CelticClassic2005

Celtic Classic, The Unexpected Irish Gem!

Report by: Keith Todd
Photos by: Andrey Skvortsov

The Republic of Ireland has never been a dance Mecca and the small County Kerry town of Tralee is certainly not on every tourist's map for the month of February, yet the Celtic Classic has turned Tralee into a "must go" destination for European Amateur Dancers. For the past six years the locals have gazed in wonder as strangely attired people with severe makeup and superglued hair stroll their streets speaking strange languages from far off places like Estonia, Latvia, Iceland and Slovenia. Tommy Shaughnessy and Anne Gibson, the Celtic organizational team, host IDSF Championships in Amateur and Senior levels and this year there were few missing from the high echelons of these divisions. Every night the ballroom was crammed to capacity with spectators and competitors from Ireland certainly, but also from all over Europe, the USA and one lonely couple from Japan. Now, I will always expect the unexpected from the Celtic Classic.

Standard Trumps Latin!
In every category at the 2005 Celtic Classic I thought the Standard was stronger than the Latin - sorry Latin guys, but you didn't cut it this year. Professional, Amateur, Youth, Rising Star, Senior - Standard all the way. The only possible exception was in the Junior categories where I thought the styles were about even.

The IDSF Celtic Classic Amateur Standard Championship was almost as good as you could imagine. All of top players were there with the exception of Bizokas/Danuite and tensions ran high. This was "competitive" in every sense of the word. Click here to see what I mean! (modem | broadband) Paulo Bosco and Silvia Pitton from Italy set the crowd afire with their own brand of Standard dancing. They swayed, shimmied, flicked and kicked their way around the floor to the delight of the audience. And how about that arabesque in the waltz from Paulo? (Click here to see that live and read my opinion of this enigmatic couple - "How About That Arabesque"). While the audience loved them, the judges did not and Paulo and Silvia finished a disappointing fourth. Current World Champions Domenico Soale and Gioia Cerasoli from Italy scored an effortless win losing only four first place marks out of a possible fifty-five. No doubt Bizokas/Danuite (Lithuania) would have grabbed some of those firsts, at least based on their showing at the UK last month. It was a great night for Sasha and Natahsa Karebey of Germany who snagged the runner-up position and the current icons of classical style, Warren and Kristy Boyce of England were third. Read my ideas on this competition by clicking here for "Classic Beats Clever." And click here for a full review by Robert Wota from Poland.

The IDSF Celtic Classic Amateur Latin was also a remarkable event, just not quite as remarkable as the Standard. It proved to be a case of the Dueling Danes as Klaus Kongsdal and Victoria Franova and Peter and Kristina Stokkebroe went head to head once again. Although Klaus and Viktoria have normally come out on top, just last week they lost to Peter and Kristina, so the gloves were off. Click here for a look at those "Dueling Danes" (modem | broadband). As it turned out Klaus and Vikoria were somewhat easy winners, taking all five dances. For my views on this event click here. By the way, I didn't agree with the result. For the official review, click here to see what Chris Johnston of the USA felt.

On the subject of the Latin - two of the competitors received a spanking for showing too much skin! You may be surprised to find out who they were. Click here to see - "Too Much Skin!"

Was it Bad Judging?
Is it bad judging when no couples receive a majority of first places in any dance and most receive placements from first to sixth in every dance? Well, that's exactly what happened in both the Under 21 Standard and the Rising Star Amateur Standard. The poor judges were so confused that Simon Reuter and Julia Niemann from Germany received the following placements from the eleven judges - 5,2,4,3,3,1,2,1,5,2,3. Don't be surprised to learn, they won that dance, the Viennese Waltz and went on to win the competition as well with final placements of 3W, 1T, 1VW, 3F, 4Q. Don't be too hard on the judges, however. It was a great competition. To read my review, click here for Amateur Rising Star Standard. The Under 21 featured several of the same couples although the final placements were different. It proved just as tricky for the judges once again who failed to give any couple a majority of first place marks in any dance. The winners were Andrei Chubarev and Juliya Saikina who placed 2W, 2T, 1VW, 1F, 3Q. Click here for a look at what I thought of this, Under 21 Standard. By the way, I had some rather strong criticism for the ladies in this category!

When it came to the Rising Star Amateur Latin, the poor judges must have sighed in contentment. Finally they were able to find a winner most of them could agree upon and this was Mark Ballas and Yulia Musikhina from England who received the majority of firsts in every dance. Hallelujah! Judging is a tough job! This was a great event for England who took the first three places. Click here for my review, Rising Star Latin, and here to see the Under 21 Latin. By the way, there was a young lady in both of these finals who, although obviously inexperienced, has great potential. I named her the new "Rose of Tralee." Check my reviews to find out who this was.

Where Have All the Pros Gone?
"Far, Far Away!" Or so it seemed. Scheduling conflicts kept all of the highly ranked professionals far from Ireland this week. The Professional Latin, with few exceptions, was something of a disaster. Running opposite the superb Amateur Standard event, the audience was hard pressed to muster much enthusiasm. The only saving grace of this division was that it was won by "home town" favorites, Sante Mandolini and Victoria Martin from the Republic of Ireland who were clearly the best in the field. Click here for a review by Graham Oswick of England.

The Professional Standard was marginally better, in keeping with my maxim that "Standard Tops Latin." Although I did not particularly agree with the result, you can read my brief report here - Irish Open Professional Standard Championship.

Hated It!
Things can never be all good, can they? One of my own personal pet dislikes is teams matches, not the dancing part, but those interminable openings! This year the Celtic Classic I think topped the record for the longest openings ever. The two worst were without doubt the German Senior Team's entrance that continued for what seemed like thirty minutes and was unintelligible to me, even though it was performed in English and the Spanish Amateur Team's entrance that seemed to be an extended unrehearsed line dance that proceeded through about four songs. My only comment to this was, "Why?" Even the chance to view Mr. Alan Winter, the Danish Team Captain, in tight (and I do mean tight) spandex shorts and Mr. Graham Oswick, the English Team Captain, in floral tights is not enough to make me a fan of these extravaganzas!

Also, shouldn't we audition the showdances? At so many competitions we, the audience, are forced to endure what are again often endless presentations to dirge-like music at prime time. I only liked one or perhaps two of all the presentations here at the Celtic. To see my favorite, and the winner of the South American section, click here.

The Celtic Experience
Some competitions just feel better than others. In my life as a dance journalist I attend over forty competitions a year and at some, I just feel better. It has nothing to do with the dancing it has everything to do with the atmosphere. As part time MC Peter Maxwell observed on the last night, "rarely are competitors and everybody else who attends a competition as well taken care of as at the Celtic." Tommy and Anne are everywhere at once, including the residents' bar until the wee, wee hours of the morning! I don't know how they do it considering they are back in the ballroom often by 8:00 AM. Talking about, "how do they do it," I was amazed by MC David Roberts who confided to me Sunday morning that he had never actually been to bed Saturday night. I would never have known David, you still looked bright eyed and bushy tailed behind the microphone and your pronunciation of the Icelandic names was, if not exactly faultless, at least, amusing.

To the dancers who attended the legendary farewell party on Sunday night - "I hope you enjoyed the pizza, we paid for it!" If you went to the Latin Party on Saturday, then thank Supershag of Boston who sponsored that night's pizza.

All that remains to be said is, "Thanks Tommy and Anne" - see you next year!