| Simon
Cruwys chats to Karen Hardy
Part 2
To
read part 1 of this interview click here>>
Karen
Hardy, former UK, International, World Masters and British
National Championship winner.
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Karen
Hardy |
Karen,
why do you think the general public in some countries show
a greater following to dance than others?
This is largely due to television coverage, for example in
Spain every Saturday morning for one hour there is television
coverage of dance to watch during children’s TV. This
encourages children to want to get involved with the sport
and their parents are very supportive and many even want to
get involved with dance themselves. Also in some countries
dance is part of their national curriculum, therefore from
a very young age dance is established as part of their everyday
life. This in turn takes away any stigma or history of it
being ‘not a cool’ thing to do.
Finally
I think it comes down to a cultural way of thinking where
upon the country has taken it as a natural part of their lives,
countries such as Japan, China and Russia. Whereas in the
countries that you would expect it, such as the South Americas
etc (hot Latin musically educated countries) there is less
interest.
What
are the most memorable occasions from your career so far?
There are many but I guess the biggest being our fight for
the World Championships in South Africa, as it was the year
that Donnie and Gaynor came out of retirement to compete against
us for one more year. It was a vast audience, some 7000 people
with huge banners saying ‘Watson for President’.
We had friends and family fly in from all over the world to
watch this event, there was huge media coverage, the stage
and the set was truly the best any of us had ever seen before,
or would ever compete at again. It was a day never to be forgotten.
Another
memorable moment was my first ever dancing competition with
Bryan, going out on that floor feeling the enthusiasm and
support oozing from the audience and fans that had built up
before we even danced our first competition.
One
more memory has to be the dedication made to practicing. I
always remember trying to get out of practicing after just
returning from a six week trip to Japan. I literally had just
got off the 12 hour flight and had cleared customs, when the
dreaded ‘see you at 8.00pm’ would be heard from
Bryan. I would open the door to my home after the taxi ride
from the airport and remember the clock always saying 7.15pm.
Sure enough, we would be there every night at the ‘Semley’
studios where so many past and present champions have passed.
Here there really are too many memories to even remember,
some not so good, others have become memories that I now pass
on to the students, of steps that had taken hours to perfect
and finally a movement was accomplished. The sweating, muscle
pulling, laughter and excitement and the curiosity of who
would be practicing that night. My best memories here were
practicing against Donnie and Gaynor every night. They had
their corner and we had ours and every night was a competition
night. You really had to be there to experience it.
What
are your interests outside of the dancing world?
Now…rugby! Friends and shopping. Everything that I never
had time to do when I competed. Rugby is a large part of my
life now, where I have met some really amazing friends and
lovers of their chosen sport. I can stand and shout and support
my husband as he did me when I competed.
Tell
me about your partner, haven’t you recently got married?
I sure have and what a memorable moment it was. Our wedding
was held on a small island in Greece called Santorini where
we were joined by 60 of our closest friends and family who
all came together to make our dream come true. I met Conrad
actually at the British Open Championships in May 1995 where
Bryan and I had been celebrating on the Thursday night party
when he whisked me off my feet dancing. The beginning of our
relationship was very difficult, as a week after meeting him
I had to go to Japan for six weeks. The shock came at the
end of the six weeks when I went to pay for my telephone bill
at the hotel and it came to £1000, I realised that I
could have flown him out to be with me in person rather than
calling him. I also realised not to use the hotel phone so
much in the future!
Conrad
comes from a dancing background where he was a New Zealand
champion and his Mum has a very successful studio on the South
Island of New Zealand. Owing to his success down there he
decided to come to London to pursue his dancing career and
see what the rest of the world of dancing was about.
Who
would you say helped you most in your dancing career and for
what reason?
This is a really great question to be asked and one that doesn’t
come up nearly enough. It has to be largely down to my parents,
my Mum had three jobs and my Father had two to be able to
pay for my dancing career, which entailed large amounts of
money on lessons, practising, dresses, shoes and travelling
every weekend throughout the UK. I remember one competition
that finished at 2.00am in Staffordshire and we had to drive
home to Bournemouth through the night. Mum had to go to work,
I had to go to school and we arrived home at 7.00am, showered
and went back out again.
There really are not enough ‘thank yous’ that
can be said to parents that would truly pay them back for
all the love and dedication they give to any child pursuing
an art, sport or any general interest. My mother spent hours
sewing layer upon layer of net for my ballroom dresses and
stone and sequining dresses to keep me in the best and newest
dresses possible.
Other
occasions I remember are when I had won a major international
title and I would look out into the crowd as Bryan and I took
our prize to see my parents crying because of sheer happiness,
relief and knowing that all our efforts were worthwhile.
Thank
you Mum and thank you Dad.
Do
you feel that a correct diet and training outside of dance
is necessary for today’s dancers?
Absolutely, owing to the demand of the choreography, the extensive
overseas travelling that now has to be carried out and the
sheer endurance of competitions, the dancer’s body of
today has to be physically fit to enable them to withstand
the training. To make this easier it has become essential
that dancers include gym work, cardio training, Pilates, even
yoga, to truly get to understand what their muscles can execute
for their dancing.
What
encouragement or advice do you give to your students leading
up to major championships?
In general, all the students know that they have a continuous
level of encouragement throughout the year. Leading up to
a major event the most important advice that couples need
is largely to do with their mental approach to their event.
This is a time when levels of stress and demand can lead to
very damaging effects to partnership and their potential to
succeed at an event. The physical fitness and endurances of
their work I leave up to them as if they are not dedicated
to perfecting and practicing their chosen career I cannot
do it for them.
What
do you think an aspiring young dancer should do in order to
try to reach the goals that you have achieved?
The secret to the success is practice - practice makes perfect,
which is the most famous saying in the world, in any form
of sport or art. I truly loved dancing so much that the training
was not a chore and if you are dedicated and aspiring to be
a champion then practice is just part of your life.
Have
you ever taken amateur medal tests and how important do you
think these are in relation to today’s competitive dancing?
I completed my medals up to Gold status and I feel that they
were a very important part of my competitive career. Not only
did they get me addicted to competitive dancing but it was
here that I learned the basic fundamentals of dance from timing
and poise, to footwork and dealing with the pressure of examination
days. All these and more are critical to the success of a
competitive dancer.
Thank
you Karen
Simon
Cruwys
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