|
Peter
Stokkebroe and Kristina Juel-Stokkebroe
Graham
Oswick interviews these top competitors and gets an
insight into their lives
I
joined Peter Stokkebroe and Kristina Juel-Stokkebroe
for tea on the afternoon following their success in
winning the Imperial Latin American Championship which
was organised by Michael Stylianos and Lorna Lee.
I
put some questions to them to find out what makes a
World Championship winning couple tick. The following
interview (over the page) is the result.
G
– How were you first introduced to dancing?
P&K – When we were 3 years
old our parents took us to a dance school in Denmark.
We both went to the same school actually.
G
– When did you first meet and dance together?
K – We started to dance together
when Peter was 16 and I was 15.
G
– What is the most memorable moment in your career
so far?
P&K – The whole year of 2006
was a very special year for us. We won all the major
titles and keeping focused on that was special. Also
the European Championship which was held in our home
city in 2004 was great. We danced in front of our home
crowd which was amazing. We also won the European Championship
again in 2007 which was also in Denmark. Actually this
was our last amateur competition.
G
– What’s your most embarrassing moment?
P – There is no doubt that this
was when Holger Nitche and Charlotte Egstrand were dancing
a show in Austria and they asked me to place Charlotte
on the floor as a baby. I had been doing a competition
in my velvet trousers the whole day which were now very
hot, sticky and wet. When I was carrying Charlotte and
placing her on the floor she was stuck to my trousers
which were being pull further down and then they ripped
showing all my underwear to the whole audience. Charlotte
and I and the audience were all laughing a lot! I could
feel the air conditioning!
G
– Have you ever had any major disasters in your
dance career?
P&K – We had to withdraw
from the European Championship one year due to a foot
injury. That’s the only competition we ever had
to pull out of.
G
– What other dancers have inspired you?
P&K – We are quite inspired
by ballet dancers through the years. We have been introduced
to both modern and ballet. We love their technique and
their discipline; especially Baryshnikov and Nureyev
are our big idols. We have watched a lot of video footage
of these two men In Latin Donnie and Gaynor were the
big champions when we were young. Of course we did the
whole copying thing with the hips and styling. There
was also Allan Tornsberg and Vibeke Toft who were the
big Danish stars.
G
– Which dance best suits your character and why?
P&K – It’s very much
connected to mood so we love all the different dances
for their own spirit and character. I must say that
at the moment we feel great in Samba where we feel free
and inspired. Rumba also has a special feeling for us
and has always had.
G
– What is it about dancing that you like?
P&K – Generally we just love
the teaching of the body, the understanding of it and
exploring it to learn more and more. Every year we dance
there are new things which come up, we feel it inspires
us to learn new feels of dance and experience a new
level of understanding. It is a learning process but
there are also those moments when the mind disappears
and the dancing happens without you controlling it in
an intellectual way.
G
– What tips would you give to young dancers starting
out today?
P&K – We would say stick
to practising and learning the technical fundamentals
of understanding your body. You can not stop doing that.
The best dancers in the world have kept on pushing their
bodies in a technical sense and to understand better
what they are actually doing instead of going for what
seems to be shortcuts.
G
– How much practise do you do in a week?
P&K – We have different types
of practise. In the morning we have basic practise where
we go through all the technical skills as individuals.We
have a longer session during the afternoon going through
choreography and making decisions and trying things
slowly. Then we have some evening practises where we
go physically full blast!
G
– Where’s the strangest place you have had
to dance?
P&K – We once had to dance
in a circus in Switzerland! At the time we still danced
Ballroom and the floor was on a hill so it was either
dancing uphill or downhill. There were also some bumps
on the way! We also danced outside at the house of the
Mayor of Copenhagen for Danish TV. That was a bit odd
too.
G
– What are the top five elements a good dancer
requires, in your opinion?
P&K –
1. Discipline
2. Mechanical knowledge
3. An open mind to look at new things and not be happy
with where you are
4. A great awareness of impact when you dance. To be
aware of what is received by your audience
5. A good plan for success
G
– Who’s the boss in your partnership?
P&K – We have different areas
where we are more or less in control although we have
a very equal partnership especially in the last 5 or
6 years.
G
– Who’s the most organised?
P&K – We are both quite well
organised actually. Probably that is a Scandinavian
trait. We like things in the right way and to have order
generally.
G
– How was it being immortalised on the ISTD technique
video for Cha Cha Cha?
P&K – It was a fantastic
experience although it was tough. It was a hard day
and Lorna Lee is a very tough lady to please, so we
weren’t able to go far wrong! (Interviewer nods
in agreement!) We hope that the Imperial members like
what we did there.
G
– Is there anything else we should know about
you?
P&K – We do have some secrets!
(Then laughs) We both feel that dancing is a great part
of lives but we are also aware of the need to experience
life outside of that. To be a whole human being we feel
that it is necessary to have a lot of things inside
so we both have friends and interests outside of dancing
and that fuels our inspiration for the dancing.
Some
of you were lucky enough to see Peter and Kristina’s
wonderful five dance cabaret at the ISTD Congress in
Worthing in July. They held the audience spellbound
with their musical and artistic rendering of the Latin
rhythms hitting all the musical nuances.
We
thank them for taking a little time out to speak to
me to give a little more insight into top competitor’s
life. Since conducting this interview Peter and Kristina
also reached the Grand Final of the International Professional
Latin Championship at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
back
to top |
