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Grand
Disco Medallist Festival
Sunday
19th October 2003, Grand Finals Day again, where has this
year gone?
It
was a very cold and dark Sunday morning when keen Disco dancers
from across the country travelled to attend the Grand Disco
Medallist Festival in Bletchley, Milton Keynes. The sports
hall was buzzing with excitement as the keen dancers entered
their events and practised their routines.
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| An
enthusiastic audience from start to finish |
Joint
compères for the day were Nicky Miles and Richard Hunt
who kept the day running smoothly, even though they had two
dance floors running alongside each other. Nicky introduced
the day as ‘Guildford In Disguise!’ Grand Finals
Day is normally held at the Guilford Spectrum, but had to
be relocated to Bletchley this year and with the seating capacity
slightly less than the Spectrum we were in for a cosy day!
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Judges
(L-R) Derek Green, Janet Clark, Jill Bush, Jean Cantell,
Julie Earnshaw, Vernon Kemp
Photographs: Morrison Finley |
Yvonne
Taylor-Hill, the DFR Faculty Chairman, welcomed us all and
congratulated all the competitors on qualifying for the finals
before the prestigious Line Dance finals began. The adjudicators
for this section were the DFR Faculty Committee members and
included Yvonne Taylor-Hill, Amanda Hughes, Nigel Kirk, Pat
Lait, Debbie Mitchell, Paul Streatfield, Rachel Wadey and
Pat Woor.
Line Dance Finals
Year
after year the standard in this competition gets better and
better and is so enjoyable to watch. The standard of technique
and performance was so high, particularly in the lower grades
and ages. When watching the Under 8, Under 10 and Under 12
sections, it was hard to choose a dancer from the heats, they
were all so close in ability, the adjudicators certainly had
a difficult job! First place was even more coveted this year
thanks to the very generous sponsorship of The Beanie and
Bear Shop, who donated delightful teddies wearing special
commemorative embroidered Tshirts.
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| Disco/Freestyle
Grand Finals, Line Dance winners |
The
winners:
•
Under 8
Trinni Warren
• Under 10 Bronze and below
Daniella Venuti
• Under 12 Bronze and below
Anne-Marie Taylor
• Under 14 Bronze and below
Laura Thomas
• Over 14 Bronze and below
Philippa Spalding
• Over 25 Bronze and below
Amanda Harris
• Under 10 Silver and Gold
Robyn Montague
• Under 12 Silver and Gold
Ankush Khanna
• Under 14 Silver and Gold
Matthew Lund
• Over 14 Silver and Gold
Rosie Hayes
• Under 12 Gold Star and Awards
Alex Knapp
• Under 14 Gold Star and Awards
Laura Carruthers
• Under 16 Gold Star and Awards
Lucy Charman
• Over 16 Gold Star and Awards
Leigh-Ann Parker
Pairs
Next
followed the Pairs events and even with a high number of entries
in this section it still ran smoothly. There was a change
of adjudicators for the afternoon’s events and Nicky
Miles introduced the new panel: Jill Bush, Jean Cantell, Janet
Clark, Julie Earnshaw, Derek Green and Vernon Kemp.
A
high standard was also evident in the Pairs events, again
giving the adjudicators a hard job, with lots of exciting
choreography showing good partner awareness and contact. The
competitors were still showing lots of enthusiasm and energy
after the morning’s competition.
Rock
‘n’ Roll
The
atmosphere seemed to liven up even more when the Rock ‘n’
Roll events began, both the competitors and spectators buzzed
with excitement. The biggest improvement in overall standard
was definitely evident in this section with lots of ‘together
dancing’ and use of syllabus steps. The choreography
was exciting to watch with dancers making full use of Basic
Systems and Compound Steps to enhance their Rock ‘n’
Roll dancing.
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| Disco/Freestyle
grand finals, Rock ‘n’ Roll winners |
The
winners:
•
Under 8
Charlie Brown and Georgia Lewicki
• Under 10 Bronze and below
Tate Millar and Annie Morgan
• Under 12 Bronze and below
Jade Barjotelli and Georgia Entrican
• Under 14 Bronze and below
Melissa Jones and Anne-Marie Taylor
• Over 14 Bronze and below
Rosie Hayes and Oliver Lashbrook
• Under 12 Silver and Gold
Sarah Crisp and Felicity Heath
• Under 14 Silver and Gold
Chelsie Carroll and Matthew Lund
• Over 14 Silver and Gold
Natalie Fidgett and Erin Riesebieter
• Under 12 Gold Star and Awards
Rosie Honour and Alex Knapp
• Over 14 Gold Star and Awards
Sammie Dey and Siobhan Miller
Solos
As
the Grand Finals Day drew to an end there was one last category
to go! Somehow the competitors seem to draw some extra energy
and determination to dance their hearts out in the Solo events.
Again excellent technique, projection and performance were
evident in all sections. First class choreography was demonstrated,
keeping both the adjudicators and spectators on their toes!
As
the last trophies were given out to the lucky winners and
the hall gradually started to empty (where had the day gone?)
another Grand Finals Day was over. Well done to all the winners
and the teachers who work so hard with their pupils. Thanks
also to the team of scrutineers who provide such a valuable
service in the background and, last but not least, thanks
to Ian Jordan, the DJ, for providing such fabulous music all
day long. Looking forward to next year’s Grand Finals’
Day on Sunday 17th October 2004 - at Guildford!
Gail
Henry
Photographs: Morrison Finley
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