The International MegaStars Dance Festival 2006
The Gold Coast DanceSport Championships
By Peter S Smith
Photographs by Ballroomrhythms
In a period of just three short years a trip to the Gold Coast of Queensland in Australia has become an annual pilgrimage for DanceSport enthusiasts from all over the Southern Hemisphere in early August each year.
This year's visit was like a trip to your favourite restaurant where the head chef or maitre de has retired or moved on, but the food and wine on offer is of the same excellent quality, albeit the neon sign outside has a slightly different look to it.
The highly successful World Superstars Australian Dance Festival, set up by Micky & Momo Kezuka was replaced this year by the International MegaStars Dance Festival. With Micky & Momo deciding to cease their involvement in promotion on the Gold Coast, this years event with its new name, came under the direct auspices of Bob & Leigh Steele and Norm Caremont. These three had previously been Micky & Momo's lieutenants and this year it was time for them to step up and take charge completely, filling the role of officers in charge or maybe even head chefs and maitre de respectively. The end result was yet another highly successful event on the Gold Coast that saw the full house signs go up on both nights at the ballroom of the Conrad Jupiters Casino.
Supported as in previous years by the DanceSport Australia sanctioned Gold Coast Championships covering all age groups and all styles and an extended range of Pro-Am events as well as two I.D.S.F. Open events, the menu had really not changed.
Another thing that did not change was the quality of the dancing on show over the weekend of the 5th & 6th August especially from the visiting cabaret stars. This year it was Tony & Amanda Dokman of the Netherlands who were making their first trip to Australia and the ever popular Finnish Latin stars Jukka Haapalainen & Sirpa Suutari who were making on my count their fifth or sixth visit to Australia. It was an interesting mix, with Tony & Amanda presenting their dances in the Standard style with a lot of polish and pizzazz. Their musical expression, slick costume changes and rapport with the audience was excellent on both nights. They always had a positive bold shape and a very good top-line throughout with top quality dancing as you would expect from a couple at the prime of their competitive career. It was however for me the presentation of the Latin dances that from a purist point of view stole the show. I just hope that many of the young up and coming Australian Latin couples in the audience were as enthralled as I was. It was vintage stuff, great use of the music, a great sense of theatre as well and as for the almost flawless technique from both of them with a very special emphasis on Sirpa's legs and feet, it was like good wine which has matured with age, and I mean that with the greatest of sincerity and respect. It was a great pleasure to watch!! In reading the audience's reaction to this couple, do not be surprised if they are invited to appear in this country many more times in the future.
Whilst the International Megastars all lived up to their billing and more, the Gold Coast Championships and the supporting IDSF Open events also bought out the best of what the Southern Hemisphere has to offer in the Amateur divisions. Couples had travelled from all over Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Macau, Korea and Hong Kong to compete here thus establishing this event as a true International event, something quite remarkable considering its very short history.
In winning both the Gold Coast Championship and the IDSF Open Standard event, Matthew Rooke and Anna Longmore once again established themselves as Australia's No. 1 couple in the Standard style. Having based themselves in Europe for a number of years now they do not compete in Australia all that often these days, but is nice to see the fruits of their labour coming out and the emphasis on quality being portrayed when they do come home. They produced excellent dancing throughout both of these events and really did show all and sundry that they meant business and that their position within these ranks is well established and will not be taken from them easily. As a result it was well deserved victories and in the process they won all five dances in both championships.
Another couple who also went a long way to consolidate their position as Australia's No. 1 Ten Dance couple was Michael Glickman & Milana Deitch. In recent times these two have been amongst the biggest improvers, especially in the Standard Style, but this weekend it was evident that they have also put in some hard yards in the Latin section, so much so that they won all Ten Dances in the final of the Championship which had considerable depth in not only the final but in the overall event, a great effort. Also in this event, and others over the weekend that encompassed both these International styles, one couple who are quickly making an impression are Benny Rozen & Masha Khazanova. This is a relatively new partnership and if it continues to develop at its current rate it also has a big future.
The spoils of the Latin events were fairly evenly distributed with Lawrence Moldavsky & Athena Merrillo winning the Gold Coast Championship and then Michael Mizner & Anastasia Belykh winning the IDSF event. Whilst Michael & Anastasia did not compete in the Gold Coast event both couples won all five dances in securing their respective victories. Both these couples are based in NSW and are regularly challenging one another, they have quite different approaches to the Latin dances, but having said that both present a very good quality in both technique and musical interpretation. In this style there is a depth of talent abounding that will warrant watching in the future, one couple who really impressed me were the Victorian based Shaun Kingston & Fiona Rizzo. I saw them dance recently in Canberra but the improvement in such a short time was truly amazing. Magnificently groomed, great presentation and the ability to communicate with the audience backed up by quality dancing, all the ingredients for a big future. Although they fell at the final hurdle and were left in the semifinal of the IDSF Open Latin event another couple who have improved dramatically in recent times and are also based in Victoria are Jeremy Basile & Megan Wragg. They too are worth watching for the future.
As has been the norm here in Australia for quite a few years now the Junior events were dominated by couples from Western Australia. Although this years contingent from the West was smaller than in past years but what it lacked in quantity it certainly made up for in quality. It was the diminutive Brodie Barden & Nicole Prosser who won both the Standard and Latin championships, the Standard by the closest of margins but in the Latin they won three dances. The runners up in both these events were also from Western Australia, With a two dances each result in the Standard and winning Paso Doble in the Latin Matthew Mackay & Lana De Fonseka gave it their best shot, the battles between these two young couples will carry on until the end of the year and it will be interesting to watch the development of this challenge from the both of them. Making up the trio who travelled from the West was Simon Mills & Kasey Martin another young couple who have improved considerably of late and are extremely enthusiastic competitors.
The overseas couples who made an impression this weekend were the ever popular Japanese couple Yugaka & Mikiki Kubota and from Singapore Vasily Chuply & Priscilla Kwa. Both were very consistent in every event they danced in.
All too quickly this most enjoyable of weekends was over and it is with great expectation that many people, myself included, are looking forward to next years serving of International Megastars, who according to my inside information,will be Christopher & Justyna Hawkins and Michael Malitowski & Joanna Leunis. The venue remains the same the dates are the 18th & 19th August 2007, put these dates in your diary now. See you there!!!!