Tuesday is always one of the 'big' days of the festival, with the Amateur Latin Championship the big attraction, but first the U21 Ballroom event. With around 130 couples entered, this was one of the lowest entries for any competition this week, but the audience were treated to some excellent dancing, including from some English couples, with 9 couples entered, and 1 reaching the quarter final, 1 more reaching the semi final, and two reaching the final, including from the Midlands Jack Beale with his new partner Karolina Szmit, who were placed 6th. The other British couple were Kyle Tailor and Liis End, who were third.
The Amateur latin event, as always, was a treat to watch and drew the largest audiences of the week so far. Last year's runners up, Stefano Di Filippo & Anna Melnikova, were keen to take the number one spot tonight, and were very much on form right from their first round. British couples were also hoping to figure highly in this event, but with only 10 couples out of 282, it would be a tough job. As it was we saw 3 couples to the 48, and Alejandro Hernandez and Kerri-Ann Donaldson made the 24. But it was to be Neil Jones and Ekaterina Sokolova's night tonight, as they made it into the semi, and then the final - a fantastic achievement for a British couple, and although they were eventually placed 6th, this was a brilliant result. Winners, as expected, were Stefano and Anna, much to the delight of the audience.
There are just 3 days of competition left, with the Amateur Ballroom and then the Professional events for both Ballroom and Latin. Sitting in the Arena bar next door to the main ballroom, we were honoured today to watch Franco Formica and his partner Oxana Lebadew practicing. All eyes were on the pair as they, unknowingly, gave a master class in Cha Cha Cha - everyone in the Arena was watching them and no-one else. They of course were oblivious to the attention they were receiving, focussed entirely on their dancing - a lesson for all of us I think!
Sadly, I shall not see them dance tomorrow, as today is my last day in Blackpool, and I face a 2 hour drive home in the early hours. As ever, I take away some strong memories of the festival, some very happy, others not so happy - but such is the nature of dancing - even when you have been dealt a horrible result, you know you will be back for more, because you know you can do better next time, and you just can't stay away. (Of course I am speaking metaphorically, because I did not dance!).
Day 5 – Professional Rising Star Ballroom and Senior Latin Championships
Bank Holiday Monday in Blackpool, so it is the turn of the Senior Latin competitors and the Professional Rising Stars in the Ballroom. Senior Latin in the UK is often taken les seriously than other events, however, today there were 18 couples entered from the UK, in a field of just over 100, it is clear that there are plenty of UK Seniors in the Latin discipline willing to enter this extremely tough event. The standard right from the start was very impressive, with many competitors looking like they would not be out of place in an Amateur Rising Star event, such was the quality and pace of their dancing. So tough was this event that half the British contingent did not make it out of the first round. Now there are many that would say they simply wasted their time and money in coming to this comp – that their result was inevitable, so why did they both? Well first of all, they should ‘bother’ because this is the greatest event in the world, in the best Ballroom in the World, with the best music in the World, and it is in the UK! There were many other competitors that did not make the second round, and they had traveled from much further a field, and will have spent much more time and money just to be here. And why? Because to dance in this event, in this location is every dancers dream – and to them I say, good luck and well done!
OK, back to the comp. The cull of UK couples into the quarter final was even more brutal as only 2 of the 9 couples made it through, and this round was looking even tougher for Robin and Marianne Sudell and Steve and Sue Witherington. Fortunately, they were in different heats, and both couples gave it their all to make sure of place in the semi. Sadly this was the end of the event for Robin and Marianne, but for Steve and Sue, this was to be their greatest result ever. Having made it through to the semi, their dancing took on a new lease of life, and they not only made the semi, but also the final, and in doing so became the first British finalists for this years Festival. The final was great to watch, with all couples dancing their hearts out. The (clear) winners were Gwenael Lavigne & Stephanie Godet from France, and Steve and Sue were placed 6th – but remember that 6th out well over 100 couples – well done to them.
With only 6 couples from the UK in the Rising Star Ballroom, in a field of over 200 entrants it would be a tough day for the UK in this event. The rising star event represents the best Professional dancers in the world outside of the top 24, so we were in for a ballroom treat today – and it would be a long day for the eventual finalists, starting around 4.00pm in the afternoon, and not finishing until well after midnight! Some excellent dancing to the usual high standard of music from the Empress Orchestra made for a very enjoyable evening, and despite their low numbers the Brits did really well, with 4 couples in the 48, 4 in the 24, 2 in the semi and 1 in final – well done to Danielle Gallaro and Kimberly Tailor, who were placed 4th. Winners were the new pairing of Angelo Madonia and Edita Daniute who put in a great performance.
Day 4 – Amateur Rising Stars Ballroom and Amateur Rising Star Latin Championships
Today is all about the Amateur Rising Stars, with both competitions running through to their conclusion today – Ballroom in the morning, and Latin in the afternoon. The Rising Star events are open to all amateur competitors with the exception of the top 24 in the world - that is, the couples who finished in the top 24 of the Amateur events at last year’s British Open. This gives those outside of the top 24 the opportunity to get close to semi or a final when they ordinarily would not. All of the couples dancing today have come through 2 qualifying rounds to reach today’s first round, and nobody wants to finish early, so the as ever the competition is really fierce. There are 4 rounds before the final of the Ballroom event, and there are plenty of Brits in this comp – wouldn’t it be great to see some them into the later rounds? As it was, there was just one British couple in the Semi final – Richard Still and Morgan Hemphill, with 3 British couples in the 24. This was the first final I saw, and it shows how opinions vary from judge to judge and person to person. One of the finalists was a Finnish brother and sister couple – Markus and Marija Hirvonen – who had won the U21 Ballroom event last year – to me it was clear that they would not repeat the victory in the Rising Star – but I was wrong, they were first in all 5 dances!
The latin event was over 6 rounds, with 147 couples commencing the first round ‘proper’, and 10 British couples hoping to get further than the first round! Again, the competition was fierce, as everyone did their best to impress the panel of judges. There were quite a few couples in this event that had had an earlier exit than they would have liked from the US 21 event the previous night. It is always difficult to pick yourself after a bad result and turn in a god performance the following day. However, that’s what they had to do if they wanted to progress in this comp – after all, it is Blackpool and it only happens once a year!
Into the last 48 we had 5 British couples, all trying their hardest to make the next round. But only one couple did – Richard and Morgan, who were having a great festival. The semi and final, however, were without British couples, but were excellent rounds to watch. The final had 8 couples, which shows how difficult the judges job was! Once again, my opinion of the finalists differed greatly from that of the judges – in fact their 7th and 8th place were my 1st and 2nd, and their winner was my 8th place – what do I know!
An early finish tonight – 7.00pm – but with some late nights to follow, this gave everyone a chance to catch up on some sleep before the rest of the event over the next 6 days.
Day 3 – Amateur Rising Stars Ballroom second qualifying round, Under 21 Latin Championship and Professional Team Match
This morning saw the turn of the Amateur Ballroom Rising Stars for their second qualifying round, with another early start at 10.30. In these early rounds, the floor is very crowded, and collisions are inevitable, but thankfully there were no serious accidents or injuries, and the competitors made it through their second agonizing wait for the recall sheets to be displayed.
The evening session started at around 4.00pm with the first round of the Under 21 Latin Championship. Despite their young age, these dancers are all absolutely terrific, and the first round saw some really tremendous dancing, from the 284 couples entered. Of these, 18 were from the UK, and it as good to see most of these get through the second round. However, the competition just got tougher and tougher and sadly no Brits made it to the last 24. The dancing was quite superb, however disappointing for the Brits! The eventual winner was Morten Lowe and Zia James from Denmark.
Tonight was also the night of the Professional Team Match, with four teams from Germany, the USA, Italy and Great Britain. As always, the teams introduced themselves with a short presentation, which no team ever takes too seriously. The German team began with montage of ‘Hollywood Great’ dancers, with the team playing Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Rudolf Nurayev (Franco Formica in tights – the ladies loved it!) – a good show for the huge audience.
The USA Team decided to make things a little more formal – but with a twist. Their Latin couples danced Ballroom, and their Ballroom couples danced latin. To see Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manesova and Ricardo Cocchi and Yulia …. Dancing Ballroom was really funny, as was seeing Arunas and Katushka dancing Cha Cha and Victor Fung and …. Dancing jive – very entertaining. The Italians were as off the wall as ever, with their male dancers dressed as dogs with their female partner ‘handlers’ losing control as the dogs ran rampage through the audience! The Brits went for a circus theme, with accompanying gymnasts and trick cyclists, plus costumed animals, which later were revealed to be Sammy Stopford, Michael Stylianos, Graham Oswick and Goran Nordin.
The Chairman, Marcus Hilton, then declared the ‘Serious’ part of the event over, and now for some fun – the dancing. Watching these world-class professionals dancing all ten dances was a real treat and of course the Audience loved it. The chairman announced the scorers for each team as the dances progressed, and it soo became clear that the winning team was not going to be the UK! Eventual winners were the USA, followed by Italy, then Germany, and bringing up the rear, Great Britain. Looks likek we have a lot of work to do to improve our position in the world of dancing!
Day 2 – 2nd Qualifying Rounds for Amateur Rising Star Latin, Senior Ballroom and Pro Rising Star Latin
It was an early start for the Amateur Latin Rising Stars for their second qualifying round – a further session with 13 heats of intense, frenetic competition to reduce the 500 starters down to 180 couples to qualify for the first round proper on Sunday. Again there were long waits between dances, and with over 20 couples on the floor in each heat, the judges job was getting harder and harder. Once again there was the wait for all the couples to see if they would be recalled, and again there would be both joy and disappointment in equal measure as the dancers found out if they would get another chance, or make their way home.
The afternoon session was given over to the first events that would run right through to their conclusion – the Senior Ballroom Championship and the Professional Rising Star Latin Championships.
The Ballroom had an excellent British contingent, with 23 couples from the British Isles taking part. That said, this was going t be an extremely tough competition, and despite the age of many of the competitors (the majority will be well into their 40’s), they all demonstrated fitness and dedication, as well as excellent dancing technique. All required excellent stamina, because with well over 200 couples entered, there would be 6 rounds of dancing before the final round at 14 minutes past midnight! Congratulations go to Phil Holding and Deborah Truman who made the quarter final (the last 24), and Dan Baxter and Janine Desai and John Townsend and Sabine Kuntze who both made the last 48 –an excellent effort, including 7 other British couples in the 96. Eventual winners were Slewek Lukawczyk and Edna Klein from Belgium, who won for the second time.
In the Pro Rising Star Latin event, only 6 couples were entered from the UK, and due to injury, only 4 actually danced, which was a little disappointing. We did, however, get to see two British couples make the semi-final – Ryan Hammond and Lyndsay Muckle, and Christian Polanc and Kimberly Mitchell – in what was an excellent competition to watch.
Day 1 - Qualifying Rounds for Amateur Rising Star Ballroom and Latin
It’s day one of the British Open Championships 2009, and the weather has changed from the miserable wind and rain of the journey up to Blackpool, to a reasonably warm and sunny day on the Northwest coast of England, heralding the start of the largest and greatest Ballroom and Latin event in the world. Even as we walk down the stairs into the famous Empress Ballroom, the excitement is plain to see as couples see the floor and hear the famous Blackpool music – they can’t wait to dance in this most hallowed of venues.
Today it is the first qualifying rounds for the Amateur Rising Star Latin and Ballroom, and with nearly 800 couples in the two competitions, there was much anticipation. With nearly 500 couples in the Latin competition, the 21 heats were split over two sessions each taking over 2 hours to complete. The practice session before the comp was quite short so there were literally hundreds of couples all trying to get a last minute practice in. With half an hour between each dance, the competitors would find it difficult to stay focused and to stay warmed up between dances, however, the standard, as ever, was very high, making the judges job extremely difficult. In this event there were 24 couples from the UK and it was great to see them competing against the best the world. As ever, the music, although recorded for these early qualifying rounds, was the original Blackpool sound, from Ashleigh Frohlic and the Empress Orchestra.
After over 4 hours of competition, the first qualifying round was over, and now the couples had to wait for the recalls to be posted, to see if they would be returning tomorrow for the second qualifying heat. I am really pleased to say that most of the British contingent were recalled, which is an excellent start to the Blackpool festival.
Following the latin event, the 1st Qualifying round of the Amateur Rising Star Ballroom competition followed, offering a complete change of pace, from the fast and furious latin rhythms to the smooth and graceful Ballroom. With a 'mere' 258 couples entered, this event was taken in one session of 12 heats, however, the competition was just as fiercely contested, and again at the end of the event, the couples had the agonizing wait for the recalls, to see if they would dance in the second qualifying round on Saturday.
