Blackpool Dance Festival 2011 - DanceBeat World

Edition 0611-3
www.dancebeatworld.com
A Year of Emotions!
Blackpool Dance Festival 2011
Plus Werner Braun reports from
m )))motion International
Dance Masters Mannheim 2011
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Individual reports from Blackpool

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A Year of Emotions!
Blackpool Dance Festival 2011
Report and photos by: Didio Barrera
Action photos by Andrew Miller www.dancefotoman.co.uk

Getting to
Blackpool......
is always an incredible sacrifice for everyone. The
location itself in the north of England makes it
very difficult to get to. Few flights go directly to
Blackpool, the closest airport is Manchester about
an hour away from Blackpool, so most fly into
London or if lucky go to Manchester, then either
take a car, a train or a bus to get to Blackpool and
to the Empress Ballroom where it all happens. I
usually drive from London and it’s about a five to
six hour drive depending how fast we go. This
year I decided to take the train, I figured it would
cut the trip time in half and spare me the hassle of
driving myself and I would be well rested for the
first day of competition that same evening.
Bushy tailed Friday morning I arrived at 8:45am
to take my train from Euston Station at 10:45. I
immediately noticed that the station was unusually
crowded, as I investigated further I realized that it was because all the trains to the north had been
canceled due to “cows” on the tracks. “Cows On the Tracks” you read right! Being a spoilt American,
I could not believe the cow story. Surely it must be some error! How can so many cows be
loose like that? But just before I could even LOL my train was also canceled. This certainly got my
emotions going if not my attention, I then proceeded with my caravan of baggage carts to the Virgin
Trains information booth where a young man typed away on his keyboard, then looking at me over
my excessive luggage told me not to worry that I could just go on the next train to Glasgow, it would
all be fine! I asked about my reserved seat? He said don’t worry there are always empty seats in the
first class cars and you can take one of them.
I was very satisfied with this answer. In fact I nearly tipped the young man. Then they made the
announcement for the Glasgow train platform and a herd of people the size of a full political demonstration
in Egypt nearly tumbled me and my bags and within seconds they had taken over our train.
The closest to this scenario I can remember to this was when I was attacked by a group of ants in
South America for stepping in their nest, I ended up in the river that time.
Being from a South American background and being a tad emotionally offended that people were so
rude, I proceeded to make my way into the train by throwing the bags into my car. People gave me
dirty looks as they made way for my bags, (very polite English people I thought) but it all worked,
we were in. This was all fine with just one small detail - we were standing by the bathroom blocking
all exits and anyone that wanted to get in or out of the train. The train was so packed it was like
something out of a movie in a far away place like Pakistan. I’ve never seen anything like it in England
or anywhere else. My civilized partner in crime being a true Englishman just could not handle
this and so as quick as the bags flew in the car, they also had to fly out and soon we were standing
once again in front of the clerk, with him looking over my bags.
This year’s British Open was full of interesting happening and lots of
emotions for many of us that continue to attend the British Open Championships
year after year. Before the trip ever started as we made our way
to Europe form America our minds and souls were full of expectation and
filled with worry. Would the boycotts by many European countries continue?
What would the town itself be like with so many renovations being
carried out by the city council to attract new business again? Would our
favorite restaurants still be open? Would our new bed & breakfast around
the corner be as comfortable and better then the White House? And whatever
became of those graves that were removed form the church to make
way for the new plaza and the ashes scattered there of a few well-known
dancers? And most important, would the competition in the Empress
Ballroom still have the magic of the past?
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“Can you please
books us on a
later train, even
tomorrow but
I would like to
have my first
class seat I paid
for?” I said
firmly this usually
works here
in America, but
like a scene from the well-known English TV
show “Little Britain,” he typed into his computer
looked over the bags at me shrugged his
shoulders and said, “Computer sais NO!” I told
him that it was impossible with all my luggage
to fight my way into one of those trains. He
responded by writing something on the ticket
and sending me on my way to another room
where they were to help me. I then fought my
way through zillions of wheelchairs loitering in
this room, resembling an emergency room, all
waiting for assistance from the attendant who
shrugged her shoulders at me and said with a
very London accent, “You are just gone have to
fight your way through on the next train, all I
can do is give you one minute’s head start before
I call the Platform.”
One minute’s start! Do you realize what it is like
to maneuver this small caravan down those uneven
paths in this station? And if you expect
me to wear the same suit for the entire trip, you
must be joking!! That was what I wanted to say
but having had some English training I took
a deep breath and I said “I wanted my money
back!” She shrugged her shoulders like the clerk
did before and told me she did not handle claims
that I had to go to another office for that” I was
so exasperated I was left without words but before
I could protest I realized I’d lost my partner.
I then started looking for him in the crowded
room, he was easy to find the only one with out
an ace bandage, a cast or a wheelchair. Keith
was in a corner with his computer antenna in
hand trying to find the internet.

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Varonovich/Nikolishina
By the time I fought my way past the broken
feet, heads, arms, mature adults in their walkers
with their colostomy bags, he had found the
internet and he found a number for “Avis”. He
proceeded to call our American savior and certainly
they had a car, not a cheep car as he said
but a car and it was only a few blocks around the
corner. So with lots of hope we ventured to our
new destination, except where we were going
there was only stairs no ramp and so we had to
muscle our caravan of bags down the steps and
four blocks that seemed like ten miles to “Saint
Avis” where the lady was so helpful and sweet
that I even stop cursing the Virgin rail system
and had a smile from ear to ear, a welcome
change of emotions.
When we pulled out of the driveway we were
so glad and comfortable, ready to try our new
GPS to find Blackpool, that we forgot one of our
bags and we nearly pressed all our suits in one
go. But this was now a small detail now having
been through that railway war zone and our
emotions had now changed to a day of clear
sunshine, looking forward to seeing the countryside
as we drove the six hours to our destination
in the north.
I was never so glad to have accepted the GPS
the sweet lady had offered. With two closings
on the M6 we not only snailed our way to Blackpool,
but we had to find alternate routes and by
the time we got to our destination it was nearly
9pm. Had I not had my small caravan of bags
I think it would have been easier to hike. Like
zombies from the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”
we were totally emotionless and humorless
by the time we got to Blackpool. I even thought
I heard the GPS’ seductive female voice that
constantly reminds you “prepare to turn right”
get louder and louder as we kept being told to
“turn back! Stop! Aake a u-turn and turn back!”
At one point, I could almost swear that she even
called us a name by the time we got to our new
fabulous place.
The next day...
we called some witnesses from the night before
while having breakfast and we got great news
from the Empress Ballroom.
America had done really well in
the Latin Rising Star, Nikolay
Voronovich and Maria Nikolishina
from the USA had won the
event and according to them the
Blackpool Dance Festival had
started on a great note. The only
anomaly on this night was the
inclusion of a same sex couple
in the first round of competition.
As we investigated further we
were told that the festival has no
discriminating rules, anyone can
dance in the Empress Ballroom
at the British Open. Obviously
this does not guarantee that the
judges will mark you out of the first round, but
the festival welcomes everyone.
This being a surprise to many, I’m sure, includ-
To whom it may concern,
I writing to you in response to Blackpool Day 1 found at :
http://www.dancebeatworld.com/members.php#anchor801
ing the judges it was something that we must
report and highlight. To our own surprise we
got plenty of mail for and against this practice
but we found this particular email interesting
because it came from a lady that dances with a
same sex partner and who is, as she pointed out
in her E-mail, a lesbian herself:
I totally agree with Rachel’s last statement, the
world can learn a lot for same sex dancing. I
have seen a few competitions and unlike what
most people think, it is not about sex. The real
world of same sex dancing has now become
quite competitive and almost a complete different
genre of ballroom dancing has emerged.
In fact the World Ballroom Champions in this
genre a few years back were two woman and
they were both heterosexual. Having had the opportunity
to judge dancing I do feel that if they
incorporated this style, in order to be fair to the
competitors and the style itself, you have to sep-
I have been involved in same sex dancing for several years now. I am a lesbian. I grew up loving
dance and I grew up knowing that I was attracted to women. Same sex dancing has been
a great way for me to socialize, dance and express myself. I mostly lead and I know how to
follow.
When I read your article it stated that there is freedom for dancing.
Freedom for who?
photo by www.dancesportphoto.net
In partner dancing outside of the
same sex dancing world the roles
are very rigid (unless you are a
teacher)- men lead and women follow.
In same sex dancing- we get
to chose! We can lead or follow or
do both. In fact, we can switch lead
and follow role in the middle of the
dance. However, in the world outside
of same sex dancing- same sex
dancers do not usually get to compete
in the “normative” Dancesport
competitions.
I often wonder what the world
would be like if men and women
got to chose who led and who followed.
I bet that there are some men
who would love to let go and follow
and I am sure that there are some
women who would take charge and
lead quite well. I would even imagine
that it would be empowering to
follow your heart. I think that the
straight world has a lot to learn from
same sex dancing.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Rachel Hoobing

Ohio Star Ball
World Pro-Am
Championships
The Pearl of
Pro-Am 2011
November
15th - 20th
TEL: (614) 848-7827 FAX: (614) 847-5808
Email: OhStarBall@aol.com
http://www.ohiostarball.com
Beverly Moore w/ Alain
Doucet, World Pro-Am ‘C’
Standard, Latin & Smooth
Champion, 2010
photo by Park West
7

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arate them. Because same sex dancing might
use the same music but it is not the same. For
a judge it is like comparing lemons to oranges.
There were other entertaining happenings in
some of the events. In the professional Latin
and Standard there was a couple that stood out
from the rest and not because of their skill. It
was due to the different costumes and the outrageous
routines they tried to do. In the Latin we
heard they even did lifts, till they were told that
lifts were not allowed. So you see this year’s
Blackpool had a little bit of color, everything
was welcome in town.
Speaking of welcoming everything, on our way
to the Blackpool Airport to return our rental car,
close to the South Shore there were thousands
of policemen. We figured there must be an important
football match or a concert and so when
we got in to the Avis shop we asked about it.
The attendant did not look so happy telling us
but he said that there was a “Skinhead” convention
going on and that the year before they had
caused a lot of damage and mischief due to a
murder. Well I was totally glad to have found
out, I would not want my dark complexion to
scare anyone into a frenzy.
Nevertheless, the day was gorgeous, not a cloud
in the sky. We had internet in our hotel (a luxury
that we never had), a well designed room
and the city of Blackpool had got itself a major
facelift! As we walked on through the street this
day you could see that all the late 1800 buildings
are being cleaned and brought back to life.
The Winter Gardens, where the Empress Ballroom
is housed, has been cleaned and you can
see the beautiful detail in the tile work. You can
also see from outside that there is a dome in the
entrance (I think it used to be black and full of
smoke). Some of the architectural changes are
a little weird to me, they don’t seem to match.
For example, the big lamps on the small streets,
the spiraling giant plumbing coil going out of
control down the other street and the big plaza
has almost pushed the beautiful church to one
side as if saying, “move for progress!” And
what about the acrylic statue of the man trying
to commit “suicide” right in front of the church?
(It’s an acrylic figure of a man diving to the
ground) “Please don’t! Please don’t!” I yelled
last year as I first laid my eyes on that beautiful
piece of art.
As we moved towards the sea we noticed the
Blackpool Tower is also getting a nip and tuck.
My favorite change is the fortification of the
waterfront, all made for walking and strolling
with lots of benches and places to just sit and
observe or as some were doing, take of your top
and sun bathe. The Blackpool Council has really
put its hands to work, they really could have
called a professional but it is all good and like
many say in the town, “better than no change, at
least it’s all new.” Apparently the mayor is quite
busy cleaning and running the house. On the
radio and TV they are talking budget and more
upgrades. In fact the mayor was so busy that
I think for the first time he or she missed the
Mayor’s cocktail party where the team match
couples usually perform a skit bearing on our
own political situation all depending on who is
in or who is out and everyone has a free toast
with the mayor. Not sure if this is right because
I did not attend the Mayor’s reception, but it was
reported that the mayor has now even
cut back on this toast. From now on
if you want to toast you have to buy it.
By the end
of my first
day........
my emotions had changed and I was
looking forward to the first major
event of the British Open the now famous
invitational Team Match. It was
almost a shock to me when I opened
the program to see which country
was against which and realized that
here too there had been changes and
progress has also left its mark in the
Empress ballroom. The organizers of
the Blackpool Dance Festival have
decided that in order to allow more
countries to participate they will invite
the teams by regions:
For Australasia we had Australia represented by
Mathew Rooke & Anna Longmore, Hong Kong
by Aleksander Zhiratkov & Irina Novozhilova-
Popov, China by Lu Ning & Zhang Ding Fang
and Japan by Keiji Oda & Satoko Watanabe. For
Europe we had Italy represented by Mirko Gozzoli
& Edita Daniute, Germany by Sasha & Natascha
Karabey, Poland by Michael Malitowski
& Joanna Leunis, and Russia by Sergey Surkov

& Melia. For the Americas, USA was represented
by Riccardo Cocchi & Yulia Zagoruychenko
and Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova,
Canada was represented by Anton Lebedev &
Anna Broshch and Maurizio Vescovo & Andra
Valdilaite. And of course there is always Great
Britain represented this year by Warren & Kristi
Boyce, Danielle Gallaro & Kimberley Taylor,
Olekssi & Lisa Ivanets and Gregor Rebula &
Rachel Heron.
This change went quite well for the organizers
who as they said were able to include more
countries and so it was more inclusive. As most
things in England everyone put a good face to
Carmen with Team Trophy
it even when they lost, especially us, the USA,
who were quite hopping to take the cup for
the third time. Some of my countrymen present
were a little vocal about it, but making sure
they never quite use the word “Canada” to put
a blame on our loss. Nevertheless, no matter
which way we looked at it, this change did not
sit well with the USA. Not to have our entire
arsenal on the floor, especially the Fungenator
(Victor Fung & Anastasia), the weapon that
would have equalized the teams, was a disaster.
I was quite hopeful about our American team,
we had some decent dancers in both styles especially
in the Latin we had Vescovo & Valdilaite
the Canadian Champions and World finalists.
From the US we had the best, World Latin
Champions, Cocchi & Zagoruychenko and I
Dogalin/Kharchenko
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was quite sure that they could
hold their own until the Latin
competition came around.
I then realized that Team
Americas had decided to stick
to basics in the Latin division.
Well this might work at
a WDC World Championship
where everyone dances the
same basic dance, but here
with the opponents Michael
Malitowski & Joanna Leunis
from Poland, and Russia’s
Sergey Surkov & Melia being
quite brilliant at the skill
of open work, perfect technique
and balance leaving no
room for anyone to overtake
it was almost sure doomsday
was approaching. Nevertheless,
it was all quite fun as
they say, and we all agreed
that the true champions shone
and that was the team from
Europe, who hammered the
Americans in the Latin and in
the Standard. Asia was third
and Britain as everyone knew
after the first dance was last.
The Youth Latin is usually run this same night,
and China had the most entries in the competition
with a third of the couples being from
China. But as we mentioned on our blog, by
the time the semifinal and final were here all
Chinese were gone. Ukraine’s Kyrylo Dogalin
& Oleksandra Kharchenko took first winning
three dances and placing third in the paso and
second in the jive. For us the winner was Francesco
Bertini & Sabrina Manzi from Italy. This
couple made it all fun to watch and compared
to the others had what we consider the essence
of true Latin American dancing. Just back from
Cuba where the mother dances are still at play,
I noticed most couples, especially the young
Bertini/Manzi

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ones, are more
concerned with
posture and getting
those lines
right and in that
process the essence
and soul
of the dances is
being washed
out. Francesco &
Sabrina brought
some of this essence
back, they
were playful and
danced with one
another while
Youth Latin
listening to the
different textures of music being played. They
placed second.
Sunday is a day
of rest..........
here in Blackpool and we did just that - we rested.
We woke late, did our blogs, then ventured
for a stroll on the pier. I’m happy to report that
we encountered no “skinheads” on the way only
sun bathers and so I probably could have left my
mace and brought my camera instead! The only
people working that day in Blackpool were the
Amateur Rising Stars in the Empress ballroom.
USA took one of the trophies home with Denys
Drozdyuk & Antonina Skobina taking first in
the Latin, and Vasiliy Kirin & Ekaterina Prozorova
from Austria taking the Ballroom.
Tuesday morning
was not a
good start.......
for me the day was very gloomy with plenty of
dark clouds around and once in the ballroom
we found it a little empty compared to Friday
& Saturday. A lot of people seemed to have
Drozdyuk/Skobina
gone home or something. The Rising Star Professional
Ballroom was the feature event along
with the Senior Latin competition. In the professional
there was an unprecedented action
and that was the inclusion of four US couples
in the final. The couple that took the first place
win this night used to be the Amateur Russian
Champions, Marat Gimaev & Alina Basyuk
now dancing for America. They won the event
and all four dances. I personally did not think
this was their best performance, I’ve seen bet-

ter. On this outing they tended to look
a little amateurish and a bit stiff for
my taste.
Marat & Alina before retiring from
Amateur competition used to be one
of my favorites to watch. I think with
work they can really make a difference
and in the future we can expect
some beautiful dancing from this
couple. To dance for the USA and to
move to the US must have been a very
hard decision to make, This rebellious
couple defied the Russian Federation
by dancing in an unapproved
competition, bringing the Freedom to
Dance concept to center stage! As one
of their favorite fans, we had missed
their dancing while they have kept a
low profile, possibly trying to figure
out their future. For a time we thought
that the swans of the Amateur Ballroom
arena were never coming back,
but here they are now on the floor and
running freely in the USA. (Why the
Swans? Read our Edition 1108-4 for
the reason we call Marat & Alina the
swans) What they now need is to let
their wings grow once again and I
think the atmosphere in the USA will
allow them to do this with freedom.
Another lovely surprise in this rising
star event was to see one of our favorite
couples in the USA excel so much
on the floor. This was Anton & Lena
Koukareko who placed fourth in last
night’s competition (W4,F4,T3,Q3).
To me they could have easily won this
competition, they were very musical
and unperturbed by the pressure of the
event, not sure what they are doing but keep doing
it. Second in this event also went to America
this time to Andrea Feraci & Iveta Pauryte who
placed second in the waltz, tango, quickstep and
third in the foxtrot. With one of our favorite ladies
in the world in Feraci’s arms this was a terrific
show for the USA.
Senior Ballroom
Gimaev/Basyuk Hoffman/Kruger
Feraci/Pauryte Koukareko/Koukareko
There were quite
a few seniors
missing........
in the Lain and in the Ballroom, however, the
competition still managed to get hold of the audience
who continued
to cheer
especially when
Slawek Lukawczyk
burst into his
expected tradi-
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tional split when he and Edna Klein (Belgium)
were announced the winners for the 6th consecutive
year in the Senior Ballroom. Second place
went to Tassilo & Sabine Lax from Germany,
the current IDSF World Champions. The Latin
Senior was won by Andrea Hoffman & Isabel
Kruger form Germany (1,1,2,1,1), and Petri &
Ulla Jarvine from Finland, last year’s winners
took second position this time (2,2,1,2,2). We
stayed for the entire night, however, by the time
some of the finals took place you could have
chosen any seat and by the time the queen arrived
just the front row was present and even
then there were quite a few missing.
Tuesday night....
after the slight emptiness and gloomy atmosphere
in the Empress Ballroom on Monday
night, the crowd was ready for some excitement.
The reception given to the Amateur Latin competitors
was not lukewarm it was hot. Everyone
was up on their feet with total gusto at the end
of the final giving a standing ovation to the competitors
when they finished their jive and their
emotional spirits were very high. In our blog we
wrote that we were happy to see variety on the
floor, most couples were ether artists engaging
us emotionally or athletes impressing us with
their sport quality dancing.
Although there were some interesting
dancing in this final the judges were as
usual very predictable. Former IDSF
finalists and current UK Champions,
Jurij Batagelj & Jagoda Strukelj from
Slovenia who are now apparently only
dancing WDC Amateur League, were
rewarded with first in three dances and
second in samba, jive. We were not
as impressed with this couple as the

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judges were. For
me the competition
should have
gone to Valentin
Chmerkovskiy
& Daria Chesnokova
from
the USA who
placed third in
every dance and
danced with
great precision,
artistry and soul.
The other couple
that made an impression
on my
mind artistically was Martino Zanibellato & Michelle
Abildtrup from Denmark. Unfortunately
for them the judges were not as impressed with
their wares, they placed fourth overall. Having
not been a great fan in the past of this couple,
I feel a little sad that the judges are not able to
recognize the artistry in Martino & Michelle’s
dancing now but that is always the
case in our industry, when couples are
ready to receive their prize the judges
are not in the mood to give it. Watch
out for a full report from Jan Jacobsen
in Dance Beat World soon.
Our favorite couple in the youth standard
came form China and that was
Cui Xiang & Yang Zhi Jing. They
placed second overall and in our opinion
and that of the audience who became
very animated when their name
Youth Ballroom
Photos this page,
clockwise from left.
Batagelj/Strukelj
Jones/Sokolova, 2nd
place.
Chmerkovskiy/
Chesnokova
Zanibellato/Abiltrup
Risi/Ermachkova,
5th place
Bager/Jeliazkova,
6th place
was called, they could have
easily won the competition.
I think perhaps they
were a little too expressive
in their movements. In
this climate of what is too
much sport and what is artistic
ballroom, this couple
could almost fall under the
sport category for me. As
we said on out blog the next
day after the event, the winning
couple Jacek Jeschke
& Hanna Zudziewicz from
Poland were the epitome of classical, bordering
on the monotonous side, this I presume must
have been what touched the very conservative
panel of adjudicators.

For me Wednesday
night was
the best..........
The professional Latin competition was on with
some fabulous players. The stakes were high for
many of the competitors and the audience was
full of life and screamed for more round after
round. Two couples really made this competition
special for me, last year’s British Open
Latin Champions, Michael Malitowski & Joana
Leunis representing Poland and current World
WDC Professional Latin Champions, Riccardo
Cocchi & Yulia Zagoruychenko from the USA.
Everyone was looking at the floor intensely wondering
who was going to take the night. Where I
stood Michael & Joana had great support. Riccardo
& Yulia too had fans but mostly on the
other side of the floor. The preview during the
friendly team match had not given us much of
an impression because Riccardo & Yulia opted
to dance only basics in that comp. In this competition
as I mentioned on our blog, Riccardo &
Yulia seamed to take the old approach of dancing
right next to their opponent to I presume be
judged side by side. This strategy in my opinion
created an excitement for us watching but made
it too easy for the judges to have a clear view of
both couples from their dancing and behavior to
their demeanor. For me Michael & Joana looked
very calm and collected with great precision and
incredible musicality. Their usual detached connection
was not there, they were very much focused
on each other, something that might have
appeased some of the woman/man relationship
fans. On the other hand Ricardo & Yulia looked
quite right in all their moves. At times, comparing
the two, they might have been trying a little
too hard. Their approach of dancing so close to
Surkov/Melia
their opponent did not
work in my opinion es- Malitowski/Leunis
pecially where at one
point Michael ended
up dancing with Riccardo
or Yulia. (I can’t
quite remember which,
I looked away). I’m
not really crazy about
this type of horseplay
between couples of
this level. They are
there to be judged in
dance not play. I was
also taken back a little
with Yulia’s aggression
on the floor. Perhaps
I remember the
beautiful sensitive perfect
Russian child that
seduced us with her
almost angelically perfect
looks and sophisticated
body action. I
Cocchi/Zagoruychenko
know this might be a better, improved Yulia
but I still like the more innocent playful
Yulia that could never be duplicated.
Nevertheless, I was glad not to be the one
to make the call. These were two phenomenal
couples both incredibly talented
and both very deserving of the title. Unfortunately
only one couple can take the
honor of being the British Open Champions
and this went to Michael Malitowski
& Joana Leunis representing Poland. I’m
not sure this is true (I tried to confirm the
rumor) but perhaps Michael & Joana got
engaged this night. If it’s not, I apologize
for the mistake. If it is, congratulations to
both of you!
Third in every dance were Sergey Surkov
& Melia from Russia. The people
around me could not have enough
of this sensual couple every time
they stepped foot on the floor someone
moaned, they too for me gave
an amazing performance. All fourth
Skufca/Melinda
17
placements in this stellar final went to Andrej
Skufca & Melinda from Slovenia, all we can
say at this moment in time was it was all very
efficient. Fifth and sixth places were the only
positions with some anomalies. In the cha cha,
rumba, and paso Stefano Di Filipo & Olga Urumova
from Italy placed fifth and in the other two
dances sixth. Stefano & Olga did not dance too
much on the west side of the ballroom and so the
perspectives are different especially since our
concentration was mainly on the top three. From
our side we thought that they had lots of energy
but Olga seemed to disappear and then appear,
meaning that sometimes we could see all her
movements clearly but sometimes she looked a
bit uncertain. In speaking to some who watched
from the other end of the floor and who could
see Stefano & Olga clearly, they said that it was

a relief to see them
dance and not just
pull faces like some
other finalists on the
other side. This is the
problem with group
dancing, depending
upon where you are
in the ballroom the
perspective might be
different. In the ballroom
it’s a little bit
like the theater, some
of the actions have to
be exaggerated in order
for the last row to
see. Last in this terrific
parade of stars was
Maurizio Vescovo &
Andra Vaidilatte from
Canada, they placed
sixth in three dances
and fifth in the samba and jive. Watch out for
the full report “Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down!”
by Philip Nicholas & Wendy Johnson, coming
soon to Dance Beat World.
DiFillipo/Urmova Vescovo/Vaidilatte
Thursday was a
beautiful day.....
not a cloud in the sky and having that fantastic
world class Latin event the night before made
you want to go to the pier and smoke a cigar.
Our emotions were that high. Thursday night
was the Amateur Ballroom and judging from
the program many of the couples that possibly
we did not expect to be there were entered and
so our hearts filled with hope and anticipation
as to what was to come. At first the couples
seemed very tame, even Emanuel Valerie & Tania
Kehlet from Denmark who lately have won
19
our hearts and souls with their free interpretation
of the ballroom dances were barely going
through the motions. The only one not affected
by the pressure of the competition was Andrea
Ghigirelli & Sara Andracchio, now representing
England. They placed first. I suppose as
we mentioned on out blog, it’s always easier to
dance for you homecrowd. Also the fact that
they were retiring from Amateur dancing might
have something to do with their easy, no worries,
look they seemed to show.
During the earlier rounds I noticed that some
couples more noted for their daring interpretations,
were taking it easy. Could this have
anything to do with the current debate about
sport versus art in the ballroom filed. Just before
the final my suspicions were confirmed,
MC and Chairman of Judges, Mr. Marcus Hilton
MBE, began the final by warning the audience
and perhaps the couples by telling us that
“We’re looking forward to a beautiful, artistic,
display of ballroom dancing.” I found this statement
a little difficult and tricky to understand
especially since I had just told my partner about
my theory of the couples not being themselves.
Marcus also made a joke when the couples were
running from one end of the floor to the other
to acknowledge their ovations by saying “that
was sport!”
The question here and I’m probably quite emotional
about this one is what is art? As I said

20
on our blog to most of us art cannot be taught,
art is possibly the only activity where complete
freedom of mind and body are required and it
is totally in the eyes of the beholder. The next
day feeling a little emotionally at ease due to
the fact that I’ve come thousands of miles in the
hope to see true freedom to dance, I could not
believe Mr.Hilton MBE was giving me a lecture
on what I should be seeing on the floor or if it
was not for us the audience then it was directed
at the couples to tell them what he expected to
see on the floor.
I did not want to be tainted about my feeling reporting
on a one sided emotion so I asked quite
a few people what they thought about the night
before and this is what I wrote that morning on
our blog. “I asked two very prominent figures of
the ballroom world immediately following the
competition what they though of the event? One
responded that to him nothing he saw on the
floor looked at all like ballroom dancing and he
proceeded to explain in close detail what he expected
from this style of art and why he was not
pleased with last night’s performers. The other
a prominent lady told me that if it had been up
to her Chong He & Jinq Shan from China,who
made it up to the semifinal but did not made
the final, should
have made the
final easily and
she would have
rewarded them
with first in all
dances. These
two answers
support my
claim that art is
unequivocally
in the eye of the
beholder. I once
Ghigiarelli/Andrachio
meet Liberace and while many revered
him as a genius others thought of him as a
clown. There are many that pay thousands
to listen to the silent symphony, others
think these people have gone nuts!
In this case last night, I only pitied the
dancers on the floor. On top of trying to
create art, they also had the pressure of trying
to decipher through which tint of glass
they were being scrutinized? A round or
two before the statement was made I was
thinking that some of the couples were
dancing a little contained for my taste and
that unless they let go some might even
have a problem making it to the final, that
of course through our own tinted glasses.
Today, early in the morning, I had the pleasure
of speaking to one of the couples that
competed in this final and they told me that
they never feel any pressure from anybody
and that whatever competition they attend
they go as artists and if people like what
they do, they do and if they do not that is
their choice. The only thing they do not
like in all the current goings on is not being
able to compete with all the artists at the same
time, but they seemed resigned to the fact that
it will end up like boxing where you have lots
of different world championships from different
federations. This young couple and us could not
agree more. To dance and win in the Empress
Ballroom is something that every ballroom
dancer aspires to, it’s the history and the magic
of the Ballroom itself that keeps us all coming.”
The couple that at the end tickled my artistic
fancy and in my opinion could have taken the
British Title home placed second in all dances
and that was Emanuel Valerie & Tania Kehlet
from Denmark. As I mentioned, earlier in the
quarter final this was a couple that
made me think they were never going
to be able to let go, but in the semi and
Segatore/Sudol
Valeri/Kehlet
Yang/Tan
the final began moving with complete
freedom and musicality. I could not help
but admire Tania who read Emanuel’s
lead as if by telepathy.
Well-deserved third went to Simone Segatori
& Annette Sudol from Germany
who danced quite correctly, never looking
pressured or uncontrolled. They
placed third in all dances. I was sad to see
one of our favorite couples in this field,
Marek Kosaty & Paulina Glazik from
Poland dance contained and with less
freedom than I’ve seen previously, driving
them to a mere fifth position. I was
also slight disappointed to see Chao Yang
& Yi Ling Tan dance with less freedom
than before. In the past this was a couple
that I felt had defied any establishment
and were true artists at heart but in this
performance they were perhaps good
enough to take the fourth place finish

Sadecki/Nawrot Kosaty/Glazik Bizokas/Demidova
but not good enough to challenge the couples
ahead. Fifth were Marek Kosasty & Paulina
Glazik from Poland. Last in sixth position was
another gem from Poland, Andrew Sadecki &
Karina Nawrot. They looked quite excited to
have made this final so no time to think or even
have pressure. Be sure to keep checking Dance
Beat World. Hazel Newberry MBE will have
the full report soon.
For the first time (we think) there was a tie in the
British Invitational Cabaret. Eric Luna & Georgia
Ambarian (USA) tied with last year’s winners
Craig Smith & Natalie Woolfe (South Africa).
Both couples received standing ovations
from the audience and it almost seemed like a
tie was the correct result. If high-risk liftwork
is your thing - well, you should have been here!
Incredible! For me I though that had there been
a fifth judge there would not have been a tie and
from my perspective the title would have gone
to Eric & Georgia
Smith/Woolfe
But how was a tie possible?
It was complicated. Originally
the judges for this
event were Jerry Abrate,
Michael Chapman, Hans Galke, Espen Salberg
and Sharon Savoy. Michael was unable to make
it to Blackpool and he was replaced by Rufus
Dustin. Then at the time of the competition,
Sharon could not be found. So the event was run
with 4 judges, making a tie possible. We spoke
with Sharon after the competition and she told
us that she was given 9:30 as the time for the
competition but in fact it took place at 7:55. In
defense of Sharon when she use to compete the
competition was usually at 9:30PM but like everything
else in life everything changes and this
would probably be a change that Ms. Savoy will
never forget.
Luna/Ambarian
21
Friday the final
night..........
in the Empress Ballroom is always a mixture of
emotions, the crowds thin with half the Latin
fans gone and so a weariness of solitude takes
over. Many who had been eager to come and
have spent over seven days living and breathing
dance now realize that it’s over until the
Empress calls again. This year we were quite
surprised with how many people drive home
this same night and for them the cocktails are
a no! Nevertheless, the crowd still awaits the
final competition and that of the oldest profession
the professional “Ballroom.” And when
Gozzoli/Danuite

22
Fung/Anastasia
Karebey/Karebey
the final came the fans rewarded the couples
with the same eagerness as they did the Latin
on Wednesday night, and so the rollercoaster
of emotions from gloom to energy was in full
swing this Friday night at the Empress Ballroom
at 1AM.
It was clear that the competition was between
last year’s champions, Arunas Bizokas & Katusha
Demidova from the USA and former British
Champions, Mirko Gozzoli & Edita Daniute
from Italy. The fans wanted
a little blood but got nothing.
Arunas & Katusha were
awarded every dance and
from our perspective understandably
so dancing with
perfect quality of movement.
We and the audience
expected the judges to show
some mercy to Mirko &
Edita in the tango and possibly
the quickstep, but it was
not to be. Although Mirko
& Edita made every effort
to make themselves noticed
in these two dances and the
audience supported them the
judges would not budge. We
too wanted a little blood and
excitement on the last night,
but the answer was still NO!
Although we the audience
hated it we had to admit the
judges were right.
The tango, Mirko & Edita’s
best card, did not come up
to the level of emotion to
defeat Arunas & Katusha’s
very correct stride and no
mater how many times they
let go to run around the couples
to get attention on the
quickstep, this favorite trick
has now become a tad old
and tired and was not good
enough to move the judges
and unseat this very accurate
couple. In the final tally Arunas
& Katusha won all dances
Mirko & Edita took all
seconds and Victor Fung &
Anastasia from the USA had
no problem walking away
with all third places they too
looked unchallenged.
Krapez/Nigro
Colantoni/Spesivtseva
Fourth place overall went to
Germany’s Sascha Karaby
& Natasha Karaby, they
took fourth in foxtrot, quickstep
and fifth in the other
two dances. At the bar many
prominent coaches and adjudicators
commented in how
great this couple is, I and
the audience must be miss- Boyce/Boyce
ing something because I did
not see this at all. In some
dances I would have been hard pressed to bring
them back into the final and we suspect that the
audience felt the same since they too clapped
very politely when their names were called.
Domen Krapez & Monica Nigro from Slovenia
placed overall fifth taking fourth in waltz and
tango and fifth in quickstep and sixth in foxtrot.
We feel this couple could
have done better from the
judges. They are a very musical
couple with easy movement
qualities. Sixth position
was awarded to Valerio Colantoni
& Yulia Spesivtseva
from Russia. This we feel is
a great addition to this prestigious
final. We find the man
very capable and the lady we
are sure is a dream to dance
with. Valerio & Yulia placed
fifth in the foxtrot, sixth in
the waltz & quickstep and
seventh in the Tango. Warren
& Kristi Boyce from England
were awarded an overall
seventh position, placing
seventh in three dances and
eighth in the tango.
An unexpected surprise was
welcomed by everyone and
that was the inclusion of
Angelo Madonia & Alessia
Betti (Italy) in the final
of the tango. Eight couples
were called for this dance
and Angelo & Alessia were
marked sixth. Alessia has
won this event four times but
Angelo has never been near,
you could feel his contained
excitement and when called
for sixth place he had to be
restrained by Alessia when
he was about to give her a
big kiss. Watch for the report
in Dance Beat World soon.
Charlotte Jorgensen is the
commentator.
So there you have it, I could
still feel the rollercoaster of
emotions writing this overall
perspective of the British
Open. On my way home everyone
tried to talk me into
taking the bus, but I opted
with great trust to take the
train back to London. It was
a very pleasant experience.
I’m not sure I can ever convince
my partner to go with
me on the train, so I think
I will always be driving.
There is nothing easy about
getting to Blackpool, and so
for those that just sit there like royalty expecting
us to make the trip year after year I say, we will
as long as it is always great and magical. These
year the Empress continues to have some magic.
We now hope that her ladies and gentleman in
waiting making all her decisions continue to do
their own work too when it comes to unifying,
improving and not dividing the world of Ball-

Marcus Hilton, MBE
room Dancing, I’m confident of this if only for
the sake of the Empress.
This year the cows got on the train tracks and
I spent over ten hours trying to get there on
the M6, my mood at that moment was “never
again!” But somehow the old Empress continues
to call every year and when she calls we
must oblige.
Sandra Wilson,
Festival Organizer
Stay tuned for
our individual
reports from
Blackpool
23

m )))motion International
Dance Masters Mannheim 2011
Open to the World
With record participation and new competitions
The World’s biggest DanceSport event celebrated
its 5th Anniversary
On the spot report by Werner J.
Braun
Photos: R.B.M-Photoart Walldorf
Thomas Bäppler-Wolf, President BDT – National
Association of Germany’s Dance Teachers
- Member of the International Dance
Council, CID UNESCO - proudly made this
statement on the occasion of this year’s competition
in all halls of the m:con Congress Center
Rosengarten Mannheim, heart of the Rhine-
Neckar Metropolis Region of Germany.
“We meet in Manheim again at a DanceSport
event which we no more could miss – not in
Mannheim and not in Germany. Mannheim
again has achieved the first place in the Dancing
Olymp. With far more than 4000 competitors
from 150 dancing schools the German DAT-
Championships for dance school couples and
more than 100 competitions, judged by
40 experts from all over Germany, from France,
Switzerland, the Netherlands, from Russia and
the Ukraine, as well as from China and Japan,
the m))motion International Dance Masters has
become the biggest DanceSport event all over
the Globe.” So far the words of BDT President
Thomas Bäppler-Wolf.
Michel Maugé, General Manager of Mannheim´s
Congress Ltd. stressed the point in his welcome
words, that Mannheim is for more than 26 years
an experienced organizer and sponsor of World
DanceSport. “It is a sign of accepting and of
success that we again can welcome the DanceSport
society of the World”. He especially mentioned
the very good co-operation with the BDT
and he appreciated the immense activities of his
staff and the helping hands of the dance school
association. And I want to add: Manheim is the
birth place of the German Open and without Michel
Maugé and his tremendous assistance from
the very beginning this competition most probably
would not exist.
The program comprised all styles of World
DanceSport as for example there are the Standard
and Latin-American disciplines, Disco-
Fox, Salsa, Viedeoclip, Hip-Hop and Jump
style. Not to forget the big range of Formation
Dancing in Standard, Latin and Show dance,
and not to forget the participation of same sex
couples.
Creative as the dance schools are, they launched
new competitions at this year´s event, which
25
made it even more attractive to the public: English
Waltz, ChaChaCha, Discofox and HipHop
performed in continuation by one and the same
couple together with a solo dancer, was the
actual novelty. Winner of this first ever team
match was the Dance School Richter of Freital/
Germany. This novelty was accepted by the big
audience with enormous applause.
A further novelty in the programme was a
Ballroom and Latin-American competition for
amateurs of the World Dance Council WDC
Amateur League, whose couples from Bulgaria,
Russia, Tschechien and Switzerland deepened
the international flair of the Mannheim Masters.
Winner of this first ever comp were Denys
Drozdyuk/Antonia Skobina, TC Novia Giesen/
Germany, followed by Jakub Mazuch/Michaela
Gatekova, TK Akzent Ostrova.
Highlights of the two days event were the German
Dance School Championships in Videoclip
and HipHop Dancing. With more than 2000 participating
dancers it was the biggest m)))motion
competition of the event.
Best entertainment was shown by the Show-
Formations in Showstyle and HipHop. All results
may be found in the internet under “www.

26
tanzturniere.com”.
It was a great picture, the nearly endless procession
of couples marching into the Mozartsaal,
the main hall of the Rosengarten center, followed
by the presentation of the judges and the
welcome speeches. And it was as well a really
moving moment, when the German Anthem
was intoned for these International Championships.
The Lord Mayor of Mannheim, Dr. Peter Kurz,
welcomed all the participants and was proud
about the possibility to show again thousands of
visitors the most modern Mannheim Congress
Center Rosengarten. He also emphasized the
fact, that this competition is unique according
to the Olympic Idea: Really open to the World
for Amateurs, Hobby Dancers and Professionals,
independent from a membership in a dance
school, an association or a club. His words of
appreciation for the organizers, the “generals”
as well as the big crowed of “soldiers”, were
well accepted.
New at this year´s event were as well the “Amateur
League Competitions“ of the World Association
“World Dance Council” which guaranteed
an even stronger international presentation in
Mannheim, as well as the team-match competitions
of the dance schools which had to show
there competence and efficiency in the broad
spectra of the DanceSport range
At such a big number of competitions it was
very important to have experienced
MC’s and chairmen:,
DAT m:con resort
manager Sabine Mayer
Kronenberger, BDT President
Thomas Bäppler –
Wolf, DAT Sports Director
Thorsten Schrock-Opitz
and, DAT Manager Marcus
Jander, were the most busy
ones. Their qualifications
guaranteed a smooth running
of the time-pressed
program.
For the first time the prize
presentations took place at
their own tv-appropriate medal arena, a special
novelty which raised the value of the sportive
success of all the winners.
New technical features especially for the immediate
information of competitors and as well for
the audience: On a huge screen on the stage permanently
changing information was available:
Timetable of the comps in the different halls,
which start number is to dance in which hall,
on which floor, in which round? This technical
feature underlined the high level of this international
event. It closed a gap of information for
competitors and audience. The organizers had
realized how immensely important such a technical
information system was with such a huge
number of participating competitors.
Special care was taken of and for the media
people: their own room with all the necessary
equipment was available at any time and for direct
questions Rolf Mayer, Press representative
of BDT, was eager to help – providing he was
not running around with his camera to take shots
for immediate setting online.
Very important for such an international top
event are the sponsors and the m )))motion
Mannheim Masters is lucky to be supported by
a row of well-known addresses. Stefan Adomeit
of the “herlitz” company for example is one
of those and a real DanceSport Fan. Big support
came as well from the Initiative Sport of the
Next Edition:
Metropolis Region Rhine-Neckar.
A special attraction is and was this time as well
the “after Show Party” in the night from Saturday
to Sunday, which was overcrowded and
lasted till the early morning. The Frankfort
Travesty Star “Bäppi la Belle” - BDT-President
Thomas Bäppler-Wolf – star of a really attractive
m)))motion programme with the TV dancer
Sarah Latton of the popular German “Let´s
Dance TV-Show“, raised the mood to a top
level.
As a result of the event Rolf Mayer, press
speaker of BDT, summarized a very successful
international all-round competition at the highest
level. He announced the date for next year´s
m )))motion Mannheim Masters: 23./24. June,
2012.
A great sportive event was run very successfully!
In my opinion it was a youth festival which
demonstrated the tremendous work of the dance
schools to give youngsters a perspective, take
them away from the streets and so minimize the
danger to be committed with drugs etc.
When you see the optimism and enthusiasm
with which those young dancers from various
countries perform their sportive expression,
their hobbies, then you appreciate the importance
of the work which is done for integration
and developing of young characters. So it is not
only the worldwide biggest all-round sportive
dance competition, but it is as well the worldwide
biggest platform for international sportive
youth activities.
I do not want to close my report without mentioning
the most important person behind the
scene: The man who kept all the threads in his
hands, who was everywhere at any time: The
Event Manager Stefan Ossenkop. In his active
competition time a top member of the German
National DanceSport Team, a successful top
dancer, who really knows the tricks of the trade
– and who now is the heart of the m )))motion
International Dance Masters Mannheim .
Well done, Stefan!
Report from IDSF World
Cup 10-Dance by Helmut
Roland