World Dance Masters 2011 really was a spectacle. With newly added choreographers and a HUGE prizes added to the Choreography Competition on our social side / increased prizes, new staff additions and a huge increase in competition on the WCS side / new renegade, mum & dads dance off, and higher representation of international competitors on the competition side, it was a truly magnificent weekend. Plus of course the launch of our SOLO STYLE® initiative.
In total across the event we welcomed dancers from 17 Countries (Austria, Australia, China, Columbia, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Wales)
In total across the event we welcomed dancers from 17 Countries (Austria, Australia, China, Columbia, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Wales)
WARM UP PARTY
Over 250 attended the Warm Up Party in Copperface Jacks on the Thursday before the event started. People boogied the night away until nearly 2am and took part in the Pre Event Quiz, with the eventual winner Catriona Cameron from Scotland winning 2 bottles of Champagne and £25 cash.
SOCIAL
The social side of WDM 2011 consisted of hours of social dancing and lots of workshops from some of the most popular choreographers on the circuit. With DJ's Big Dave Baycroft, Ireland's Tommy Weafer in the Competition Room and from the USA Louie St George who did stints in both the Competition & WCS Room plus the late night slot until sunrise in the hotels Copperface Jacks club, it was an eclectic weekend. Each day kicked off with a Zumba® workout to get everyone warmed up for the day to come.
We had 3 great days of workshops - focusing mainly on New Releases with something for everyone:
Joey Warren
Throw The Dice - a phrased ADV fucky dance that was a huge hit
Descarada - Joey's recent US hit
Kate Sala
Love On Top - a lovely smooth 64/4 INT to Beyonce (great track)
Easy LA - Kate's recent release
Shaz Walton
Not Drunk Enough - a 32/4 HIGH INT Pop Cha
Hold On! - another lovely smooth Pop Cha
Johanna Barnes
Let It All Out - a beaty fun 64/2 INT funky Pop Mambo (a big hit)
Meant 2 Be - a 48/2 HIGH INT waltz to Pink (an even bigger hit)
Robbie McGowen Hickie
Feel Alright - a 64/4 INT Cha
The Stomp - a really cool and different Pop Cha
Rob Fowler
Breakthrough - a neat 32/4 funky West Coast
Whiskeys Gone - a classic and catchy Country Polka
Joyce Plasket (WDM 2010 Choreography Competition Winner)
Dance Like A Freak - a 64/3 INT to a great track by 'Mo'.
Rachael McEnaney
Free Fallin' - a wow ADV West Coast (John Mayer - Live version). No sheet for this as it was hot off the press - A HUGE HIT
Dee Musk
What About My Dreams - a Pop Cha
Falling In Love Tonight - Smooth
Craig Bennett
Under My Skin - a funky West Coast
Love Don't Run - a country Nightclub
Scott Blevins
The WDM International Choreography Competition on Saturday Morning, with MC Rob Fowler, Head Judge Dee Musk and judges Johanna, Joey, Shaz, Kate, Craig and Robbie - a good crowd enjoyed close to 50 entries across 3 categories - and the winning 3 dances were genuinely all incredibly popular. The Category winners were:
Beginner/Improver
Midnight Mix by Sandra Speck [UK] (Video)
32/4 IMP to a Paul Bailey track [Beaty Country Cha]
Intermediate
Phrased/4 EASY INT to a Stella Mwangi track [catchy Pop Cha/Samba]
Advanced
Monster In The Mirror by Kirsten Matthiessen [DK] (Video)
a 64/4 ADV to Usher [Funky Pop West Coast]
Monster In The Mirroe was the eventual 'Grand Champion', so you'll see Kirsten on the staff at World Dance Masters 2012 in Blackpool, and the Line Dance Showdown 2012 in Boston which was part of her prize! All submitted scripts can be downloaded from our website by clicking here.
As ever it was a very diverse range of dancers in attendance leading to many current/classic, modern/traditional, improver to advanced, funky/pop/country, competition/social requests, with people from all over the World enjoying lots of dances. Some of the most popular current social dances over the weekend regularly filled the floor including:
The Flute / Rolling In The Deep / All Of Me / Gambling Man / 1234 / Lady Luck / Still Got The Blues / Only Girl / Perfect / My Motivation / On The Edge / Born This Way (and Don't Be A Drag) / Party Freak / Beyond Your Eyes / Wrong Side Of The Road / Dirty Bit / Party Rockin' / Telepathy / Talking To The Moon / Hurts Instead / California King / Midnight Swing / Soul Food / Wobble / Let It Be / Raise Your Glass / Papi / Bittersweet Memory
So many more classics, old and new, the these were the current floorfillers. Some of the more recent dances on the up being danced too included:
Mr Saxobear (Daniel) / Alabama Slammin' / Mr. Mysterious / Somewhere With You / That Kinda Lovin' / More A Like / 2 Nite / On The Line / Dr. Flame / No Scandal / How Your Burlesque.
WEST COAST SWING
World Swing Masters was more fun than ever before. Lee nearly exploded on Monday Morning when Louie St George played the last song at 7am, but breakfast, and straight into airport runs!
The social dancing was plentiful with DJ's playing a wide range of classic & new WCS music until dawn every night. The shows were a real spectacle (see later in the blog).
Our workshops for the weekend were from Arjay Centeno, Jennifer DeLuca, Samantha Buckwalter, Robert Cordoba, Deborah Szekely, Lee Easton, Fabienne Henshall, Brennar Goree, Torri Smith, Matt Oakley & Leeanne Oakley, Ronnie Debenadetta, Brandi Tobias and included:
Friday
Beginner Track Part 1 / Arjay & Jen's signature style / Building off your Basics Learning to 2-Step / Working The Slot
Saturday
Shag in your Swing / Beginner Track Part 2 / Build it from Scratch / Keep it Simple, Keep it Leadable / More 2-Step / Fun Musical Play with Arjay & Jen
Sunday
Miracle Whips / Beginner Track Part 3 / The Floor is your Friend / Everybody 2-Step / Choreography
WCS competition really has developed at WSM and what a turn out we had for Novice (Tier 3 for the girls) and a very strong Advanced division. Congratulations to all that entered, we were so happy to see so many of you participating, especially those that were new and from overseas. We gladly awardsed nearly £2000 in prize money as well as trophies, and passes to some of the coolest events around. Results were as follows:
Jack & Jill Novice
1 Damien Favier & Elizabeth Redfearn
2 Kevin Town & Lauren Carter
3 Levente Friesz & Jacoulet Maella
4 Miguel Ortega & Bella Scholtze
5 Ekow Oduro & Susan Minor
6 Joachim Armbruster & Patricia Rogan
7 Graham Nimmo & Virginie Duplay
8 Rob Lawrence & Coleen Man
9 Rob Day & Danielle Rowe
10Pim Van Grootel & Tiina Aaalto
11 Juho Paivonen & Stephanie Chivers
12 Fabrice Beaux & Hannah Day
13 Joe Foster & Rachel Martin
14 Ross Carlin & Agnieska Maczka
15 Gerry Burke & Andree Mullings
Jack & Jill Intermediate
1 Stanley Seguy & Kate Lovegrove
2 Stanley Seguy & Fabienne Henshall
3 Thomas Escaravage & Naomi Hulbert
4 Alexandre Biesse & Sydney Smyth
5 James McLaughlin & Michelle Fletcher
6 Olivier Duplay & Virginie Escaravage
7 Olivier Duplay & Rachel Martino
8 James McLaughlin & Laetitia Blanchet
9 Thomas Escaravage & Caroline Pillar
10 Alexandre biesse & Carole Stroud
Jack & Jill Advanced
1 Steve Hall & Heather Mcphearson
2 Lee Easton & Jo Jephcott
3 Arnaud Perga & Celine Sully
4 Paul Harris & Sarve Didar
5 Eric Alhomme & Sue Lambell
6 Steve Hunt & Dora Alhomme
7 Neil Crosbie & Caroline Amblard
8 Peter Fradley & Johanna Barnes
Novice Strictly Swing
1 Favier Damien & Amandine Biesse
2 Ekow Oduro & Lauren Carter
3 Kevin Town & Agnieska Maczka
4 Rob Day & Rachel Martin
5 Christophe Boyer & Christine Chen
6 Fabrice Baux & Katherine Ledger
7 Levente Friesz & Susan Minor
Open Strictly Swing
1 Steve Hunt & Sarve Didar
2 Steve Hall & Kate Lovegrove
3 Alexandre Biesse & Jo Jephcott
4 Stanley Seguy & Laetitia Blanchett
5 Thomas Escararage & Virginie Escaravage
6 Arnaud Perga & Maelle Jacoulet
7 Neil Crosbie & Heather McPhearson
8 Olivier Dulpay & Virginie Duplay
9 Peter Fradley & Michelle Fletcher
Our Champions Jack & Jill didn't run as planned.... BUT our Pro's got together and put on one hell of a Jam for us. Starting with a random partner dance, onto double trouble and finishing with 4 way steals - it really was amazing and showed the standard we are all working towards. See a video here.
This years WSM event was also our first year as an International Member event of the AANCE Tour - we are the exclusive UK event! Good Luck to our AANCE Tour qualifiers.
COMPETITON
Well, the World Dance Masters Championship part of the event really was the best we've had. Dancers from across the globe competed, many for the 1st time at a Championship event, for a World Title. With dancers from UK, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, France, Germany, Netherlands, Columbia, China it was the most international competition we've hosted to date.
Friday brought around Pro-Am & Solo heats with our Pro's James MacLachlan, Fred Whitehouse, Sam Robins, showing our competitors off in style. Solo heats meant some of our dancers had to dance several times bringing our Novice division down from nearly 20 dancers! Our dancers were also treated to a Samba masterclass with UK Latin & Ballroom champion and professional dancer Crystal Main. Friday evening had a new addition - the Mum's & Dad's dance off! Such fun to watch our often spectator only parents really get to strut their stuff on the floor. Our winners were:
Saturday's competition kicked off with Pro-Am finals and Couples leading into Solo Semi-Finals, followed by Duos/Quads/Teams & Cabaret. This really showed our dancers creativity in choreography and musical interpretation. It is always a joy to see this, and our Senior & Showcase Duo's got a huge round of applause from our audience who were extremely entertained.
Sunday was Finals day - with our Solo competition coming to a climax. You could feel the tension in the air as our dancers fought it out displaying great passion. The atmosphere in the dressing rooms and staging area was electric. During our Sunday Finals we held our first Solo Open Freestyle Renegade Division. The idea - each competitor who wishes to enter pays a £5 entry fee - A mix of 3 tracks is played and the dancers get 1 listen before they have to get on the floor and freestyle. The eventual winner voted for by the judges takes all the money taken. Our 2011 winner was Emma Daly who took home £100 Cash!
Following our Finals we closed the ballroom for an hour whilst we prepared for our awards, but not before a final show, the Division 1 Allstars Medleys! This has become a staple of the Sunday at WDM, showcasing our top dancers ability to entertain and interpret a mix of musical genres along a theme - 'The Movies' for our Juniors, 'The Songs of Queen' for our Adult Males, and 'The Songs from Burlesque' for our Adult Females, what a great show.
Onto our competitor parade, we brought every one of our competitors out on to the floor to celebrate in a confetti filled ballroom. And then came the award ceremony. There were tears of joys, lots of smiles and camera flashes! Congratulations to everyone.
Friday
First up for our show were Torri & Brennar performing a Shag routine - very very fast stuff! Next was Robert & Deborah with a lead & follow WCS, something they do so well! Third was our own Sydney Smyth dancing a Solo routine. This lead us to some special guests - the Quan Jian Line Dance Group all the way from China - it was their first time at the event or in the UK and it was a privilege to have them at the event and perform. Finally Ronnie & Brandi danced an impressive Swing routine bringing our show to a close.
Saturday
Our Saturday WDM Circus kicked off with a stunning WCS performance from Arjay Centeno & Jennifer Deluca who wowed the crowd with an energetic and acrobatic routine. Closely followed by Brennar Goree & Torri Smith performing their winning US OPEN Classic Routine. And finally the Masters Elite Circus Show Team! This was an amazing routine choreographed by our own judges Jodie Seedel and Crystal Main. The team had all in all around 6 hours to get the show together from the start of the weekend, in between competing, judging and working. We think you'll agree it was spectacular. Check out our website or Facebook for videos
A huge thanks to everyone who attended and supported the event, and to our staff, volunteers, dancers, and parents. We look forward to seeing you next year back at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool [17-19 August].
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