Duesbury Aldred Dance Centre Blog

The first Sunday in March meant the first Dancesteps competition of the year. So early, especially for all of us adult competitors who are used to a later start, on a grey and rainy day we found ourselves in Kirkby in Ashfield and for the first time, for many of us, at a new venue The Festival Hall.

The Duesbury Aldred Dance School was out in force with an impressive mix of dancers and spectators taking up the entire length of one side of the room. For some there was first competition nerves mingling in with the nerves of the more seasoned competitors but once the music started, we were off.

No one disappointed. We were thoroughly entertained with a fabulous display of dancing, in the individual sections, from the very youngest, special mention must go to little Olivia, to the oldest of the team. Everyone performing at their very best. And not forgetting those partnering who worked incredibly hard to help all the dancers shine even earning themselves the odd shiny face for their efforts.

Louise, who had luckily regained her voice, kept the competition moving along helped by many well-known faces and a new assistant who oversaw the music. Before we knew it, the couple’s competition was announced. This was the last of the categories for most of us, including myself, and we saw some new pairings alongside the familiar. Again, everyone worked really hard putting into practice all the training that goes on during the week.

Then came the presentations which represented another first. The rewarding of tokens to all the adult competitors who had made a final instead of a trophy. These are to be exchanged for donations to the charity we were able to vote for on the day. A fantastic idea that I hope will definitely be repeated.

The Dance School received great results, across all the age groups, with many of our competitors making a final. Well done to everybody. It is great to see all your hard work rewarded.

Last, but not least, the one thing that was not a first is the amazing support and enthusiastic cheering that our Dance School generates every time we have dancers on the floor. You all make it a pleasure to be part of.

I look forward to the next competition.

Looking at the unseasonably warm, sunny weather we have been enjoying recently it seems hard to imagine that at this event last year we were in the grip of “The Beast From The East” and a number of people were unable to attend due to the snow!

Once more our team of dedicated dancers gathered for our competition this time at a new venue in Kirkby in Ashfield which although a little further out for some, it suited our needs and provided a cosy atmosphere. At our own events our regular team are joined by some less experienced dancers, as well as some first timers. We also had several who although not new to competitions were dancing with us at this event for the first time.

Boris always looks forward to these events as he gets the chance to catch up with old chums he doesn’t get to see too often and was pleased to see Arabella once more. There is always a friendly, team atmosphere and this was once again in evidence. Our more experienced competitors also get the chance to “step up to the plate” and partner some of the less experienced ones as well as compete themselves.

First timers at this event were Olivia Rose, Ashton, Sian and George who all gave a good account of themselves. Sian and George were placed first and second in their waltz event and Sian also won her latin event. Olivia Rose came third with her walks and points and Ashton made the final of the ballroom couples event with Phoebe. A good first outing and hopefully one to build on for the future.

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Dancers had come from as far away as Hull and Newbury and many of the events had good levels of entries and also a good standard of dancing. For some of our dancers it was an opportunity to measure themselves against dancers from other schools in preparation for their attempts to qualify for the “Blackpool experience” with the NATD in April. Which is an exciting addition to our dancing calendar this year.

There were numerous finalists and everyone danced really well but  making it onto the top step of the podium this time were: Kaitlyn, Jack, Craig, Chris, Peter, Molly, Karly, Allison, Grace P, Tabatha, Sian, Chloe, Lewie, Karen, Serena, Carol, Paul and Brooke. Also winning their couples events were: Paul & Karen, Craig & Karly,Grace P & Molly and Jack & Grace S. Apart from the winners there were also a number who made finals that perhaps did not expect to so well done to everyone who took part.

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Another new innovation at this event was our charity donation scheme. Many of our regular competitors acquire a good many trophies over the years which is great since it means they are doing well, but it does also mean they run out of space for them at home. Furthermore they are not entirely environmentally friendly being made of plastic and marble. Whilst acknowledging that younger dancers and newer competitors like to have mementos of their achievements and taking your feedback into account we decided that we could donate the money used to buy the trophies to good causes.

We therefore introduced a token scheme for our adult competitors who received tokens instead of trophies which they could then place into the collection box of the charity of their choice. This time the chosen charities were Diabetes UK, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance and the British Wildlife Trusts. The amount to be donated to each charity will be proportion to the tokens placed in each box and were as follows: Diabetes UK 33%, Air Ambulance 47%, Wildlife Trusts 20%. Anyone wishing to exchange their tokens for a trophy or trophy for a token was welcome to do so but we hope you felt it was a worthwhile exercise. Please let us have your feedback and if popular we may extend it to our junior dancers next time. If feedback is positive then we will aim to support different charities each year.

Thanks once again to our team of helpers: Jean, Julie, Andrew, Rob and Debbie and of course the partners: Luke, Liam, Ruth, Karen, Grace P, Emily, Molly, Craig, Jack who have all come along willingly to lessons and classes to practise with their respective charges. A huge thank you to everyone we couldn’t do it without you.

Boris wore his paws to the bone with all the clapping but now has a short break before we have the next event which will be the ISTD Sequence Qualifier on 17th March followed closely by the NATD qualifiers in April. Make sure you don’t miss out!!

The second ISTD qualifier of the year was at Castleford and we turned out with a slightly reduced team to gain those all important qualifying places for Blackpool. The children’s events saw Lewie, April, Paige, Grace S and Jack all in action and all reached the finals of their ballroom events. All except Lewie also reached their Latin finals, although reaching the final with his Waltz was a great achievement since he is only six and had to dance in the under 8 years section.

April made a fifth and third in her events, Paige two seconds, Grace S a fourth and third and Jack two second places. All our dancers had to be recalled at least once to make their finals so had to earn their places. Jack and Grace also came third in both of their couples events.

The adults day began with the sequence events and most of these had large entries. All our dancers had at least one recall except the Over 35 years which was a straight final. Olivia, Craig and Libbie all made their final, finishing fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. In the Over 35 years event Paul came first with Karen, Serena and Chris filling the next three places. Making the finals of the Over 50 years event were Andrew and Allison who came first and second respectively with Peter making his first final in this event and finishing sixth. Well done to you all.

The ballroom, and latin events followed and although the numbers in these were low there were still some good dancers to beat. Debbie was the only one with a recall in her events but ended up winning both, a great achievement. There were also first places for Olivia, Peter, Carol, Hazel, Paul, Allison, Karen and Andrew.

The couple’s events usually allow everyone to relax a bit more, especially with some impromptu partnerships.

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In the ballroom events there were wins for Chris and Serena with Peter and Carol second in the same event which was repeated in the latin. Craig and Libbie came first in their ballroom event with Paul and Karen closely behind in second. Then in the Paso Doble Craig and Charlotte B won, repeating their success from Blackpool. Olivia and Emily came second in their ballroom event. Charlotte S first with Charlotte B in the ballroom and then with Emily in the latin made a respectable fifth in both events after some last minute partnership rearrangements.

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A good day all round with most of those qualifying who needed to although, there is still work to be done of course.

Boris was pleased to welcome McKenzie to the club who came in full Highland dress (complete with sporran) although he was quite pleased he hadn’t brought his skean dhu. Once again our thanks go to the partners of course; Liam, Emily and for the first time in the sequence events, Olivia.

The next outing is only a couple of weeks away which is our own event, this time at a new venue. As always it provides some of our less experienced dancers with a chance to test their skills on the competition floor and also our more experienced dancers the chance to step up and partner.

It promises to be a great day, don’t miss it!!!!

Last Sunday afternoon was the annual medal  presentation and dance, held at George Spencer Academy. Over a hundred dancers and their families and friends came along for an enjoyable afternoon of dancing, socialising and the tempting cakes made by the FROGS, all presided over by Boris of course.

The children treated the audience to a display of their work including dances such as the Waltz, Cha Cha Cha, Tango, Jive and Paso Doble. The older children and young adults next entertained with a montage of latin dances to music from The Greatest Showman and then Liam and Alex gave us a beautiful demonstration of a mix of Classical Sequence and ballroom.

As many of you will know, Alex will soon be departing for Australia, to work, for a while. We all wish her well but hope that she will return in the not too distant future. In recognition of Alex and Liam’s successful Amateur careers and their contribution to the school in terms of partnering and lessons, without whom we would not be able to take as many as we do to Blackpool, we decided that they were worthy recipients of the School Award for last year.

As always we had a raffle in aid of Cancer Research with many of the prizes generously donated. This year we raised £93, a great effort thank you.

All too soon the afternoon came to a close but hope everyone enjoyed themselves and we look forward to seeing you at an event soon

Following the Christmas break we were soon back into the swing of the competition programme once again and the team were out in force for the first ISTD qualifier of the year at Kettering. The weather was unusually mild and Boris and the gang had returned fresh from their holidays in Bearmuda, ready and eager to support the dancers.

Kettering is always a tough event, almost like a mini Blackpool so it is a good test for the dancers to face some challenging competition. Not only is the standard of dancing high here but so are the volume of entries and the children particularly have to undergo several rounds to make a final and even recalls are not easy to come by.

The children were first into action as usual and many were changing age groups this time. We also had a couple of newcomers to the team. Isobel and Grace S were dancing in the junior events for the first time, looking lovely in their new junior dresses, both did very well getting a recall. Chloe and Kaitlyn also moved into older age groups and along with Ellie all reached the semi-final of one of their events. April and Lewie joined us for the first time and again both did very well getting recalls. Jack did very well to make the final of his ballroom event being placed 5th.

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The sequence events gave another opportunity to shine and once again our dancers were up to the challenge. Chloe finished 3rd in her event and Jack, Grace S and Paige all made the junior final, a great way to round off their day. Next came the adults and once again everyone performed well realising that they would need their A game today.

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There were first places today for Olivia, Grace P, Carla and Sue in the Ballroom and Grace P, Serena and Carla in the sequence events. In the under 35 years sequence event, the top four places were filled by Grace P, Olivia, Molly and Charlotte B. Although many of the adult competitions were straight finals the standard of competition was still high and our dancers held their own against some excellent competitors.

Other notable performances today were: Molly being placed second only to Olivia in the ballroom, Andy’s 3rd place in his ballroom event, Chris’s second in both ballroom and sequence events and Sue who gave a solo performance in her latin (not an easy thing to do for anyone). Overall it was a good day’s work with many people picking up those vital qualification slips for Blackpool. We must of course thank the team of dedicated partners who partner everyone at these events; Luke, Ruth, and Liam (who was not well but carried on regardless) as well as those who partner alongside competing themselves; Grace P and Molly. 

There are of course many more opportunities throughout the year and I am sure that those who didn’t make it this time will do so later on. Next we have the NATD medal presentation dance on 27th January so get your tickets soon if you haven’t done so already and then we have the next ISTD Qualifier on February 17th before our own competition on March 3rd. Plenty to keep us all out of mischief! 

As 2018 draws to a close we saw the last two main events of the dancing year: the NATD exam session and the Christmas party.The exam session was held over the two days of December 1st and 2nd starting at 11am on Saturday and finishing at 7pm on the Sunday (with a brief interlude for dinner and sleep in between). Everyone was immaculately turned out as you would expect and danced their best of course. Our examiner was Mrs Valerie Laws from Whitby who was very impressed and made several complimentary remarks on the high standard of dancing she had observed over the weekend.

Boris of course was on hand to see that all went smoothly and never moved from his seat the whole time!

The following weekend was the annual Christmas party which is always a good way to round off the year and allows the chance to mingle with friends and fellow dancers in a relaxed environment. This year over 60 of us went to Risley Park which served up an enjoyable festive fayre, varied disco and Ho Ho Bingo, the winner of which was Sue P and her table. Everyone looked magnificent in their glad rags and it was a jolly way to kick start the festive period.

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We will soon be taking a short break for the Christmas holidays and then in January we will be straight back into things with the ISTD qualifier at Kettering followed by the Presentation dance. 

Hot on the heels of Blackpool was the NATD trophy day at Friesland Sports Centre. We had three dedicated couples today, Dawn & Andy, Craig & Karly and Emily & Molly (who had won two trophies last time and were keen to challenge for further honours).

We also welcomed Arabella on her first official outing as an “honorary bear” and she had certainly dressed for the occasion. Whilst a little nervous at first, Boris thought she coped admirably and will make a welcome addition to the team.

The on floor action began as usual with the ballroom events and in the open foxtrot and tango competition all three couples were recalled to the final. The event was won by Molly & Emily with Craig & Karly finishing in second and Dawn & Andy fourth.

In the under 35 years event the situation was reversed with Craig and Karly winning and Molly & Emily finishing second, whilst in the over 35 years event Dawn & Andy finished second.  The Adult and Child Waltz then followed and not having any children there today our dancers teamed up with young dancers from other schools. From a large entry both Andy and Molly made the final finishing 5th and 6th respectively.

The Latin events followed and once again all our couples made it to the final of the open event with Craig & Karly winning, Emily & Molly second and Dawn & Andy sixth.    The pattern was repeated in the under 35 years event with Craig & Karly securing victory and Emily & Molly taking runner up spot. Dawn & Andy once again finished second in the over 35 years event.

Although a small day by the standards of some events we attend it was nevertheless an enjoyable one and had a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The “Three Degrees” ( Julie, Janet and Beverley) kept us entertained all day with their dance routines and even brought the admiration of the compère.

A good day was had by all and also, as it was nice and local we were all home early. The next major events will be the NATD exams in two weeks followed by the Christmas Party (can it really be that time already!). Keep a look out for more posts soon.

November means shorter days, grey damp weather and bonfire night but for many dancers it brings the thrill of dancing in the Blackpool Wintergardens at the ISTD Grand Finals and what a sparkler it proved to be.

Our intrepid team of dancers, supporters and bears were out in force to measure themselves against experienced competitors from all over the country and for some, reaching a final would mean dancing in five or more rounds of up to four heats. Not surprisingly then, finalists are a rare commodity and anyone getting even a recall feels very fortunate.

The first activity of the weekend was the Annual Friday evening quiz organised by Chris which was just as keenly contested as the dancing would be over the coming days. The winners, by one point, were Karly and Debbie and the prize was an alpaca (a stuffed one) who was christened Arabella and given honorary membership of the Bear Mascot club by Boris.

Saturday arrived and it was an early start for our juvenile dancers whose competitions began at 8.30am. First in action was Charlie who danced a lovely Waltz despite never having danced here before and although he failed to secure a recall was fully focussed and seemed to enjoy the experience.

Kaitlyn, Luke, Chloe, Isobel, Ellie and Grace all soon followed Charlie into action and amongst a tough field all danced very well and secured at least one recall with some getting more than one.

We were represented in the juvenile couples by Luke and Chloe. These events include all under 12 year old competitors and so they did extremely well to make the semi final of both their ballroom and Latin events against much older competition.

The juniors began in the afternoon and we had Jack, Paige and Shanae in action. Again they all gave their best and Jack secured a recall with his tango whilst Paige became our first finalist with her Waltz finishing 5th, a tremendous achievement.

It was then off for a quick bite to eat before returning to the ballroom for the evening dance. The “theme” this year was musicals and many of our dancers elected to depict the “Sound of Music”. We had the Von Trapp children accompanied by Maria, a collection of Nuns and assorted lederhosen clad gentlemen.

 

 

 

Sunday was again an early start and as usual the day began with the Sequence events at 8.30am. Most of our dancers were in action and although we had no winners almost everyone had a recall with final places for Grace S, Karen, Paul, Serena, Carla, Christine, Andrew and Dawn.

The ballroom events swiftly followed and again most people achieved at least one recall with many getting two. Reaching the semi finals were Charlotte B, Carol, Peter, Libbie, Serena, Paul, Dennis and Karen. Going one better with a final place were Debbie (6th), Rosalind (3rd), Molly (3rd), Hazel (5th), Josh (5th), Carla (7th), Allison (8th) and Sue (2nd). Congratulations to you all.

 

 

 

It was then on to the Latin events and again the semi-finalists were Debbie, Carol and Serena and recalled to the finals were Molly (2nd), Sue (3rd) and Geraldine (7th). The Latin events also brought our first winner so many congratulations to Rosalind who was at this event for the first time.

 

 

 

Was it still the same day or had time stood still? It was 9pm before the couples events began but it was worth the wait. The floor was split in two with competitions taking place simultaneously which gives the events the look of an elegant demolition derby! Undaunted however our couples rose to the challenge and secured a collection of final places. In the ballroom: Craig & Libbie were 2nd with Olivia & Charlotte S 4th in the same event. Chris & Serena were 3rd, Josh & Grace 2nd, Paul & Karen 2nd and Neil & Carla 3rd. In the over 50 years silver/gold category we had a one, two with Andrew & Dawn placed 1st and Dennis & Sue 2nd.

Success continued in the Latin events with Craig & Charlotte B securing a win, Chris & Serena 2nd, Josh & Grace 6th, Paul & Karen 2nd, Carla & Neil 4th, and Andrew & Dawn 4th. A great way to end the weekend and well done to you all especially the impromptu partnerships.

After 26 hours in the ballroom over the two days we finally came to the end and it was time to retire to the bar for some refreshment and the chance to reflect on the weekends highlights.

Overall we had a good showing and I think everyone should be proud of their achievements once again. Of course we would not be able to do it without the help of our team of partners who give up their time not only to attend the event but also come along to lessons to practise beforehand. A huge thank you therefore to Luke, Alex, Liam and Ruth and also to those who partner alongside competing themselves; Josh, Grace P, Emily and Craig.

 

 

As always the support from family, friends and for each other was tremendous and we could not ask for better and finally a big thank you to Stuart & Andrea for sorting out the takeaway order at the end of Sunday evening, a vital operation since we were all starving by the end of the day.

Boris returned home a very tired little bear but very satisfied on a job well done.

The next big events are the NATD exams at the beginning of December followed by the Christmas Party. Don’t miss out.

The “Blackpool” season kicked off this week with the British Sequence Championships and Boris knew he was going to have his paws kept busy with all the action over the four day event. Participating were Josh & Grace, Stuart & Andrea, Neil & Carla, Andrew & Dawn and for the first time at this event, Chris & Allison and Craig & Emma.

The Wintergardens always inspires dancers to perform to the best of their abilities and few get to experience competing in this fabulous, historic ballroom to a live orchestra.

On the first day all couples were in action and all produced great performances. Josh & Grace cemented their place in the final of the modern sequence Championship, a position they claimed last year, and finished 6th in a strong field. Stuart & Andrea also made the final of the Senior Championship and came 3rd. Neil & Carla, Andrew & Dawn, Chris & Allison and Craig & Emma all received recalls in the modern sequence event in one of the largest entries for some years. Andrew & Dawn went on to make the semi-final and Neil & Carla and Craig & Emma reached the final. It was a close fought final and Neil & Carl were highly delighted to finish 2nd whilst Craig & Emma came a very respectable 3rd, an excellent result for their first outing at this event. Furthermore all of the first three couples won one dance showing what a close final it was.

The Monday of this festival takes in the Inventive Dance competition and Louise and I were pleased to be successful in winning once again with the Waldorf Waltz taking our total wins at this prestigious event to 17, a record unsurpassed by anyone. Having been competing in the Inventive Dance competitions for over 20 years we took the difficult decision that we would retire from these events but take away many happy memories.

Also in action once again were Neil & Carla, Andrew & Dawn and Chris & Allison in the Over 35 years Classical sequence. As expected the competition would be hard fought but our dancers were up to the challenge with Chris & Allison making the semi-final and the others reaching the final. It was another close contest and Neil & Carla were once again pipped to the top spot but taking a first place in the Saunter on the way and Andrew & Dawn ended close behind in 3rd place.

The final day of the festival came all too quickly, although it seems as though a day in ‘Blackpool time’ is equivalent to a week elsewhere. Josh & Grace, Stuart & Andrea and Craig & Emma all had events today and they all performed magnificently. Stuart & Andrea finished 3rd in their modern sequence final, Josh & Grace 5th in the Classical Sequence Championship and Craig & Emma came 2nd in the Under 35 years Classical Sequence.

Another successful weekend with lots of positives but also some leaning points. Boris expressed that he was very proud of you all but was a bit lonely having to do all the “mascotting” by himself since it was a very long and tiring weekend for one small bear. Back to the hotel bar then to relax, reflect and reminisce on another enjoyable festival.

There’s hardly time to catch breath and it’s off to Blackpool once more for the ISTD Grand Finals weekend, here’s hoping to more successes as well as another chance to catch up with friends.

 Whitby, famed for fresh fish, rugged coastline, Captain Cook, Dracula and of course dance competitions at the lovely, spacious Spa ballroom. We are usually a small party who regularly attend this event but there is always a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere and of course the chance to sample the local cuisine.

In attendance today were Dawn and Andy, Chris and Serena, Paul and Karen and Craig and Karly along with a team of dedicated supporters. There was a good
attendance today across all grades, with some experienced competitors, so it was not going to be a walk in the park (or even along the beach!). In the
open events there were a couple of recalls before the finals and so those who made these finals did particularly well today.

So the roll of honour was as follows:

Paul and Karen were placed first in three of their events and finished second in the open ballroom event and fourth in the open Latin event. Paul also won the “fun event” dancing with Dawn.

Andy and Dawn won two of their events and Andy was placed second with Karen in the “fun” competition. Andy was also awarded a lollipop by the organiser
for “best supporter”.

Chris and Serena were placed second, third and fourth in their events and also made the final of the open adult ballroom event. Chris and Craig came third in the “fun” competition completing a clean sweep of the podium places in this event.

Craig and Karly had a second and two third places in their events and also made the final of both the ballroom and Latin open events being placed a
respectable fourth and fifth respectively.

So, as we come to expect, another successful day for the team and one which I am sure was enjoyed by all attendees, especially Boris who got a big box
of biscuits. Having got the fun part of the day out of the way, we got down to the serious business of sampling the local fayre at the Magpie Cafe. Fish and chips always seem to taste better at the seaside and the Magpie
definitely produces some of the best.

We have two Blackpool trips looming, this weekend is the British Sequence Championships where we have six couples in action and then of course we have the ISTD grand finals. Boris has a very busy fortnight ahead on mascot duty but is looking forward to supporting everyone and seeing all members of the team perform their best.

See you there!