4 wall - 32 counts - intermediate

In this winter of discontent it was more like snowdrops than tulipson the drive up to the Dutch UCWDC event The Tulip Challenge.Two days before setting out by car from Paris the whole of theNorth of France was paralyzed by a heavy snow fall unusual for theseason. But Maureen Jessop made it and here is her report!open to all ages of dancer, all shapes,it makes no difference to the quality oftheir dancing. Young ladies such asRising Star (under 18) Mallaurie Gysels(Belgium) stuns us with her agility, graceand sparkle shown in her solo medleyas a cinema usherette dancing to filmtheme music in a 50’s style uniform. Atthe other end of the age scale we haveCrown (over 40) contendent JackyRazafiniaina (Madagascar) making hisdebut in this category as a Mexicanimmigrant seeking the AmericanDream.The theme of the Saturday eveningparty was Men in Black and PinkLadies! A star-studded troupe ofdancers including former and actualSuperstar stars, Raymond Sarlemijn,Roy Hadisubroto, Roy Hoeben, JeremieTridon, Jon DE Knights, Darren Bailey,Matt Oakley, Audrey, and a line-up ofPink ladies treated us to a show on theMen in Black films, bringing the housedown. I got a big surprise when an oldfriend and former pillar of the Dutchdance events Hub Haanen and his wifecame to say hello. It had been manyyears since we had last met, so we had alot to catch up on.This is an important feature of theseevents; we meet up with old friends andmake new ones. This is something thatMichel holds dear. He wants his event toremain a small friendly, family type event,assuring that everyone has a good timein the extraordinary setting as is thishotel and at an affordable price. Thisyear he added a surprise; a tattooist whoactually tattooed the daring there at theevent. Tattoos are becoming more andmore popular among the dancers andan incredible display in body art couldbe seen.After a Saturday evening of opendancing and socializing, until the earlyhours for many, Sunday proceededwith more pro-am and the solo medleysof the Super, including UK’s own JonDE Knights, Rising and Crown starsbefore the moment the competitorshad been awaiting – the results. Toomany to mention but I was glad to seemany friends getting first and secondplaces…All that was eventually left for us todo was to pack our bags, say our fondfarewells, and head off to spend a couplehours in Amsterdam before the snowfreereturn to France. A great weekendand one that I for one cannot wait to goback to.Full results:www.tulipchallenge.comFor further information on theWorld DanceSport Games:www.UKcldsf.comwww.linedancermagazine.com May 2013 • 25