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New
Examiners
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Lawrence
Chan
Lawrence
Chan started his dance training in 1986.
Since 1992, he has been travelling for intensive
training in London, USA, Germany and Italy.
With his partner, Gertrude Ko, they won
a number of local and international Ballroom
and Latin Dance competitions. He opened
the Come Dancing Studio Academy in December
1992
to provide Ballroom and Latin
dance training to the public.
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He
has been training pupils from Beginner to Professional
in various forms - Social Dancers, Ballroom and
Latin competitors, Ballroom and Latin examination
candidates and Ballroom and Latin Performances.
His
major awards include the 2002 Celtic Classic Open
Showdance Championships 6th Place, 1996 South
East Asia Professional Ballroom Showdance Champions,
1996 South East Asia Professional Latin Showdance
Champion, 1995 HK Professional Ten-Dance Champions,
1993-97 HK Professional Latin Champions and 2001
HK Professional Ballroom Champions.
Other
major achievements are organising the ‘Come
Dancing Cup’ HK Open DanceSport Championships
since 1993 and organising and performing in ‘Best
of Best’ HK Open DanceSport Championships
since 1999.
He
was a recipient of the 2003 Hong Kong Dance Hall
of Fame.
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Lori
Woods Gay
Examiner for the Modern Ballroom & Latin
American Faculties
Lori
began her dance training at Arthur Murray
Dance Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey and
later became affiliated with the Fred Astaire
Dance Studio Chain, where she became a top
teacher, studio owner and eventually a Member
of their National Dance Board. |
She
trained independently with Fran Rogers and Dagmar
Jarvel then with Julius Kaiser in Boston, Massachusetts.
While in Boston she was very active with the ISTD
and was Secretary of the New England Chapter.
In
addition to teaching, Lori has undertaken other
challenges. As a teacher she won many teacher
awards including Top Teacher at the United States
Ballroom Championships. Highlights of her competitive
career are winning the title of New England Professional
American Style Champions with partner David Rosinski,
Dancing in the Blackpool Exhibition with her husband
John Gay as well as winning the United States
Pro/Am Championships and Grand Championship many
times with John.
In
1975 she helped to organise one of the first major
Dance Competitions in the USA named at that time
‘The Boston Bicentennial’. In later
years she worked with the late John Monte and
American Ballroom Company helping to organise
and run the United States Ballroom Championships.
Elizabeth
Romain became her principal teacher for many years,
entering her for most of her exams through to
Fellowship. It was Elizabeth Romain who continually
challenged and encouraged her to strive toward
becoming an examiner, fostering a love for and
belief in the technique and principles for which
the ISTD stands. Lori feels that it has been both
a pleasure and an honour to have had many wonderful
years of training with Elizabeth Romain.
Lori
has been successful in preparing many candidates
for their exams and intends to make this the focus
of her work at her private studio and dance retreat
located near Princeton, New Jersey. She is currently
a member of the Fred Astaire National Dance Board
and serves on the Executive Committee of the National
Dance Council of America as Executive Secretary.
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Wendy
O'Dowd
New Examiner for Grades to Intermediate
Examiner for the Modern Theatre and Tap
Faculties
Wendy
trained at the Dance School of Scotland
and went on to study at Laine Theatre Arts,
graduating in 1992. |
After dancing professionally for several years
on cruise ships all over the world, Wendy started
teaching dance, coaching students in Ballet, Modern,
Tap and Jazz. From 1996 to 2001 she taught and
ran her own dance school with pupils aged between
3-18 years, choreographing several school productions
and successfully entering pupils for both RAD
Ballet and ISTD Modern and Tap exams.
Wendy
currently teaches at The Centre College of Performing
Arts, The Twickenham Academy of Dance and Danceforce
School of Dance. She has continued her teaching
qualifications under the guidance of Miss Karen
King at The Centre College of Performing Arts
and looks forward to putting the skills that she
has learned to a fuller use in an examining capacity.
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Rachel
Wadey
New Examiner for Ballroom
Rachel
lives in the sleepy seaside town of Broadstairs
(where Charles Dickens wrote his famous
Bleak House). She began her dancing career
with Ballet, Tap and Modern, but was soon
encouraged to take up Ballroom and Latin
American by her late father, after having
been a successful amateur competitor. |
She
succeeded in completing all Ballroom and Latin
American medal tests within the ISTD by the young
age of 13, and started again in the opposite role.
A
local school hired her as a student teacher where
she was introduced to Saturday Night Fever and
the Disco Freestyle era at the Hammersmith Palais.
After gaining her Latin Associate in 1986 she
was encouraged to start her own school and enter
pupils for amateur and professional examinations.
Having been introduced to Anne Lingard, Rachel
continued her training with her, with encouragement
and support obtaining the highest qualifications
in all DanceSport Faculties.
She
teaches all DanceSport Faculties from all ages
and abilities (including those with special needs)
and has lectured at the ISTD DanceSport congresses.
She has had 4 winning dances with her partner
in Old Time and Sequence inventive dance competitions
to date.
Rachel
would like to give special thanks to her late
mother, her husband, DanceSport examiners and
colleagues for their help and encouragement in
making her dreams reality.
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