Comp Crawl London and Tristate
The Big Apple Team has been busy at the beginning of March. We danced on two continents in under a week.
Heidi showed the Brits how to dance American Smooth the first weekend of March at the London Gala Ball. The UK has a rapidly developing community of Smooth Pro-Am dancing but they are in the beginning stages of building their competition network. The London Gala Ball, organized by Viktoriya Wilton, is one England’s best competitions for Pro-Am. Unlike some of the other international competitions that focus on only Open competitors they give equal import to competitors of all levels and created a balance of a warm atmosphere blended with a quintessentially British elegance and gravitas. The event was hosted at Porchester Hall, and while it is not attached to a hotel, as many competition venues in the states are, it was easily accessible from many hotels in the area (think Hilton not Blackpool bed and breakfast) and Piccadilly Station.
Heidi represented Big Apple and American Smooth dancers very well placing 1st and 2nd in her divisions. The levels there are not quite as well defined as they are in the states. Novice corresponds to Bronze overlapping with Silver and Intermediate corresponded to Silver overlapping all the way to Open. That’s not entirely different from competitions in the states where dancers at the top of the Bronze and Silver divisions often look like they should be dancing in a higher level from the standpoint of their abilities, and similarly registered couples from the US would not have looked out of place dancing the events Michael and Heidi competed in. The big difference in the look of the choreography is that because there are not syllabus levels there is no such thing as invigilation and any couple from any level can dance any figure.
Beyond the Pro-Am competition there was also a Gala on Saturday evening that consisted of dinner, dancing, shows, and two Open Amateur competitions. They even had an ice-breaker class in Hustle. Hustle is a bit of a novelty in the UK but Viktoriya and her studio, Inspiration to Dance, are making a concerted effort to diversify the dance horizons of the locals. For many dancers in America the International Style is seen as a competitive style, but for dancers in the UK it’s just dancing. They take the same International figures to the floor whether they are dancing the competition or socially at the Gala, albeit with a little difference in intensity, and they looked like they were having a good time doing it.
On the whole the bugs were minimal and I think US dancers would enjoy the change of pace dancing at London Gala Ball. Viktoriya was a gracious host and we got a chance to rehearse a bit at her studio just off Piccadilly Circus. The Big Apple Ballroom team will definitely be heading back in 2024.
Tristate!
The second week of March brought us to Stamford, Ct and the Tristate Dance Challenge. Andrei and Lena always put on an elegant event and once you’re in the ballroom you kind of forget that you’re in an office park in Stamford. Tristate has beautiful ambiance and the typically high level of competition that you get from any northeast comp.
Gary, Gretchen, and Donna danced on the Smooth day. For all of them it was a chance to step right back into the competition after NYDF which was their first comp of the year. Gary has been gaining confidence with the Smooth and he made significant strides in continuity through and between measures (pun not intended but well taken). On Rhythm day his isolation of foot timing made for much clearer actions, especially in Cha Cha and Swing.
Gretchen continued her elegant full Smooth work, and has been adding new layers of depth to her partnering. Always conscious of line, she’s been connecting that sense of line to her own weight and the balance of the couple. It’s an ongoing process, but it’s made for more moments of eye-catching clarity.
Donna took back the family trophy (her husband Kevin competes in the same division) in her second comp with Michael. She can swing more fully than anyone in her division, and in this second comp she had a chance to stretch her legs on the slightly bigger floor. Tristate was a good moment to build experience with floor craft and maintaining partnering through traffic.
