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DFR
Faculty Area Medallist Competitions
North
Lincolnshire
East
Grinstead
Sussex,
Surrey & Hampshire
Essex
Above:
Jean Cantell receiving a floral tribute from Paul Streatfield,
Vice Chairman of the DFR Faculty
North
Lincolnshire
This was a first time promotion success for Miss Liz
Young on behalf of the ISTD DFR Faculty.
Sunday, 24th September 2006 is a day we will not forget
for a long time. It was the day the third qualification
opportunity in the North for the Guildford Finals took
place at the Abbey Leisure Centre, Selby. It was a new
venue with a new promoter, Miss Liz Young, better known
to us all as 'DJ LIZ'.
After the adjudicators, Maria Howse, Lisa Allen and
Jonathan Reed were introduced we were up and running.
This was an action packed day with some very good dancing
and tasteful costumes. Competitions in the main were
well supported with three and four rounds required in
most categories to enable the adjudicators tot reach
their final conclusions.
Summing up the day, everyone agrees that the choice
of venue was excellent, it was well appointed with good
and ample parking, easily reached from the M62. The
atmosphere created by Liz made it most enjoyable and,
most of all, we did not finish late!
Well done Liz from us all, we look forward to your next
promotion.
Andrew Carruthers
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East
Grinstead
The sixteenth Sussex/Surrey Area DFR Medallist competition
was held at East Grinstead on Sunday, 28th January 2007,
and little did anyone know the great and memorable day
that we had to look forward too!
The first Area DFR Medallist competition was held at
Southwater Village Hall on 5th April 1992 and was attended
by 150 people. Sixteen years later, such is the demand
for tickets, today's event is held on consecutive weekends
in two different venues. Sunday, 4th February 2007 would
see the Sussex/Surrey/Hants Area Competition take place
in Gosport, bringing the combined attendance of the
two events to approximately 800.
The East Grinstead competition is organised by Jean
Cantell and Derek Green and this year it was attended
by 12 dance schools. The difficult job of adjudication
for the day was in the experienced hands of Janet Clark,
Amanda Hughes and Rachel Wadey, with the task of processing
their hundreds of marks left to the professional scrutineering
team of Pam and Mick Little, whilst DJ, Peter Marchant,
provided excellent music throughout the day to inspire
the competitors in their performances. A special thank
you must go the Christine Edwards and the pool of helpers
Jean had on hand, who along with all those teachers
present, ensured the day ran smoothly.
The day started with the much-anticipated 'Set Line
Dances', the concept of which was originally devised
by Jean to give dancers the opportunity to compete in
fair competition without the need to buy expensive costumes.
This was the first time many of the dancers had performed
the 2007 dances and the obvious enjoyment on their faces
and those of the spectators proves what a valuable resource
these dances are to teachers in their classes. The standard
across all ages and grades was very high especially
amongst the lower grades with over 50 entries in some
events such as the Under 10 Bronze & Below. This
section was followed by the Team events which showed
some cleverly thought out choreography performed with
energy, enthusiasm and an obvious commitment from all
those concerned in their creation.
The Rock 'n' Roll events showed that the tremendous
improvements that have occurred in this style of dance
since its inclusion as a qualifying event for Grand
Finals' Day, are continuing both in the Basic Actions
and styling and the compliance of the Syllabus by teachers.
Whilst adjudicators enjoyed their lunch, we had a surprise
special guest in the shape of Paul Streatfield, Vice-Chairman
of the DFR Faculty, who came to make a presentation
to Jean Cantell in recognition of her dedication and
commitment to the Area Medallist Competitions. Jean
had sadly decided the time was right to retire and hand
over the reins of co-organiser to somebody else. During
his speech, Paul touched upon the tremendous contribution
Jean had made to the world of Disco/Freestyle, in particular,
her instrumental involvement in the creation of the
Area Disco competitions and 'Set Line Dances'. He also
announced that Jean would be receiving the Imperial
Award for Dance Sport at the ISTD annual Dinner Dance
to be held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in March and
the news delighted everyone present. Jean was very surprised
by all that was happening and in response recounted
stories of how many teachers would complain about how
hard it was to teach the Set Line Dances when they first
started to be introduced. Now with the help of video
and DVD they were eagerly awaited with the dances challenging
and of great value to teachers for their class work.
'I'm very jealous! Today's teachers have so much help
and material available, and wonderful technology to
call upon to assist in every aspect of their work,'
said Jean.
The afternoon continued with the Solo and Pairs competitions
maintaining the high standard of work seen earlier in
the day. This exiting and friendly competition came
to an end a 6.00pm with everyone having had a great
day.
I hope the new co-organiser for 2008 will continue the
spirit of this special competition that Jean has so
carefully nurtured over the years.
Jonathan Reed
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Sussex/Surrey/Hampshire
On
Sunday 4th February 2007, many local dance schools made
their way to Thorngate Hall, Gosport, all looking forward
to a very exciting day. For many, this was their first
medallist competition of the 2006/7 season.
The competition, as always, commenced promptly, beginning
with the Set Line Dance section. Girls and boys of all
ages filled the floor, from the delightful, bright and
bouncy Under 8's through to the Over 16 Gold Stars who
performed a lovely Slow routine with innovative choreography
which really tested the musicality of the dancers. There
were some expressive and beautifully finished performances
in this final. All the Street style Line Dances were
performed effectively with good attack, really ‘getting
down’ into the beat. This style was particularly
impressive in all the Juvenile events, very confident
performances for such young competitors. The support
for the Over 25’s event was great and the competitors
showed a very good standard that was much appreciated
Which three competitors in each event would be selected
for the coveted places in the Grand Finals? The excitement
rose to fever pitch for every final and it was great
to see such well trained dancers performing with such
enjoyment and receiving the well deserved support from
all members of their dancing school.
Next came the Teams' section when teams performed their
routines with great enthusiasm. There were many different
types of routines using a vast range of styles and music,
from traditional disco routines to music from Phantom
of the Opera and an appearance by skeletons, pumpkins
and witches!
As the day progressed we moved swiftly on to Rock 'n'
Roll, with the competitors battling it out for those
few First places, qualifying them for the Grand Finals.
Some wonderful costumes filled the floor, we even had
some T-birds and Pink Ladies. The Rock ’n’
Roll standard was much improved overall, with good use
of Syllabus Figures showing really rhythmic feeling
and much stronger foot action than in previous years.
It was a joy to see so many very young boy/girl partnerships
dancing with such enthusiasm and it will be interesting
to note their development as they progress up through
the levels. As the higher grades hit the floor, leaps,
jumps and throws were very impressive, with no accidents
along the way.
We then saw the Solo rounds, a chance for all the dancers
to compete individually with their own unique routine.
The floor craft of dancers moving around the floor was
noticeably better this year, with only a few, moving
the wrong way. There were many sparkling and stylish
costumes to be seen as we moved on to the Silver &
Above rounds. As finals approached the room, once again,
began to fill with vocal support.
The Freestyle Pairs event completed this exciting day.
Through the rounds, it was noticeable there were many
more couples dancing their routines 'together', choreographed
as a partnership rather than dancing one behind or beside
the other.
Before the final prize presentation, the Organisers,
Jean Cantell and Christine Edwards, thanked everyone
for their attendance and the Adjudicators, Pat Woor,
Maria Howse and Caron Parry for undertaking their very
difficult task so well. Thanks were also extended to
the DJ, Peter Marchant and Scrutineer, Peter Edwards
and all who helped to make the day successful.
The standard of dancing at Gosport gets better every
year. The Set Line Dance routines proved very difficult
to adjudicate because of the high overall standard,
the Rock 'n' Roll showed a higher technical accuracy
whilst still maintaining pleasing flow, and the Pairs
showed a greater togetherness.
Our thanks go to Jean, Christine and their team who
once again hosted a most enjoyable day and we look forward
to returning to Gosport in 2008.
Michelle Seymour and David Keal
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Essex
Sunday 11 th February 2007 was the day of the Essex
Area ISTD Medallist Competition in Daganham. For us
it is always an exciting event as it is the first Area
Competition that our school attends.
A rainy and dark morning did not deter the record breaking
twenty three schools that turned up to enjoy the day
ahead. With registration completed, (more Solo entries
today than at Grand Finals' Day last year) the first
round of the Set Line dances was underway.
As a Teacher who has attended this event for many years,
I have seen a vast number of Set Line Dances being performed.
I recognise competitors who have risen from the Under
8's section and who are now dancing beautifully in the
Gold Star and Awards events. This year, the standard
in the Line Dance events and the variety and style of
all these dances were second to none.
I am, and always have been, proud to be a Disco Freestyle
and Rock 'n' Roll Teacher. As I watched these children
and adults dance the routines with such feeling, energy
and excellent technique, I thought it justifies why
I, and probably every other teacher sitting through
what proved to be a very long day, watched each pupil
with pride, noting their improvement.
After the Line Dances, came the Teams' event, also with
many entries, showing a good variety of styles and rhythms.
Rock 'n' Roll followed and yet again, the standard in
Rock 'n' Roll is improving all the time. Well-rehearsed
Solos followed and finally, Pairs showing good choreography
and together-dancing.
Despite the high number of competitors, the day ran
like clockwork. Thanks are due to the officials for
coping so efficiently with such high entries - compère,
Nicky Miles and his team of scrutineers, DJ, Barry Austin
and the panel of adjudicators who faced a difficult
task with so many hard decisions - Christine Edwards,
Maria Howse, Marion Lane, Jacqui Norton, Jonathan Reed,
Rachel Wadey, Liz Young, and last but not least, to
Pat Woor for organising this great competition.
The competitors danced their hearts out to the very
end but luckily, half term was the following day, as
many tired, yet elated children left the building. The
first of the Area Competitions that we attend had ended.
Some of our pupils left with good results, others looking
forward to the next competition in the hope that they
may qualify for the ultimate competition at the end
of the season, Grand Finals' Day at Guildford on 14th
October!
Amanda Hughes
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