The Imperial Disco/Freestyle Open Championships
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The Imperial Disco/Freestyle Open Championships
Report by Justine Collins • Photographs by Mandy Pearce

The Imperial Championships were held at Spelthorne Leisure Centre, Staines, on Sunday 4th March 2001. The day started with very cold weather, even some snow on the ground. However, in the relaxed atmosphere of the Leisure Centre, dancers from all over the country warmed up in preparation for an action packed day, and that they definitely had. The trophies were beautifully displayed and each dancer had their sights set on winning one of the large silver cups which would be for the 'Imperial Dancer of the Year 2001'. Paul Streatfield compered the day with his usual humour with well presented adjudicators, Jenny Barnes, Betty Bouston, Territa Corbett, Maria Howse, Pat Woor and Graham Hawkins.

Over 16 Championship Team: Zenon	Freestyle Pairs

It all got off to a wonderful pace with Solos. The Beginner section was full of enthusiasm with a lot of well groomed dancers of mixed abilities. The Under 10 section had the most number of competitors with 25 and was the strongest competition. The standard of the Starter section was good, with some eye-catching dancers, especially in the Under 14 age group. An overwhelming 30 competitors took part with a dance off in this category for first and second place. The whole hall cheered and supported each competitor. Although Intermediates were a little thin on the ground, the Under 14 section, however, was again the strongest with some creative floor work and travelling choreography.

The Championship events did not disappoint us. The strongest section was the Over 16, full of breathtaking technique and unique choreography. The adjudicators had their work cut out, it was a great shame to narrow the final down to six dancers. When they came out for their Championship spot each competitor gave it their all, great leaps, kicks, excellent bodywork and an absolute stage presence. Fantastic! It was lovely to see a good number of boy Champions, all were extremely well rehearsed and it was a breath of fresh air to see a good competition.

Over 16 Intermediate	Left: Adjudicators line up (L - R), Jenny Barnes, Territa Corbett, Maria Howse, Graham Hawkins, Pat Woor & Betty Bouston - DFR Vice Chairman

Once we had all the results, it was on to the top Solo event of the day when each winning competitor in each grade was asked to perform a Solo spot and dance for the ultimate Imperial winner in each grade. All rose to the challenge and the room was full of high spirits.

Winner of the Beginner section was Amy Honour, the Under 8 winner. What a vibrant and bright little dancer, smiling all the way! I am sure this young lady will go on to do great things.

Winning the Starter section was Katrina Mathers, the Over 16 winner, a beautiful dancer, very well placed, lovely kicks and extremely controlled, a very elegant young lady.

The Imperial Dancer of the Year 2001. Beginner: Amy Honour, Starter: Katrina Mathers, Intermediate: Rebecca Brown, Championship: Stephanie Fitzpatrick with Yvonne Taylor-Hill, DFR Chairman

Winner of the Intermediate section was Rebecca Brown, the Under 12 winner, a lovely young dancer, whom in the past I feel has been overlooked. However, today she made the adjudicators take note, with good technique and a wonderful natural facial expression. You can see Rebecca really enjoys her dancing.

Winning the Championship section was Stephanie Fitzpatrick, the Over 16 winner, a very unique dancer who is extremely supple but well controlled, very expressive with a natural feel for the mood of the music. Her overall look was presented beautifully.

On to the Teams. We had both varied styles and looks, the strongest of which was the Intermediate section, with lots of new music and totally different ideas showing that the teachers are always striving to do something innovative for the audience. DFR Faculty Chairman, Yvonne Taylor-Hill, congratulated all the dancers and teachers for their Teams and expressed delight in watching them.

Betty Bouston, DFR Vice Chairman presenting trophies to Under 8 Beginners, Amy & Emily Honour	Over 16 Boy Champion

Pairs were a joy to watch. The Beginner sections had some lovely dancers working strongly to keep together and in time, an aspect that we sometimes lose in the higher grades. The Starters had one of the hardest competitions in the Under 14 section, a complete mixture of talent and each Pair had to get noticed. There were some lovely dancers in this final. The Championship section had a lot of good boy/girl work at Under 16 level with five couples. However, my favourite competition that was visually stimulating and kept us wide awake when they danced Solo spots, was the Under 16 girl/girl couples. They had some very unique choreography and outfits, a revival of the eighties maybe, with their heads completely covered as part of the costume. It was fantastic! The acrobatic work was extremely well done giving some unusual lines and shapes in the air and floor, pushing Freestyle dance again to its boundary and beyond.

The standard of the Rock 'n' Roll was high with a mixture of Authentic and International styles. It was most pleasurable to see good technique performed with the dancers dancing 'together'. Rock 'n' Roll seems to provide a nice relaxed end to the day, with the dancers forgetting any of the earlier pressures and having great fun just dancing.

The music was played by Royston Shepherd, who kept us rocking, especially throughout the Rock 'n' Roll, with some good songs, which you could sing along to all day.

Our two hard working scrutineers, Jilly Harris and Peter Hill, kept the competition flowing and we finished at 6.00pm, another great bonus.

Thank you DFR Faculty Committee for a very well run day AGAIN!

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DFR Faculty Congress
Sunday 23rd September 2001
at the Dacorum Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead

PROGRAMME

TICKETS:
PAYMENT ON THE DOOR £6 INCLUDING NOTES
Non Members should contact Mrs Beverley McDermott
on 020 7377 1577 for information

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