European Dance Masters 2011

Well, what can we say except WOW?! The event, the photos, the videos, the competition, the dancing, the Flashmob, the feedback; European Dance Masters 2011 was a resounding success all round.

Before we go any further, we'd like to thank each and every person who supported our event - it really does mean the world to the WDM Team.

Now to the nitty gritty - the event itself!

General Setup

We began to set-up the hotel on Thursday morning, double checking rooming lists, bringing all equipment into the venue and generally just getting in the correct frame of mind for the weekend ahead. Alongside us was the ProDanceFloors Team preparing to lay the fantastic dance floors. Due to the design of the Britannia Adelphi Hotel, each panel of flooring has to be brought up a flight of stairs, through a corridor, down a ramp and down more stairs to be laid - PHEW. The PDF boys did a fantastic job ensuring that the floors were down in time for the start of the event - thanks boys :)

After an evening of Sam double and triple checking everything, Friday arrived. Airport runs, lost luggage, eating arrangements and more! No sooner had Friday started was it 18:00 and time for wristband collection and competition registration to open. People began arriving in a steady stream to get their band in time for the big kick of at 20:00.

Friday Evening

Friday at European Dance Masters is a relaxed but exciting warm-up and welcome to the event. 2 rooms open - WCS with Euro Swing Masters in the Lobby and Beatlefest 2 social dancing in the Ballroom. At 22:00 Lee Easton and Fabienne Henshall taught the Flashmob routine to 'DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love' by Usher and Pitbull. This has been taught at several of our events and follows on from our performance in Blackpool at last years UK Masters and Xmas Party. The plan was to perform it in Liverpool City Centre the following day. The workshop was very well attended with everyone, even if they weren't familiar with WCS, having a go. It was great to see the interaction and crossover between our competition, social and WCS dancers :) Following the workshop we continued into a relaxed night of social dancing and requests with the Beatlefest room open until 02:00 and the Euro Swing Masters room staying open until 03:30!

Saturday Daytime

Saturday morning was the first time all 3 rooms of the event were open, and everyone came together for a little warm-up. MORNING ZUMBA! Our Competition Director Nicola Lafferty led everyone in a warm-up to get the blood circulating and everyone pumped for the rest of the day.

In attendance for the weekend was photographer Jay Brooks taking some promotional shots for WDM. Jay has photographed, amongst others, Kayne West, JLS, Ellie Goulding, Little Boots, Simon Pegg, Daft Punk, The Bafta Awards, Danny Dyer and Kings of Leon! Our event photographers were Jacqui Fowler and Jamie Whalley.

European Dance Masters Championships

Our European Dance Masters Championships were represented by 9 countries this year and the dancing was a magnificent sight to behold. Our dancers excelled themselves as usual showing that the standard of our competitions really is the highest in the industry.

Competition DJ for the weekend was Jamie Whalley with Sam Robins as scorer. Our judges for the weekend were World Champions and Internationally recognized judges: Jodie Seedel, Rachael McEnaney, Sydney Smyth, Emily Drinkall, IDTA Professional Zoe Powell, Competition Director Nicola Lafferty and our special guest judge - Strictly Come Dancing Showdancer, UK Latin/Ballroom/Ten Dance Champion Crystal Main!

Saturday began our Pro-Am competition with our Professional dancers Sam Robins, Lee Easton, James McLauchlan and Fred Whitehouse - they showed off their students who, in turn, demonstrated their incredible abilities. Following the Pro-Am competition were the solo heats, followed by Duos and Quads. Again, and we never tire of saying this ever, the standard is simply incredible, especially from our younger dancers who show a maturity and talent far beyond their years. We had a break for 30 minutes to go out of the venue into Liverpool City Centre to perform the Flashmob - See Below.

We held our Pro-Am, Duos and Quads awards on Saturday evening so everyone didn't have to wait until Sunday for their results (Sam's super efficient at scoring now!). 

Beatlefest 2

As with a lot of the events he does, DJ Big Dave stayed at the decks the entire weekend, making sure everyone was catered for. In our social and workshop part of the event, held in the Lobby, Choreographers Rob Fowler, Guyton Mundy, Craig Bennett and Rachael McEnaney taught some great dances:

"Love Your Flavour" to Baby Get Down by Tomi [Link to Follow]

"Mmm Dada" to Turn Around 5 4 3 2 1 by Flo Rida

Perfect to Perfect by Pink

"Born This Way" to Born This Way by Lady GaGa

"Raise Your Glass" to Raise Your Glass by Pink

As part of the social weekend we had a Magical Mystery Game. At the end of each workshop a question was read out and once all had been answered a room would be revealed. The first person to get to the room would win a bottle of champagne and a Beatles box set worth £250!!!! Read on to find out who won. Social Dancing was only interrupted for everyone to take part in the Flashmob (See Below)

Euro Swing Masters

Euro Swing Masters 2011 welcomed Pete Green (of Where's Westie fame), Elizabeth LaGue, Sean McKeever and Courtney Adair from the USA [Minus their luggage for the 1st day] as well as UK favourites Lee Easton, Fabienne Henshall and James McLauchlan, teaching not only WCS but a little Country 2-Step and Nightclub 2-Step as well.

Saturday Workshops included 'Playing Footsie with your Partner', 'Shaping Your Swing' and 'Connection with Direction'. J&J and Strictly Swing prelims were held on Saturday evening following the Flashmob - See Below.

Flashmob

If you weren't in attendance or haven't seen it - check out the video on YouTube here! We attracted a great crowd who were all intrigued and excited to see what was going on. If you have any videos of the Flashmob, you can send them us so we can make a compilation. Go to www.wetransfer.com and upload your video(s) sending to samuel@worlddancemasters.com.

Saturday Evening

Saturday night was social dancing in 2 ballrooms, again with our Swing dancers taking over the lobby and social dancers and competition dancers taking over the Ballroom. 

The climax of Saturday evening was the show - An incredible display of talent, dedication and performance. First up was our Competition Quads who danced their own choreography to United State of Pop by DJ Earworm.  This was followed by Pete Green and Liz LaGue who performed a WCS Lead and Follow. Next to take to the floor was Division 1 dancer George Hodson who performed a Street Dance routine, closely followed by Lee Easton & Fabienne Henshall dancing a beautiful Nightclub routine. Superstar World Champion and Masters Judge, Emily Drinkall, took to the floor to perform a Samba line dance.  Next to take to the floor were Sean McKeever and Courtney Adair who danced a classic WCS routine. Finally the WDM Elite Show Team featuring Crystal Main. WOWZERS! You can check our videos of all the performances on our YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/worlddancemasters.

 

Following the show, social dancing and freestyle continued until 3am in the Ballroom and 430 in the Lobby. 

Sunday Daytime

Following a late night it was time for an early start for our dancers! Again it was time for MORNING ZUMBA this time with Sydney Smyth who not only led the routines but got involved on the floor and had everyone running around the room.

European Dance Masters Championship

Sunday brought with it what we'd all been waiting for - the finals of the solo divisions. These divisions were unbelievably hard for our judges as the standard and talent on show was beyond belief. For finals day we were treated to 4 different Emcees - Rob Fowler for dance 1, Craig Bennett for dance 2, and both Lee Easton and Guyton Mundy for dance 3! Interspersed between the 3 dances both Nicola and Rachael taught 2 new competition dances in anticipation of the new dance releases coming up (see website for more details). And if that wasn't enough our dancers were treated to a Cha Cha technique workshop from Crystal Main - a highlight of the weekend for many. Following a short break it was time for awards, announced by a lady who worked tirelessly all weekend and took numerous different roles, Rachael McEnaney! There were smiles and happiness all around as we crowned our new European Champions!

Beatlefest 2

Dances taught on Sunday, which were all well received were:

'Messy Little Rain Drops' to Messy Little Rain Drops by Cheryl Cole

'Can't Handle Me!' to Club Can't Handle This by Flo Rida

"Renegades" [Link To Follow]

"Whole New Thing" [Link To Follow]

The Magical Mystery Competition Winners were Carol Baker and Chris Atkinson winning a bottle of champagne and the Beatles box set worth £250!!!!

Euro Swing Masters

Sunday’s Swingtastic workshops kicked off with Pete and Liz 'Use after Function', followed by 'Seamless Transitions' and 'Let the music be your guide'. The Jack & Jill and Strictly Swing finals took place on Sunday evening.

Sunday Evening

Closing Party

Following the close down of the Competition and Swing ballrooms, it was time for our favorite part of the event - the closing party. Now it's not our favorite because it's the end of the event, that couldn't be further from the truth. It's our favorite because everyone is simply so relaxed, at ease, and enjoying themselves. 

All attendees mixed on the same dance floor, maximising floor splits and really having a great laugh. Dave and Lee kept everyone dancing for hours and hours and hours, including line dances, WCS, party tracks and novelty songs and even more of the same again. Finally it was time for bed at 04:30am!

What a weekend. Again, we’d like to thank all the staff mentioned above in this blog as well as our Event Sponsor ProDanceFloors (www.prodancefloors.com), Door Staff and Security John, Elizabeth, Laraine and Andy, vendors ProDanceFootwear and Tynedancer, the Britannia Adelphi Hotel and finally you!

Blackpool Tower Ballroom 2010

It would be incorrect to state the day of the UK Masters & Xmas Social in Blackpool Tower Ballroom started early on Saturday 11th December, as for the Masters Team the day started months before in preparation. The actual day brought about feelings of relief at being able to see the finishing line, yet at the same time those of regret that it’ll be over for another year (anyone who has run an event before should be able to relate to this strange sensation).

It all officially kicked-off at 05:30, when the dedicated Masters Team arose from their beds, prepared themselves and made their way to the famous Blackpool Tower Ballroom for 07:00. The Ballroom itself is so spectacular that decorating too much would be an injustice. The Team basically had to set-up trophies, the DJ & Scoring desks, Registration and work with the Tower Representatives on the lighting. Everything was ready to go for doors opening at 09:30.



Dancers from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and even the Netherlands began fluttering in to witness the only Line Dance event each year to be held in this most beautiful setting. By 10:30 there were 268 people in the Ballroom ready for the 2nd UK Masters Competition to begin. Competition started with a very special Pro-Am session, danced entirely to Christmas Songs (a musical challenge only Nicola Lafferty could manage), by more than 30 competitors and an array of very capable Pro’s.  After the Christmas cheer was officially brought to the Ballroom through this wonderful selection of music, it was time to run our first Solo Heats of the day.



All dancers at the 2nd UK Masters were judged by a panel of international qualified dancers; Nicola Lafferty (Competition Director of World Dance Masters), Ronnie DeBenedetta (UCWDC Masters Champion), Jodie Seedel (Star of Strictly Dance Fever), Emily Drinkall (UCWDC Superstar), Fabienne Henshall (UCWDC Superstar) & Lee Easton (UCWDC Superstar). Our MC for the day was the wonderful Rachael McEnaney and the DJ was Big Dave Baycroft.
Once our judges had seen our Pro-Am and Heats danced, it was time for a very special surprise. A super-special guest had travelled from the North Pole just to see our extremely talented dancers and present them all with little gift. The atmosphere grew to a peak just in time for the 2nd UK Masters Finals, providing an electric environment for dancers young and old to experience.



The competition was, once again, an amazing standard. Sometimes we sit in our little chairs at home and think about the day that passed, comparing it to five years ago. The development in ability of all the dancers at Masters events has been incredibly tremendous! The scoring proved how close these divisions are, with quite a few ties throughout the competition. We even had a splendid new Cabaret Team who treated the audience to a performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Umpa Lumpa’s stole the show…

The competition finished by 19:15 and our new UK Champions had reaped their rewards (all results are now available in the Results section), but the day was far from over. In thirty minutes the event would transform from a Competition to a Christmas Party with Rachael McEnaney and Dave Baycroft. The array of dancing was something to behold, we had everyone from Beginners to Advanced in the Ballroom, all being catered for terrifically by DJ Dave. Rachael taught two dances over the evening, Since You Brought It Up and Dynamo, both of which went down exceptionally well with all levels of dancer.



The atmosphere on this festive evening summed up exactly what we wanted to achieve; all types and levels of dancer enjoying what they love the most in undoubtedly the most spectacular ballroom in the country. As 00:30 approached DJ Dave pressed on with the music, pushing our Get-Out limits to maximise as much time as possible in the Tower Ballroom. Eventually, as 00:45 hit, we closed down for the evening and said goodbye to Blackpool for one more year.

Fret not. We have already confirmed with the Tower Management Team for next years event. We’ll be back, bigger and better than ever, on the 10th December 2011. We are also issuing a Pre-Payment System, helping dancers and guests pay for their tickets before December (and Christmas!) approaches. With our Pre-Payment system you can select your tickets and pay them off over several months, paying it off in full by October and therefore meaning the only costs before the event are travel and accommodation (if needed). Click here for more details!

The next event for us is the Welsh Masters in January 2011. The first event of the New Year in Barry, with Competition during the day followed by an evening of social dancing and requests. We look forward to seeing some of you there!!

Merry Christmas to all our guests, competitors and parents. We wish you all the very best for 2011 and look forward to seeing you at any of our events.

World Dance Masters 2010 - Competitive Line Dance

World Dance Masters 2010 took place between 6-8 August 2010 at the 4* Grade II listed Palace Hotel in Manchester, UK.

Preparation

For the World Dance Masters Team the “Weekend” started as early as Tuesday! Transporting lighting & sound equipment, computers, paperwork plus MUCH more to Manchester and preparing for what was to be an amazing weekend ahead. Wednesday was the 1^st Official day we could access the venue and the majority of the spaces we were to occupy, so without hesitation or hindrance we descended on the Palace Hotel early to ensure everything was set as soon as possible.

Pedro Machado and his 3 man Pro Dance Floors Team (http://www.prodancefloors.com/) arrived by 10:00am to start unloading, marking and laying the 5 ProDanceFloors we were to have laid in the Grand Room, Whitworth Suite, Buckingham Suite, Directors Suite and Palace Room. Whilst they forged ahead in record time, we were busy planning with the hotel the logistics and planning of the event. Believe us when we say these events are a true team effort and that an unbelievable amount of time & planning goes into it.

No sooner had Wednesday started then it was already Thursday morning. This started with Sam giving Jamie a lovely morning wake up call at 07:00am (URGH). With lots to do we were all of a sudden a flurry of activity, Sam with his iPhone in one hand, Blackberry in the other, Walky Talky headset on and 12 dozen things flying through his mind. DJ Big Dave & his wife Pauline (http://www.bigdavegastap.com/) arrived with even more sound equipment, which had to be transported around the venue and set up. Thank goodness for the lifts! The whole team worked hard all day, Nicola Lafferty, Elizabeth Lafferty, John Lafferty & Sydney Smyth spent all day ensuring all the material was ready to go and the event was ready to go flawlessly as possible.

Airport pick ups, check ins, sound and lighting equipment setup, prop deliveries & set up, registration set up, seating, trophies, dressing rooms, balloons and more. PHEW! And that’s just the start. By now the ProDanceFloor boys had done themselves proud and had all the floors down and fixed in place. 18:00 was nearing and that meant one thing – Masters Elite Show Team practice. As we’re sure any of our Show Team will tell you, at our larger events, they literally have 3 to 4 hours to learn & master the choreography, and often it’s changing as they are learning it. A difference this year was the performance’s choreographers – Superstar Champions Jodie Seedel & Emily Drinkall. To say it was such a professional job is an understatement. The Show Team sweated getting the choreography perfect and we are sure it showed as we had unprecedented positive comments about the Variety show. Many Thanks to Jodie and Emily for doing such a fantastic job.

Warm Up

As many of you will know, and some of you won’t, for the 1^st time in it’s 8 year history, World Dance Masters 2010 held an Official Warm Up party in Copperface Jacks under the venue. This was a phenomenal success. With around 75 people expected, we actually had 176 attendees! Hosted by Jamie Whalley, Ed Lawton, Danny Last, Pedro Machado & Rob Fowler this was an 5 hours of fun, dancing, games and singing to get everyone ready for the weekend ahead. The Quiz went down a storm with the eventual winners being ‘Drunken Feet’ from Buckie, Scotland.

Followed by Pedro storming round the room with vodka jelly babies, LOTS of line dancing, west coast swing dancing and general boogieing the night away was the order of the night. Along with the great party tracks – Oops Upside Your Head, Time Warp, Hand Jive, Macarena, Grease Medley and many more.

The evening finished at 02:00am with everyone happy and craving their bed, however a select few stayed up and carried on the party in Tempus bar upstairs.

Competitive Line Dance – Grand Room

Friday

The 8^th World Dance Masters competition kicked off on Friday with warm up from 10:00am. In the new venue it was a very surreal experience after 7 years in the Winter Gardens but our dancers took to the new set up like ducks to water. In a change to previous years, we had male and female changing areas that lead directly to the staging area with seating, hanging rails, tables and mirrors, WC and water tanks available to all competitors. This was met with great enjoyment as competitors from different divisions, background and countries interacted, some for the very 1^st time.

Judges for the weekend were Competition Director & Head Judge Nicola Lafferty, along with Danny Last, Jodie Seedel, Emily Drinkall, Sydney Smyth, Rachael McEnaney, Scott Blevins, Bridget Zerah, John Lindo, Charlotte Macari, Jenny Stephenson, Deborah Szekely, with Bruno Vastel scoring, Floor Co-Ordinators and comp runners Zoe Ruston, Jacqui Fowler, Anita Redfern, Marie McNally, Shirley Taylor & Elaine Fox & competition DJ’s Jamie Whalley & Tommy Weafer. All topped off with charismatic Emcee Pedro Machado.

With new lighting rigs, enhanced sound equipment, Stylish award displays plus Pedro’s Thrones, the stage was set like never before. The competition started with an electric atmosphere that wasn’t to let up for the entire weekend. First up were the Line Dance heats with dancers competing to get to the Semi-Finals on Saturday. And what a fierce competition it was. Pro-Am couples heats were up next one after the other circumnavigated the Championship size ProDanceFloor with ease. This was a tough job for our Pros – some of whom had to dance 30 times in a row so we’d like to give a special thanks to our Pros for the weekend – Samuel Robins, Lee Easton, Fred Whitehouse, James Mclauchlan, Nic Bartlem Anne Buchan & Tiina Aalto.

Everything finished on schedule and the Friday competition ended on time to break for dinner. The hotel has a beautiful restaurant with tasty food and great service.

Nighttime brought about social dancing in not only the Grand Room but also in the Whitworth Suite (See Social Line Dance section later in the Blog). All the ballrooms closed at 21:30 for the Showtime! And what a show it was on Friday night (See Showtime section later in Blog)

Following the show, dancing continued until well into the morning, when as the Grand Room closed at 3am people could retire to bed or carry on the dancing and partying in Copperface Jacks in the Late Night Swing Room.

Saturday

After a very late night, it was time for a very early morning. Breakfast was served from 07:00 to 10:00 so it was grab some food followed by dashing to the Grand Room to warm up. Lots of chatter and gossip from the night before reverberated around the room. Warm Ups over it was Semi Final day!

We always say this, and it will surely be repeated later in this Blog, but the standard of dancing at our events NEVER ceases to amaze and astound us, and this year was no exception. The judges had such a hard time judging all divisions, in particularly all the younger divisions where our dancers and their parents obviously put a great deal of time and effort into what they do. Keep up the good work everyone, you are the future!

Again, with our phenomenal dancers, great DJ and judges, we once again kept to schedule and everything ran smoothly. As we stated earlier, the dressing rooms were proving to be a major hit, giving everyone the change to warm up, breathe, fully engage themselves and really enjoy the competition. Something that was new this year was bringing all competitors one by one to the floor from the stage – something which everyone seemed to enjoy, as our DJ and floor coordinator will tell you there was lots of chatter and laughter backstage from the competitors.

Saturday closed nicely for dinner ready for the Mardi Gras Party!!!

Now, every year for the last 8 years, World Dance Masters has a theme on the Saturday night, but never in its 8 year history has everyone made so much effort to be part of the party and for that we say a huge thank you. Rob, Danny, Jamie, Sam and Nicola were at the door to welcome everyone with masks and over 1000 bead necklaces as they entered, but not that many people needed masks as they’d brought or even made their own! The array of colours, styles and looks was amazing.

Saturday night’s atmosphere was INCREDIBLE, that’s the only word that can be used. With a room full of masked dancers it really was a Mardi Gras Party. Again as on Friday the other rooms closed at 21;30 for the Saturday Variety Show which as you’ll read in the Show Time section was our most impressive and best received to date.

As usual, dancing carried on well into the night, but not before crowning our King and Queen of the Mardi Gras, The senior winners were John Riddoch and Mary Farrel and our Junior winners were Josh Fowler & Emma Findlay. Dancing carried on well past the stated closing time of the schedule, finally finishing at 3:45am, but still enough time to join Swing Masters in Copperface Jacks until 6am!

Sunday

FINALS DAY!!! With a packed room as friends and relatives came for the day to see their loved ones compete, the room was electric. One by one our dancers proved what we have long known – we have the best competitive line dancers in the World. We’ll reiterate that the standard is simply incredible and that each and every competitor should be extremely proud.

As the competition drew to a close and the room cleared it was a mad rush for the Masters team who had an hour to set the room for the awards (and Sam had to change into his Tuxedo). Running a little over time, the room was opened to see our dancers all in costume flood the room in anticipation. Trophies, medals, plaques and flowers on the stage, it looked stunning. But before the awards could begin there were 2 new additions to the Masters competition.

Firstly, our Division 1 Allstars had this year been given a Showcase Medley to perform. This is a pre determined, cut piece consisting of 3 songs in different genres, all from the TV Shows Glee. The dancers have to choreograph their own routines, in which there are no rules. They can wear what they like, use props and can perform aerials. And the best way we can try and convey what happened: WOW. These dancers personified greatness on the floor, giving it their all and getting the crowd on their feet giving a standing ovation.

Secondly, the competitors parade. Rachael did the unthinkable and called out the name of each and every competitor as they took to the floor with their countries flag – a major feat as you’ll see in the video. With everyone in high spirits, confetti canons were let off in the final celebration of a successful competition before the awards took place.

Award time – some surprises and tears of joy, everyone congratulating each other. Competitors won trophies, medals, and beautiful bright sunflowers courtesy of Venus Florist (http://www.venusinmanchester.co.uk/).

Show Time

Friday

Friday’s Showtime at World Dance Masters is usually centered on West Coast Swing, and this year was no different. Fantastic and superb performances from Paul Warden & Catriona Wiles dancing a smooth WCS, Brennar Goree & Torri Smith performing the Carolina Shag, Lee Easton & Fabienne Henshall dancing their Country 2-Step and finished off with Robert Cordoba & Deborah Szekely, who performed a WCS routine to one of the most famous WCS tracks – “How Long Can A Fool Go Wrong” a sight to be hold with their incredible musicality.

In an addition to the WCS this year, we were also treated to a pirate’s themed performance by Team Unique Vision from Finland who were competing in the Cabaret division which was added to the show which was very well received, and our Showcase Duos competition with duos from England, Scotland and Sweden competing to “Fame”. Check Facebook & YouTube for videos of each performance.

Saturday

Saturday’s show time kicked off with Mr Guyton Mundy from the USA with the kids crew performing a Street Dance to “Imma Be” by  The Black Eyed Peas, followed by Jenny Stephenson’s Studio #1 performing a Street Dance routine, with some of the boys taking their tops of for Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” which had the room in fits of laughter and applause. Not to be outdone Guyton called Jenny out for a dance-off, a great sight watching these 2 power houses of street dance battling it out…Until that is, Jenny brings out her secret weapon, 7 year old Star Spooner. Star battled for her life and finally defeated Guyton who was bowing down to her as the crowd went wild.

Closely following this was Emily Drinkall who performed her Superstar winning Cha Cha with such presence on the floor. A couple who mix line and swing in their careers, Lee and Fab were to take to the floor, performing an exclusive routine especially for Masters. And we weren’t to let up, Sydney Smyth performed her 1^st Place Masters Invitational routine to “Popular” from the hit musical Wicked, which a little help from Mr John Lindo. John then performed a West Coast Swing lead and follow with Rachael McEnaney AND Deborah Szekely AND Catriona Wiles. Is there no end to that mans talent? A popular couple for the weekend, Brennar & Torri performed their 2009 US Swing Open Young Adult 1^st Place routine to “White House” by Vanessa Carlton, a winner from the start.

Finally it was time for the Pièce de résistance – The Masters Elite Show Team. This is always the highlight of the performances, showcasing the huge amount of talent we have within our event. And as we’ve said before, with such little time to perfect it, it’s always amazing to see how polished the group routine is. With so much positive feedback, rapturous applause and continuing buzz on Facebook and YouTube it is undoubtedly our best Show Team demo to date.

Close Party

Following on from the Official Warm Up Party, we also had an Official Close Party, with everyone from competitors, spectators, social line dancers, west coast swing dancers, event staff and everyone in-between letting their hair down. Copperface Jacks was opened at 11pm with DJ Ed Lawton, with the Social Line Dance room staying open until 1am, and Buckingham Suite till 3am, there was something for everyone, and once all the other rooms had closed, Copperface Jacks ran until 05:30am when it was finally time to call a close to the whole event.

If you have any constructive feedback, positive or negative, the only way we can improve our events is via your direct feedback. You can fill in our online survey HERE or contact us through the website HERE.

Finally, we’d just like to say Thank You to anybody who attended and to EVERYONE for your continued support. Make sure you check out Facebook and the website extra regularly to ensure you’re getting the latest up to date information!

Happy Dancing

World Dance Masters

World Dance Masters 2010 - Social Line Dance

World Dance Masters 2010 took place between 6-8 August 2010 at the 4* Grade II listed Palace Hotel in Manchester, UK.

Preparation

For the World Dance Masters Team the “Weekend” started as early as Tuesday! Transporting lighting & sound equipment, computers, paperwork plus MUCH more to Manchester and preparing for what was to be an amazing weekend ahead. Wednesday was the 1^st Official day we could access the venue and the majority of the spaces we were to occupy, so without hesitation or hindrance we descended on the Palace Hotel early to ensure everything was set as soon as possible.

Pedro Machado and his 3 man Pro Dance Floors Team (www.prodancefloors.com) arrived by 10:00am to start unloading, marking and laying the 5 ProDanceFloors we were to have laid in the Grand Room, Whitworth Suite, Buckingham Suite, Directors Suite and Palace Room. Whilst they forged ahead in record time, we were busy planning with the hotel the logistics and planning of the event. Believe us when we say these events are a true team effort and that an unbelievable amount of time & planning goes into it.

No sooner had Wednesday started then it was already Thursday morning. This started with Sam giving Jamie a lovely morning wake up call at 07:00am (URGH). With lots to do we were all of a sudden a flurry of activity, Sam with his iPhone in one hand, Blackberry in the other, Walky Talky headset on and 12 dozen things flying through his mind. DJ Big Dave & his wife Pauline (www.bigdavegastap.com) arrived with even more sound equipment, which had to be transported around the venue and set up. Thank goodness for the lifts!The whole team worked hard all day, Nicola Lafferty, Elizabeth Lafferty, John Lafferty & Sydney Smyth spent all day ensuring all the material was ready to go and the event was ready to go flawlessly as possible.

Airport pick ups, check ins, sound and lighting equipment setup, prop deliveries & set up, registration set up, seating, trophies, dressing rooms, balloons and more. PHEW! And that’s just the start. By now the ProDanceFloor boys had done themselves proud and had all the floors down and fixed in place. 18:00 was nearing and that meant one thing – Masters Elite Show Team practice. As we’re sure any of our Show Team will tell you, at our larger events, they literally have 3 to 4 hours to learn & master the choreography, and often it’s changing as they are learning it. A difference this year was the performance’s choreographers – Superstar Champions Jodie Seedel & Emily Drinkall. To say it was such a professional job is an understatement. The Show Team sweated getting the choreography perfect and we are sure it showed as we had unprecedented positive comments about the Variety show. Many Thanks to Jodie and Emily for doing such a fantastic job.

Warm Up Party 

As many of you will know, and some of you won’t, for the 1^st time in it’s 8 year history, World Dance Masters 2010 held an Official Warm Up party in Copperface Jacks under the venue. This was a phenomenal success. With around 75 people expected, we actually had 176 attendees! Hosted by Jamie Whalley, Ed Lawton, Danny Last, Pedro Machado & Rob Fowler this was an 5 hours of fun, dancing, games and singing to get everyone ready for the weekend ahead. The Quiz went down a storm with the eventual winners being ‘Drunken Feet’ from Buckie, Scotland.

Followed by Pedro storming round the room with vodka jelly babies, LOTS of line dancing, west coast swing dancing took place in what was probably the 1^st major amalgamation of both line and swing dancers boogieing the night away. Along with all requests were the great party tracks – Oops Upside Your Head, Time Warp, Hand Jive, Macarena, Grease Medley and many more.

The evening finished at 02:00am with everyone happy and craving their bed, however a select few stayed up and carried on the party in Tempus bar upstairs.

 

Social Line Dance – Whitworth Suite & Directors Suite

Social commentary courtesy of DJ Big Dave

Friday

First up Friday Rob taught a funky Zoomba beat one called “Cha Cha Your Body” & a cool West coast called “Quoyote's Twist & Groove” And Kate taught a lovely waltz called “Emotions” - Awesome track.

You'll have heard mention of the others perhaps recently - All quite new though - All well received. Rachael's Snap Your Fingers, Peter & Alison's Commander/Don't Give A Blank, Scott's Trouble Is, Craig's Pack Up, Dee's Fashion & Shaz's The Club Is Alive - Love them all :-) Dance of the day from the DJ Booth was Snap Your Fingers.

Andrew DJ'd the 'Social Room' until around 11pm - And then we danced until late in the main ballroom - Earlier in the ballroom Irish Tommy DJ'd & Guyton & Will taught a cool new funky dance, which was a hit with the social & competition dancers alike - Let Me C It (Get Cool).

Saturday

We managed to get up to get things going at 10.00am Saturday morning!!
Andrew was in the workshop room looking after the music for the
choreography competition with judges Dee Musk, Shaz Walton, Craig Bennett, Rob Fowler, Peter Metelnick & Alison Biggs.

Choreography Competition

This year was more successful than ever with 33 entries to the competition with many beginner, intermediate and advanced dancers. The placings were as follows:

Choreography Competition

Beginner/Improver

1st - It's A Replay (Joyce Plaskett)

2nd - A Star In Heaven (Rebecca Armstrong)

3rd - Room Service (Rebecca Lee)

Intermediate
1st -Mighty Good Time (Joyce Plaskett)

2nd - A Minute Away From You (Lottie Hertzman)

3rd - Hot Hot Hot (Helena Jeppsson)

Higher Intermediate/Advanced

1st - Cry Me Out (Malene Jakobsen)

2nd - Zip It (Ryan Hunt)

3rd - Angel Of Inspiration (Stephen Rutter & Claire Butterworth)

ALL CHOREOGRAPHY ENTRY SCRIPTS CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM OUR SITE HERE

The 3 winners are teaching their dances on the Sunday workshop schedule. Overall winner was Mighty Good Time and as a result Joyce will be featured on the Worlds 2011 instructor/choreographer roster as well as being featured on the World Dance Masters website in September 2010 as their “Featured Choreographer”. As well as this all dance scripts for every entry are also on the site. Be sure to check out her page in the Social section of the site.

I (Dave) was in the social/workshop room where Rob taught a lovely smooth country cha cha called Gypsy Rosa Li - A great dance really well received - Then Kate released her new Alexandra Burke one Drip Droppin' (Start Without You) - A cool/catchy rumba/mambo - Rachael taught another smooth west coast called Cyclone - Peter & Alison's new one was a lovely night club called Johnnie Walker's Eyes (Lady Gaga/Speechless) - Great new dances. The room was also full for Guyton's “Imma Be” & Scott's “Murder Machine” – Peter & Alison also taught a beaty pop one called Je Ne Sais Quoi, Will Craig “Trouble Maker”, Craig Bennett “For The Lovers” & Andrew “Can't touch”, all popular teaches.

Dances of the day - Kate's Drip Droppin' & Rachael's Cyclone.

Sunday

On Sunday Rob taught a really cool waltz call “Wonderland Waltz”, the 'Dance Of The Day' I'd say - Ray Scott & it sounds like Chris Rea's Road To Hell - Lovely track - Kate had a new one too, a neat easy one called Pantaloons (Charleston style). The choreographer competition winners workshops were all well supported It's Alright (Beginner), Mighty Good Time (Intermediate) & Cry To Me (Advanced) - And to wind up the day Dee's “Aphrodite” & Peter & Alison's “One Step Leads To Another” also went well too - Cool intermediate pop ones.

Some of the most popular of recent releases in social dancing over the weekend - Faith & Desire, Everything I Do/Bobbi With An I, Haunted, Trouble Is/No Salvation, Hands Up, Oh Ruby, Plan B, Must Get Free/Corazon Cha, Latin Crazy, NY Cha/Murder My Heart/American Girl/Play For Keeps, Rah-Rah/Broken Heels, Fashion, Quarter After One, Don't Kill The DJ, The Stroma Dance, Tik Tok Drop, One Last Dance, Shoes Of Another Man, My DNA, Martini Moments, Night Owl, Stoked & Gave It All Away ... To name but a few!!! – Then all the popular oldies & classics too.

Great to see some dances catching on though that are already favorites of my own like Zenyatta's Waltz & Be Back Soon - Lots of requests for Neville & Julie's most recent Burn It Down too & Nonononono a catchy fun one going well.

A great night dancing on Sunday evening, with a diverse crowd. The Whitworth Suite was scheduled to finish at 11pm, but we actually danced until 1am! It was awesome to work with a great choreographer line-up & to see all our regular Masters friends from UK/Europe/USA.

From Sunday evening requests the most popular dances from teaches over the weekend I'd say:

·       Rob's Wonderland Waltz & Gypsy Rosa Li

·       Guyton/Will's Let Me C It, Imma Be & Trouble Maker

·       Kate's Drip Droppin' & Emotions

·       Scott's Trouble Is & Murder Machine

·       Craig's Pack Up & Dee's Fashion

·       Rachael's Snap Your Fingers & Cyclone

Just about everything was requested though!!

SCRIPTS FOR ALL DANCES TAUGHT DURING THE EVENT CAN BE FOUND HERE

Then the bad news Monday morning - Packing up the van with 4 rooms of gear! Appreciation to Masters for inviting me to DJ - And a big thinks to Pedro for great quality Pro-Dance floors in all the rooms (& keeping a team on-site all weekend to keep it all spot-on) - Well done to Sam & all the Masters team, especially Jamie who never stopped! Rachael too, who has to share her time between the Competition, Swing & Social rooms all weekend - She never stops, but we miss seeing more of her in the social room being selfish - But a big big thanks to her for trying so hard to be in there as much as possible over the weekend. Thanks to all the choreographers who danced in the social room with us - As dancers (& DJ's) we need to appreciate more who they are that do those extra miles over & above their workshops/recaps to make the social dancing so much more special.

Show Time

Friday

Friday’s Showtime at World Dance Masters is usually centered on West Coast Swing, and this year was no different. Fantastic and superb performances from Paul Warden & Catriona Wiles dancing a smooth WCS, Brennar Goree & Torri Smith performing the Carolina Shag, Lee Easton & Fabienne Henshall dancing their Country 2-Step and finished off with Robert Cordoba & Deborah Szekely, who performed a WCS routine to one of the most famous WCS tracks – “How Long Can A Fool Go Wrong” a sight to be hold with their incredible musicality.

In an addition to the WCS this year, we were also treated to a pirate’s themed performance by Team Unique Vision from Finland who were competing in the Cabaret division which was added to the show which was very well received, and our Showcase Duos competition with duos from England, Scotland and Sweden competing to “Fame”. Check Facebook & YouTube for videos of each performance.

Saturday

Saturday’s show time kicked off with Mr Guyton Mundy from the USA with the kids crew performing a Street Dance to “Imma Be” by  The Black Eyed Peas, followed by Jenny Stephenson’s Studio #1 performing a Street Dance routine, with some of the boys taking their tops of for Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” which had the room in fits of laughter and applause. Not to be outdone Guyton called Jenny out for a dance-off, a great sight watching these 2 power houses of street dance battling it out…Until that is, Jenny brings out her secret weapon, 7 year old Star Spooner. Star battled for her life and finally defeated Guyton who was bowing down to her as the crowd went wild.

Closely following this was Emily Drinkall who performed her Superstar winning Cha Cha with such presence on the floor. A couple who mix line and swing in their careers, Lee and Fab were to take to the floor, performing an exclusive routine especially for Masters. And we weren’t to let up, Sydney Smyth performed her 1^st Place Masters Invitational routine to “Popular” from the hit musical Wicked, which a little help from Mr John Lindo. John then performed a West Coast Swing lead and follow with Rachael McEnaney AND Deborah Szekely AND Catriona Wiles. Is there no end to that mans talent? A popular couple for the weekend, Brennar & Torri performed their 2009 US Swing Open Young Adult 1^st Place routine to “White House” by Vanessa Carlton, a winner from the start.

Finally it was time for the Pièce de résistance – The Masters Elite Show Team. This is always the highlight of the performances, showcasing the huge amount of talent we have within our event. And as we’ve said before, with such little time to perfect it, it’s always amazing to see how polished the group routine is. With so much positive feedback, rapturous applause and continuing buzz on Facebook and YouTube it is undoubtedly our best Show Team demo to date.

Close Party

Following on from the Official Warm Up Party, we also had an Official Close Party, with everyone from competitors, spectators, social line dancers, west coast swing dancers, event staff and everyone in-between letting their hair down. Copperface Jacks was opened at 11pm with DJ Ed Lawton, with the Social Line Dance room staying open until 1am, and Buckingham Suite till 3am, there was something for everyone, and once all the other rooms had closed, Copperface Jacks ran until 05:30am when it was finally time to call a close to the whole event.

If you have any constructive feedback, positive or negative, the only way we can improve our events is via your direct feedback. You can fill in our online survey HERE or contact us through the website HERE.

Finally, we’d just like to say Thank You to anybody who attended and to EVERYONE for your continued support. Make sure you check out Facebook and the website extra regularly to ensure you’re getting the latest up to date information!

Happy Dancing

World Dance Masters