"All Change!" At UK 2006
Report by Keith Todd
Photos by www.dancesportinfo.com
2006 will go down as the year of change at the UK Open Championships.
The venue (Bournemouth International Center) re-opened as a reinvented space with a bigger floor, more seating, a new stage and better sound and lighting. I think this is now a world-class venue. Everybody liked the changes, especially the capacity crowd in the audience all of whom had a great view.
On the floor it was definitely a case of "All Change!" Only one of last year's champions successfully defended their title. Domenico Soale and Gioia Cerasoli of Italy won the Amateur Standard for the third consecutive year. The last couple to win this event three times was fellow Italians, Augusto Schiavo & Caterina Arzenton ('91, '92, '93). The only other defending champions dancing were Timothy Howson and Joanne Bolton (England) who failed in their bid to repeat, losing to new World Champions, Mirko Gozzoli & Alessia Betti (Italy). This means that Italy once again own both standard titles as they did in 2002 and 1999.
I would have to say that the Latin divisions belonged to the tiny country of Slovenia. Andrej Skufca & Katerina Venturini snatched victory from crowd favourites Michael Malitowski & Joanna Leunis (Poland). These two couples have traded places over the past year, but in Bournemouth although the audience definitely favored Malitowski/Leunis, the 13-member adjudicating panel plumped for the Slovenians. In the Amateur Latin, Slovenia had three couple in the semifinal, more than any other nation. In addition Matej Krajcer & Iwona Golczak placed fifth, giving what I felt was the performance of their career.
Winning the Amateur Latin for the first year were Peter Stokkebroe & Kristina Juel-Stokkebroe (Denmark), last year's runners-up.
From a personal perspective, I enjoyed the amateur standard the most. The quarterfinal of this event opened the Thursday evening session and I thought it was stunning. All twenty-four of the young couples were inspired and I did not see one that looked out of place.
For my perspective on the competition, click here: "Power versus Artistry." And for a serious review by Lasse Odegaard click on his name.
Sharing the billing on the Thursday night was the Professional Latin and I must say I was less than thrilled with this. World & British Champions, Bryan Watson & Carmen did not dance and last year's UK Champions, Slavik Kryklyvyy & Karina Smirnoff have ended their partnership. In all, only two couples from last year's final were competing and they finished first and second. Two of last year's perennial amateur finalists placed third and fourth, Riccardo Cocchi & Joanne Wilkinson (Italy) and Klaus Kongsdal & Victoria Franova (Denmark) respectively. With the sixth place couple also from Poland, this country had two couples in this final.
I have to congratulate Poland. Throughout the early rounds of every competition, quite often when I checked my program to look up a couple I liked but did not know, they turned out to be Polish. There seems to be a wealth of upcoming talent in that country.
For a more detailed look at this event by me click on "Slovenia versus Poland."
Wednesday night gave us the Professional Standard and Amateur Latin. The Standard was the promised rematch of Gozzoli/Betti and Howson/Bolton. The Italians were the victors, but was their performance the "tour de force" we expected? Well, you can find out what I thought in, "The Rematch!" For expert commentary on the Professional Standard, click here for a review by Greg Smith.
The Amateur Latin was a wide-open division. Last year's winners have turned pro and the runners-up and third place couples from 2005 have traded places several times during the year. We have also lost Kongsdal/Franova, longtime amateur finalists, to the professional division. When several couples depart a division at the same time, one of two things can happen. 1. We have a lack lustre show with no new stars emerging. 2. We witness a fabulous duel as two new couples fight for the champions' mantle. What did we get here? Find out what I thought in "Stepping Up To The Plate." (Paul Beeton was also slated to comment, but an unfortunate experience with some crab cakes meant he could not attend. He's fine now!)
Looking across the floor I could see one thousand stars shining in the backdrop to the stage, while on the floor one thousand dance stars shone brightly. But as on that backdrop did any one star shine more brightly than any other? Not really in my view. In times of old there were always a few stars that out glistened the others - the true stars of the ballroom world. I think few would disagree that the overall level of dancing worldwide has improved beyond bounds in the last few years, yet the phenomenon of the dance superstar seems to have all but disappeared. As in Many aspects of modern life fame is more transitory and fleeting. We are in an era of mass-produced dancing, but I am waiting patiently for some new superstars to light up the floor.
Tuesday is dedicated to Rising Star Amateur and Professional events. It is a long and arduous day. Victories this year went to Domen Krapez/Monica Nigro (Slovenia) - Pro Standard, Benedetto Capraro/Marta Faiola (Italy) - Pro Latin, Yang Chou/Tan Yiling (China) - Amateur Standard, Nino Langella/Natalia Maidiuk (Italy) - Amateur Latin.
You can read a report on all the Rising Star events in "Some Still Need To Rise." I entitled the divisions "The Even," "Some New Directions," "The Sinking," and "The Dull." Find out which is which!
I will give the last word in this report to Ross Mitchell, bandleader extraordinaire! It is very live for a live orchestra to provide the variety and depth needed for high quality music in both the Latin and standard divisions, but Ross and the orchestra did a great job.