comes together for an afternoon of dancing, socialising and most importantly, cake!

It’s a relaxed event and one which Boris enjoys enormously as he gets to meet people who don’t come to the competitions and to see young and old mixing together enjoying their dancing. During the afternoon we are treated to displays of dancing by both the younger dancers (Rosie, Alisha, Olivia, Alisha Rose, Kaitlyn, Brooke, Chloe and Sophie) all keen to show off the skills they have acquired. Next came the older children (now young adults): Josh, Grace, Craig, Charlotte and Emily dancing a montage of Ballroom together with some of the professionals. Everyone was fabulous and thank you for those partnering the younger dancers alongside taking part themselves. Whilst enjoying the demonstrations, spectating, it seems, can also be a hazardous activity though!

Finally we were treated to a Classical Sequence demonstration by the recently crowned All England Amateur Classical and Modern Sequence Champions, Josh and Grace.

We have a mix of ballroom, Latin, sequence and fun dances to get everyone involved whether dancers or not and of course the tea and cake supplied by the church volunteers. We also have a raffle with most prizes generously donated which this year was raising money for the end of life care unit of the Florence Nightingale Hospital in Derby. A fantastic amount of £126 was raised so thank you for all your contributions. Following the presentation we always present the School Award which this year went to Andrew and Dawn both for their achievements last year in winning both their Over 35 years and Over 50 years competitions at the British Sequence Championships in Blackpool alongside their dedication and many other achievements over the last 15 years.

All too soon we came to the end of the day with the traditional Virginia Reel. There is of course always more to come, in two weeks we have our own competition at Kirkby when once again we have a full turnout. Make sure you are there. Boris will be, along with his chums.

The Kettering ISTD qualifier has traditionally been the first one of the year but hasn’t been run since before Covid. Quite a number of the team today had, in fact, never been before and so it was a new experience for them. The competition was also synonymous with snow as on quite a few occasions in the past we have had some heavy snowfalls and even had to dig ourselves out at the end of the day. All was fair today however and so there were no issues in that department.

We were missing a few regulars today for various reasons and also had some new recruits. Boris was of course excited at his first outing of the new year after quite a long break and looked forward to catching up with his chums and seeing the new sequence dances being performed.

The juveniles commenced proceedings, as always, with Alisha, Rosie, Olivia and Scarlett in action. Our little ones are still fairly new to this experience but are gaining in confidence with each outing. Alisha and Rosie finished 3rd and 4th in their ballroom and 6th and 3rd in the latin respectively and in the sequence Rosie performed her Veleta solo, a difficult task at any age, and as well as receiving her trophy she also had the accolade of being the first dancer (and winner) in the under 8 years sequence category which is new to the programme this year. Olivia came 2nd in her sequence event and Scarlett was placed 5th in her ballroom event, 7th in the latin and 3rd in the sequence.

In the junior section we had the ‘Fab Four’ of Brooke, Chloe, Kaitlyn and Tabatha who often have one of the hardest sections of the day. Nevertheless they were all up to the task with both Brooke and Tabatha making their ballroom final finishing 3rd and 5th in a strong field. In the Latin, Brooke also made her final ending with a 5th place. Chloe was recalld to both her ballroom and latin finals being placed 7th and 4th respectively. In the sequence it was a straight final but Tabatha secured the win with Brooke placed 3rd, Kaitlyn 4th and Chloe 5th. In the ballroom couples section Chloe and Brooke came 3rd and Tabatha and Kaitlyn finished 4th. Both couples made the latin final, being place 4th and 5th respectively. A good showing by all then especially since Kettering is one of the harder competitions we support.

The adult section saw Grace, Emily, Charlotte, Craig, Karly, Fearn, Paige, Karen, Paul, Chris, Allison, Alison, Kathryn, Lisa, and joining us for the first time, Rebecca. Rebecca won both her events and was also placed 7th in the sequence which was a new discipline for her. A great first outing for her. There were also wins today for Lisa, in all three of her individual events and both her couples events along with Chris. Karly, Paige, Grace and Paul also had wins individually and Craig & Grace and Paul & Karen also had wins in their couples events. Of course it is not always about winning and there were some excellent final placings for others team members as well as the all important qualifications for Grand Finals in November. There is more work to be done of course but it was a good start to the year.

As always, we thank and appreciate our partners, Liam, Ruth, Grace and Craig for their hard work both on the day and in the lessons beforehand. We have a busy few weeks ahead with the Medal Presentation dance on 18th February and then the next full team outing will be our own competition on 3rd March so make sure you are there.

One of the last events of our year is the annual Christmas Party. An opportunity to meet up with friends and acquaintances we haven’t seen in a while in a relaxed, social environment. It is always a popular outing and we were in a new venue this time, Springfield Hall in Sandiacre.

We were able to secure a private function, which is always preferable and the venue proved to be a success on the whole with good food, great company and a lovely setting. We have one more event before this year draws to a close and that is the class party next week. Make sure you don’t miss it!!

It was cold and crisp for the first day of our exam session and then thick with snow for day two. All of our dancers nevertherless braved the elements and arrived immaculately turned out and ready to give the examiner their best performances. There were some first timers along with many old hands but even seasoned performers can still have the occasional wobble now and then. However, everyone was determined to impress and you are all a credit to the dance school.

The examiner remarked how wonderful everyone was and how she had thoroughly enjoyed her time with us.

Boris was of course on hand to watch every step taken and to give everyone positive vibes. He very much enjoyed the session of course but was equally looking forward to the arrival of the Christmas bears. Now that exams are out of the way the seasons festivities can begin starting with the Christmas party next week which has a fabulous turnout in a new (to us) venue, followed by the class party the week after.

It was time once more to don our dancing gear for the final competition of this year, for most of our team. It was the NATD area qualifier for Blackpool next July and the opportunity to secure a spot to dance at the famous Wintergardens. 

There were only individual ballroom and Latin events on today’s programme and most of the team were in action. In the juvenile section there was Scarlett, Olivia and Alisha-Rose. Scarlett and Olivia both made their ballroom final, both finishing 4th. Olivia also made her Latin final finishing 5^th

In the junior events there was Brooke, Tabatha, Megan and Sophie dancing. Megan and Sophie danced in the same events and were placed 4th and 7th in their ballroom and 2nd and 6th in their Latin respectively. Meanwhile Tabatha was placed 2nd and 3rd and Brooke finished 3rd and 7th in the same event.

In the winners enclosure in the adult sections there was Paige, Craig, Charlotte, Chris, Paul, Karen, Kathryn, Lisa, Stephen, Allison, Andrew and Hazel. Some of these were hard fought wins whilst others were earned by solo performances.

As this was the first qualifying competition for next year, some dancers had moved up age or grade categories and some were performing new routines for the first time in a competition. Whatever, personal targets each dancer had for the day, everyone danced well and those who started the year as ‘newbies’ in competing at this level, are now developing their competitive edge and delivering better under the pressure of competition. Above all though it was about the opportunity to qualify for Blackpool next year which everyone did, so mission accomplished! 

Thanks once again to those who  partnered, Ruth and Craig, as always your help is appreciated and of course the support from the everyone else is second to none.

Boris was in attendance as always together with his chums all keen to give their support to the team. They were so excited to have a table, which they only normally get at Daventry, so they could spread out without being worried all day about falling through the back of the chairs! He remarked on the improvements he has witnessed in many of our dancers over the year and looks forward with great enthusiasm to next year. His final official engagement will be the NATD exams in two weeks before the Christmas party season gets into full swing.

Next year’s diary dates are out (although there are still a few dates to be confirmed) so make sure you have your copy.