Dance
Sport Worthing Congress 2006
Saturday
29th July >>
Sunday
30th July >>
Monday
31st July >>
Evening
Buffet Dance and Cabaret >>
Saturday
29th July
Disco Freestyle – From One to Two
Mandy Pearce
The
Congress was opened with a Disco Freestyle lecture
by Mandy Pearce partnered by Nigel Kirk, the title
‘From One to Two’. Mandy taught an interesting
8 bar routine which was then adapted to a pairs routine,
showing attractive use of holds and patterns. The
lecture was given in a positive manner by a teacher
who is used to commanding and controlling a class.
Social Sequence
Simon Cruwys
Dances
– Tynedale Quickstep, Sizzlers Samba. One Ballroom,
one Latin Sequence, expertly taught in Simon’s
relaxed, confident style.
Both dances consisted of easy step patterns, combined
into interesting routines and were a good choice of
very teachable work that we could all take back to
our schools.
Rock ‘n’ Roll
Maria Howse
Assisted
by Paul Streatfield, three short groups were taught
by Maria all very leadable and suitable for the social
dancer using the Rock or tap basic. However I am sure
some of these moves could be adopted for more advanced
dancers using basic styles.
A
confident teacher, who had the whole class ‘rocking’
to the music, creating the atmosphere of the 50’s
era.
Club Dance – Girls’ Night Out
Suzanne Hammond, assisted by Edita Doncakova
A
fast, fiery lecture, delivered enthusiastically by
Suzanne and ably assisted by Edita, showing quite
simple step patterns, accompanied by a lot of body
rhythm. The dance was slowly and carefully taught,
paying attention to the co-ordination of the steps
and movements.
Country Western –
Double Up with Donna Donna Steele
Assisted
by Territa Corbett and pupils, Donna introduced two
interesting dances entitled Rio with a latin flavour
and Keep on Dancing – confidently taught with
rhythmic voice projection, sharing her love of the
dance genre with her class.
Sequence – Figures of Eight
Jill Bush
A
very well presented lecture by Jill, whose demonstrating
set of eight consisted of a very well known group
of people.
Easy to learn step patterns, but the varied repetition,
with exact positioning of the four couple sets, created
a lot of fun amongst the participants. Whilst a light
hearted atmosphere was apparent, Jill’s expert
directions kept us focussed. An excellent ending to
a full and interesting afternoon.
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| Rock’n’Roll,
Maria Howse |
Country
Western – Double Up with Donna,
Donna Steele |
Social
Sequence, Simon Cruwys |
Sunday
30th July
Class Variations in Waltz & Tango
Martin Bishop
Assisted
by Donata Petrauskiene, Martin taught two variations,
both enjoyable to dance. There was a good use of cross
hesitation in Waltz, and in the Tango an interesting
amalgamation finished with an attractive syncopated
ending.
A well presented lecture, with both variations ideal
for weekly class or bridging the gap from Gold to
Gold Star.
Make it Simple
Marion Lane, Simon Cruwys and Lorriane Kuznik
The
theme of this class was to show the proprietary exercises
from the Intermediate examination using the information
in a simple and informative way.
First it was the turn of Marion Lane who used the
Rumba exercise, then Lorraine who used the Samba and
finally Simon who used the Paso Doble.
All three performed and explained the details with
the professional delivery we have come to expect from
these experienced teachers. They made it quite clear
how useful it was to use the exercises to raise the
level of quality in one’s pupils, regardless
of whether we use the graded system or not. Everyone
joined them on the floor and took the information
on board with ease.
Masterclass: Throwaway, Oversway, Hinge &
Contra Check
Anton Du Beke
Directly
from Strictly Come Dancing, Anton, in a very relaxed
manner, gave us many ideas of where the Throwaway
Oversway, Hinge and Contra Check originated, expertly
demonstrating these lines with Barbara Grover.
Good teaching hints showed humour and superb interaction
with the people in the masterclass.
Club Dance – Bachata
Richard Marcel
Richard
guided the enthusiastic class through the simple step
patterns to interesting 4/4 Latin music which originated
from the Dominican Republic.
The accents and characterisation were based on the
hip body movements. A fun dance which was a highlight
of many social classes.
Advanced One Variations
Michael Stylianos and Graham Oswick
Graham
Oswick and Michael Stylianos presented the first of
three lectures on Sunday before lunch. The second
came after lunch, the third following on Monday afternoon.
Michael and Graham had been commissioned to come up
with variations in each of the five dances to be included
in the Advanced One examination. Well, they certainly
were on form! They presented a total of 21 variations
in the three lectures and the material was brilliant.
Very clever and very simple, adding little attractive
movements to very basic syllabus figures transforming
them into attractive gems; a great bridge between
the Gold Medal and the Gold Stars.
The playful banter between them entertained everyone
leaving that ‘feel good’ feeling behind
them.
Getting the Most out of Your Partner
Anton Du Beke
In
Robert Grover’s words we were taken into Anton's
world of partnering inexperienced ladies. He demonstrated,
with several partners from the audience, how the male
can – in a very relaxed and enjoyable way –
lead the lady to move with him.
His advice was to try to do what your partner is capable
of – if she finds spinning difficult then leave
spins out. This lecture was a most entertaining half
hour and at the end Robert stressed how much we in
the dance profession had gained from the Strictly
Come Dancing programme.
Simple Choreography for Rumba & Jive
Sergey Surkov & Agnieszka Melnicka
The
last Latin lecture for Sunday was given by Sergey
Surkov with his partner Agnieszka Melnicka. Sergey
is originally from Russia and Agnieszka from Poland.
In the short time they have been professional they
have made strides in their dance career, Already finalists
in the United Kingdom and Open British Championships
they have a great future.
They presented variations in Rumba & Jive for
above Gold Star level. The Rumba was based on all
basic movements cleverly constructed to look very
interesting and fashionable. At first glance it may
have looked more complicated but as they took the
figure and danced slowly, breaking the figure down
into sections, it was quite clear it was not as difficult
as it seemed.
The Jive figure was cheeky and rhythmical and the
floor was full with enthusiastic teachers when Sergey
asked everyone to join him. Sergey taught the variations
with confidence and clear delivery. His Russian accent
charmed every lady in the room. Both variations will
surely be used repeatedly. Very useful work!
Ballroom Classwork
Nicky Miles
As usual a very humorous lecture developing figures
which Nicky, assisted by Katherine Moon, called medium,
large and super-size and compared them to McDonalds
drinks! Good progression of variations from easy to
more advanced. All very usable for classes.
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 |
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| Club
Dance – Bachata, Richard Marcel |
Getting
the Most out of Your Partner, Anton Du Beke |
Class
Variations in Waltz and Tango, Martin Bishop |
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Monday
31st July
Class Variations in Slow Foxtrot
& Quickstep
Jonathan Reed
Assisted
by Katherine Moon, Jonathan gave us a very professional
lecture. The presentation was first class with very
well constructed variations, ideal for classes or
gold star. Clearly delivered and very much in command
of his class.
How I Improve My Action
Helena Ahti
Helena
is from Finland and has recently been appointed as
one of our overseas examiners; the first in Finland.
She had brought a youth couple with her and cleverly
showed how the action had been developed. A great
deal of thought and preparation had been put into
the lecture and the presentation was immaculate, all
three dressed in black, with the ladies in matching
outfits.
QCA Update
Anne Lingard
An
excellent lecture giving us an insight into a Grade
1 class. The children who assisted were beautiful,
very natural and a delight to watch. What dedication
by their teachers to produce such good results.
Anne was extremely good with the children. We were
treated to a demonstration of their Latin formation.
Unfortunately the mini disc would not work, so they
performed without music and it was delightful.
Danceable Variations in Samba & Rumba
Pamela McGill
Graham
Oswick partnered Pamela McGill in her lecture on danceable
variations in Samba & Rumba. As expected, we received
excellent work from this very experienced lady. She
warms the hearts of everyone with her bubbly personality.
It was lovely to see Pamela dance and she is living
proof that good training and the basic fundamentals
stay with you forever.
Gold Star 1
Michael Reilly
Two
lovely variations, clearly taught by Michael, assisted
by Katherine Moon. Several tricky timings, especially
in the Quickstep, which the members had great fun
trying to master. There were many good ideas that
could be used in their entirety or in parts. Beautifully
presented and expertly danced!
Above Gold Syllabus
Julie Tomkins
Julie
Tomkins gave a lecture on the Above Gold Syllabus,
putting into practice the new format that comes into
force on January 1st 2007. From that date there is
a requirement that each dance must include a minimum
of three syllabus figures in each dance selected from
a list of five. One figure should be used to open
the routine and two more used within the choreography.
Julie was partnered by Michael Stylianos and showed
how easily this could be applied without losing any
creativity.
Sequence – New Syllabus Dances
Margaret Connon
Dances
– Tayside Tango, Kensington Two Step. Both dances
were attractively presented by Robert and Louise Aldred
and Margaret carefully described and taught each dance
to us. The routines provided us with recent syllabus
work and it was good to have the opportunity of trying
them both out in a large group situation.
Hints and Tips in Ballroom
John Taylor
John
Taylor, assisted by Neil Dewar and Lorraine Kuznik,
gave us just what we needed to keep us awake nearing
the end of our three day congress.
John gave us an excellent lecture with fun and laughter
but seriously giving us lots of tips for teaching
backward walks, footwork and much more. Renaming the
fallaway slip pivot to the divorce step because it
causes couples so many problems was a highlight! Lots
of ideas for us all to work on.
Reports by Betty Bouston,
Paula Goodyear & Lorna Lee
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 |
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| Sequence
– New Syllabus Dances, Margaret Connon |
QCA
Update, Anne Lingard |
Gold
Star 1, Michael Reilly |
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Evening
Buffet Dance and Cabaret
After
a hard two days of watching, learning and dancing,
it is customary for the Sunday night Buffet Dance
to be viewed as welcome relief, a chance to be pampered
and entertained for an evening. This year was no exception.
With good weather a feature of the whole weekend,
guests were able to have a leisurely stroll down to
the Assembly Hall in the evening if they so wished
and, as usual, were greeted by the impressive sight
of the hall which had been quickly turned around from
the afternoon’s lectures, to accommodate nearly
200 enthusiastic attendees.
This year saw a slight change of format to the dinner,
as we found ourselves at round tables which made it
so much easier to chat to everybody. Table service
was provided, meaning a much more relaxing experience,
especially for those attending who had been keenly
participating in classes! The food was lovely, made
even more enjoyable by the friendly service to our
tables.
Onto a particular highlight of the Buffet Dance; the
cabaret demonstration. This year we were pleased to
welcome Sergey Surkov from Russia and Agnieszka Melnicka
from Poland, a dynamic couple with a fiery style that
really had impact. Some of the waits in between dances
while Agnieszka changed costumes were a bit lengthy,
but luckily Nicky Miles was on hand to entertain us,
and Agnieszka's costumes were certainly worth the
wait!
Inspired by the demonstration, we were all now invited
onto the dance floor and proceeded to (among other
dances!) waltz, foxtrot and cha cha cha the night
away!
Respite came in the form of the raffle, our chance
to enjoy our host Nicky Miles’ ever-amusing
commentary to accompany the drawing of the tickets,
and also to show our support for the most worthwhile
ISTD Benevolent Fund. Fingers were crossed and those
whose numbers were drawn made their way down to the
front of the stage to pick their prize, which included
very handy vouchers from Exquisite Designs, DSI and
Holbrook shoes, and a whole host of other excellent
prizes!
Another year, another excellently organised and enjoyable
evening. An evening among fellow dance teachers and
enthusiasts is never to be missed. Looking forward
to next year already!
Victoria Blackburn
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 |
 |
| Sergey
Surkov and Agnieszka Melnicka |
All Photography: Ron Self
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