Duesbury Aldred Dance Centre Blog

The NATD couples competition this year happened to coincide with Dennis’s Birthday this year so what better way to celebrate than at a dance competition amongst friends?

This time we had a number of couples competing: Molly & Olivia, Josh & Grace, Craig & Lydia, Emily & Madeleine, Andrew and Dawn, Dennis & Sue and a new partnership for this competition of Chris & Allison.

We began in fine style in the ballroom events with wins in all of the seven events in which we had couples dancing. Molly & Olivia won all three of their events, Josh and Grace won both of theirs and Emily & Madeleine and Andy & Dawn both won one of their events.

A recent addition to the programme was the Non Competing Adult paired with a Junior Quickstep competition. Molly paired up with Caroline and were placed first whilst Olivia teamed up with Martin and came second a great performance from you all, the icing on the cake some would say!

Next came the Sequence events and again we won both events through Molly & Olivia and Josh & Grace. In the Adult event all our couples made the final with Craig & Lydia finishing a creditable second Andy &  Dawn third, Emily & Madeleine and Dennis & Sue tieing for fifth and Chris and Allison a respectable seventh.

The Latin events followed and Olivia & Molly lead the way with two firsts and a second. Josh and Grace had two firsts, Craig and Lydia two thirds, Emily & Madeleine a second and sixth, Andy & Dawn a first and a fourth, Denis & Sue a second and Chris & Allison a third.

A sparkling performance from the whole team then, one to which the opposition “couldn’t hold a candle”. It was all a piece of cake really and that was pretty good too, even the bears felt a bit stuffed afterwards (groan!!!)

Thank you to all who have commented and shared you thoughts on the Mystery Blogger. We can now reveal that it was in fact Molly and so the prize of an Easter Egg for the first correct guess goes to Neil and Carla. Well done to you and also thank you to Molly for her report.

The school was out in force last Sunday for our own competition and this time we have a report from a “Mystery Blogger”. A valuable prize awaits the first person to correctly post the Blogger’s name.

We are in the midst of a very busy period for competitions and last weekend the outing was to Pudsey in Leeds. It was a large turn-out with nearly a complete squad, eager to get valuable qualifying places.

The day started with the children’s sequence events. In the Juvenile section Grace S came 5th and in the Junior’s Olivia and Jack made the semi-final and Molly came 6th in the final. Both these events had large entries, so very well done to everyone.

In the children’s ballroom and Latin events everyone qualified in their events. In their respective age groups in ballroom Luke came 2nd, Grace 2nd, Leila 1st, Olivia 2nd, Jack 3rd and Molly 2nd. In Latin, Luke won, Grace S came 2nd again, Leila 1st again, Jack 2nd, Olivia 3rd and Molly 2nd again.

As many of them as possible paired up for the couples and with very little practice very good results were achieved. Luke & Grace won the Jive, Jack & Leila also won their Jive & came 5th in the Quickstep. Olivia & Molly decided to reverse roles this week in the Quickstep and came 4th and 2nd in the Jive.

As we were running to time the organiser decided to add a fun event, you had to have a partner with at least a five year age gap and the test dances were determined as the event progressed. Not sure what they were letting themselves in for, Jack & Karly, Olivia & Grace S, Sarah & Leila and Luke & Molly took to the floor. By the end of the final they had danced a Waltz, Cha Cha Cha, Tango and Paso Doble, both dancing Man and Lady roles. Along with a Freestyle dance. The very delighted winners were Luke and Molly. Whilst great fun to watch, it’s one of those experiences which I define as ‘character building’ for those taking part. So very well done to you all.

It was now time for the adult events, which started with the sequence and there were more competitors in these events than I have seen for some considerable time. In the under 35 years we had eight dancers of which Emily and Josh made the semi final and Grace P, the final, with a well deserved 4th place. In the over 35 years, Karen won with the remaining places going to Serena, Carla, Neil and Chris respectively. In the over 50 years, semi final places went to Sue and Hazel. In the final Andy came 2nd, Allison 3rd, Christine 4th and Dennis 6th.

In the individual ballroom and Latin sections there were wins for Grace P, Chris, Lydia, Serena, Carla, Karen H, Neil, Andy, Geraldine, Christine, Karen C and Allison.

We also had success in the couples with a few new pairings – Craig & Lydia, Chris & Sarah, Karly & Emily, Dennis & Sue, Serena & Allison, Paul & Karen, Josh & Grace P and Neil & Carla. All danced their routines well and all performances were lifted by our vocal supporters group.

As always, we were very proud of the whole team. You all looked delightful, tried your hardest and had an immaculate floor presence. Once again a big thank you to everyone who helped with partnering, especially Liam and Alex. Praise also to those of you who work just as hard in the background – chauffeuring, cheering, dressing, feeding, encouraging and nurturing – you are all essential members of the team.

We now have a two whole weeks before the next outing, which is our competition at Long Eaton.

See you there.

14th February might mean Valentine’s Day to most people but this year, for our team, it meant a trip to Whitwick for valuable sequence qualifying opportunities.

This competition is slightly different to most because it is purely for the sequence three dance events and also there is an audience of dancers who just go along for the day to support the events.

Whilst our team was missing a few regular members we saw the welcome return of others and we were very proud of the overall display you all put on, both in terms of your dancing quality and beautiful appearances.

The results were also excellent. Grace S achieved a hard fought 2nd in the Juvenile event. Molly a 2nd, Leila a 3rd and Olivia 5th in the Junior. An excellent achievement, especially for Leila who was dancing in her first junior event since reaching the age of 12.

In the under 35years, Emily S had an excellent result by winning, with Lydia 2nd, Sarah 3rd, Paul 5th, Craig 6th and Karly 7th. In the over 35years we had a clean sweep with Elizabeth, Karen H, Serena, Neil and Chris respectively making the line-up. In the over 50years Allison was 1st, Iris 2nd, Geraldine 3rd, Karen C 5th and Hazel 6th.

Overall, we are almost there in terms of the whole team being qualified for Blackpool in the sequence events – and it’s only February.

A big thank-you must also go to those who partnered, many as well as competing for themselves, Luke, Ruth, Claire, Karen and Molly. It couldn’t happen without you.

No time to rest, this Sunday sees a drive North to Pudsey for both individuals and couples in ballroom, Latin and Sequence.

The end of January usually brings our medal presentation dance following our NATD exam day last December and this year was no exception.

It is great to see how dancing brings together people of all ages, from 2 years to over 80 years, to enjoy a social afternoon. There were some delicious cakes available, made by the FroGS together with a mix of ballroom, Latin, sequence and line dancing hopefully to suit all tastes.

One of the highlights of the afternoon is the display provided by the children and young adults. First to perform were the younger children, Grace, Emily R and Fearn, partnered by some of the older children, who showed us their Paso Doble and Jive. Then followed a routine by the older ones with a demonstration of Quickstep, Tango, Gavotte, Waltz, Viennese Waltz and Two Step all choreographed to music from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They all performed brilliantly especially since it was a challenging routine and they had barely had more than five hours of rehearsals in which to learn it!

The school award this year was presented to Joshua Horsley for his commitment and dedication over a period of years leading to some excellent results in both examinations and competitions. A deserving recipient I am sure you will agree.

We have a very short break now before we launch full steam into the competition season with three events in quick succession commencing on February 14^th and culminating in our own competition on March 6^th. Make sure you don’t miss out.

The new season usually kicks off with a visit to Kettering and that usually means snow. This year was no exception albeit with only a small amount (although Boris was glad to have his jumper) and certainly not enough to cool the enthusiasm of our dancers who were keen to get the New year off to a good start.

Kettering always brings some tough competition and is usually a long and busy day. The Sequence events are made more difficult as most dancers have had only a short time to learn and perform three new routines and this is the first time they have danced them in competition.

Grace P and Emily had moved age groups and Luke and Leila were unable to attend so we only had three of our younger members in attendance. Nevertheless they did not disappoint, all making their ballroom finals with Olivia having the honour of claiming the first qualification slip for this year. Also in the Sequence they were all finalists with both Grace S and Molly awarded 2^nd place a tremendous achievement in these hard fought events. Molly and Olivia also came 4^th in their couples CCC event not really having danced much together before.

The adults therefore, as usual, had a lot to live up to but once again delivered in all categories. Grace P, Chris, Serena, Iris and Geraldine were all placed 1^st in their ballroom events, Dennis & Sue and Dawn & Andy were 1^st in their couples events and almost everyone else reached the final. Craig & Karly and Chris & Sarah all made their ballroom couples finals which was a great achievement as they had not really danced together much beforehand.

In the Sequence, Grace P and Josh both reached their hard fought final with Grace taking 2^nd place on her first attempt as an adult competitor. Karen H won her event as did Christine. In fact in the Over 50 year’s section we had five of the six finalists: Christine, Andy, Allison, Sue and Dawn.

The Latin events continued to bring successes, again with most dancers reaching the finals. Karen H, Iris and Geraldine all won their events as did Serena and Allison in their couples CCC event.

All in all then we had a great day out against some tough opposition and it was a tremendous start to the year. A big thank you to Liam and Alex for coming along to help with the partnering, also to all of our supporters.

The next few weeks will be busy with the medal presentation dance followed by three more competitions in quick succession. Boris will be busy!!

Before departing for his well earned break to spend the festive season with family and friends in Bearmuda, Boris would like to take a moment to reflect on what has been a very busy, but highly successful and enjoyable year. There have been many highlights along the way, as well as many moments to look back upon with pleasure and if next year is anywhere near as good it will be an exciting 2016.

Boris and the team are very proud to support such a friendly and dedicated group of people and as Christmas approaches he would like to wish you and your families a very happy Christmas and a peaceful, healthy and successful New Year.

See you all again soon.

Following swiftly on from the excitement of Strictly George Spencer was the Annual Christmas Party. This time the venue was the Holiday Inn at Sandiacre. It gives us a chance to unwind, catch up with freinds and re-live the events of the night before. Dancing was to a DJ and a live duo, keeping us entertained with a range of music to suit all tastes. What a great way to kick start Christmas and judging by these photos a good time was had by all.

Once again we introduced eight students and four members of staff from George Spencer Academy to the world of Ballroom dancing. They receive 45 minutes of training for 10 weeks and are expected to learn 3 routines. The contestants this year were: Staff, Phillippa, Jane, Adam and John whilst the students were: Emily, Emma, Kerryn, Emily, Hayden, Ethan, Archie and Fenton. This was the first time that we had had two brothers (Hayden and Ethan) involved and no doubt there would be some sibling rivalry. John had been involved in the two previous events but as the sound and lighting technician but having been so taken with it previously decided he would like to particpate this time.

Once again the hall was packed to capacity and the audience were treated to a fantastic show with everyone performing to levels they had not previously attained, lifted by the enthusiastic crowd.

This year the standard was extremely high with almost everyone having the potential to reach the final and this gave our Judges, Claire, Andrew and Mary a real headache in selecting the six that would go through.

The selected six were Emily, Emma, Emily, Phillippa, Hayden and Ethan and they were all potential winners. Dancing once again in the final all six performed brilliantly and surpassed their previous performances. In the end the audience voted the winner as Hayden partnered by Lydia who also scored a maximum of 30 from the judges.

Of course all the contestants were winners in the end having been inspired to achieve something beyond what they thought possible. The event continues to be a resounding success both with George Spencer and our own dance school and we can’t wait for next year.

A huge thank you to all who were involved particularly: Chris for his organisation and continued committment to the project inspite of no longer being at George Spencer, Debbie for picking up many of the administrative tasks which Chris could no longer perform and acting as liaison with the school, all the staff, FROGS and students at George Spencer who help the event run smoothly and professionally, the sponsors and of course our Judges.

Most of all however, thank you to our partners: Luke, Liam, Alex, Karen, Paul, Neil, Lydia, Josh, Emily, Molly, Grace, Craig who give up their time to come along to training and also on the night. Thank you for your committment, dedication and conduct, we are proud to have you representing our dance school and helping to introduce others to the fantastic world of ballroom dancing.