2007 National Capital DanceSport Championships
Canberra, Australia
Story by: PETER & ROSALYN SMITH
Photos by: dancesportphoto.net
From very humble beginnings in 1993 the National Capital DanceSport Championships have grown in stature to where it is an event on the "not to be missed" list of all DanceSport enthusiasts from not just Australia, but across the Tasman Sea in N.Z. and on to all parts of Asia.
The 2007 event will go down in the record books as one that attracted entries from all of those parts of the Southern Hemisphere, as well as some couples from China for the first time; they were to make a long lasting impression on all in attendance.
The outstanding attraction this year, however, was the appearance of current World and British Professional Latin Champions Bryan Watson & Carmen . These two outstanding dancers, having just announced their retirement from the competitive arena at the British Championships in Blackpool, presented the Latin dances as perhaps only they can on both evenings of these championships. Their brilliance in both presentation and rhythmic interpretation, slick costume changes and not least of all such overall quality of their dancing was something very special to savior. Having set the benchmark in the Professional Latin field for so many years now they will no doubt enjoy their retirement as they continue to perform in this vein all over the World for a long time to come it is hoped.
For those of us privileged to be in the Australian Institute of Sport Arena in Canberra over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th June, who will ever forget that we were witnessing one of the all time great Latin pairings and we certainly hope that they may venture to this part of the World at least once more before they hang up their shoes completely. Thank you! Brian and Carmen, for being an integral part of the Australian DanceSport scene even if it was for just a short visit, you will no doubt have inspired a lot of young and up and coming Latin dancers to aspire for bigger and better things.
Supporting Brian and Carmen in the cabaret spot was the current Australian Amateur Standard Champions Matthew Rooke & Anna Longmore. To perform on the same stage as one of the most successful couples in the history of competitive dancing was indeed a challenge for this young couple, however they handled it with aplomb and they too presented dancing of the highest calibre. The cabaret presentation was a mixture of both the Standard and Latin styles with Brian and Carmen presenting their show with Paso Doble first followed by Samba, Cha Cha, Rumba and finishing with Jive, Matthew and Anna danced Quickstep, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, Tango and their finale was an excellent presentation of Waltz. We have watched the development of this couple from the central N.S.W. town of Wagga Wagga for many a year with interest. This weekend we feel will forever be a milestone in their dancing career that they will be able to look back on with pride in years to come. Their choice of music and excellent choreography in this cabaret presentation brought out the best of them and although obviously quite nervous at the beginning of the Saturday night version of the cabaret they finished on the Sunday night having we are sure, added a lot of people from their home country to their long list of admirers from all over the world. Congratulations on a job well done!
As is to be expected when witnessing dancing of this calibre this knowledgeable audience rewarded both these couples with an instantaneous standing ovation on both nights at the end of their cabaret spots, nothing they did not deserve.
This championship is a joint promotion by the Federal Association of Teachers of Dancing and the Canberra based Penny De Kauwe School of Dancing with Penny's husband David Gunasekera and Robert J (Bob) Steele as joint Administrative Directors.
To organize and present an event of this magnitude in a major sports stadium is indeed a mammoth task, with over four hundred couples entered, adjudicators that numbered sixty all working in distinct panels over the weekend and all the other ancillary things that need to be in place it takes a lot of precise timing and team work. However when the organisation of an event of this status is in the very experienced hands of Bob Steele, his very efficient wife Leigh and their support team you know that everything will run like clockwork and on this occasion that was exactly what we got. In keeping the organizational team a compact unit the excellent music presented throughout these championships was in the very capable hands of Michael Gunasekera.
Sponsorship also plays an important part in events of this nature and on this occasion thanks must go to Australian Capital Tourism, Radio Station "Mix 106.3", Rydges Lakeside Canberra, WIN Television, The Australian Dance Review and Living Simply.
In the actual championship events there were some couples who made impressions that were most impressive, in no particular order the simple uncomplicated dancing when coupled with such subtle power that it was hard to see where it came from in the Amateur Standard championship of our Chinese visitors Chao Yang & Yiling Tan was indeed a treat to watch. Their fellow countrymen He Chong& Shan Jing who really made an impression in the youth events and also the Open 10 Dance were very quickly crowd favourites, they too move with a terrific light action, with maturity they too will be another couple to go a long way. The resurgence of Professional Latin couples based here in Australia is perhaps of more significance than perhaps many people realize, we desperately need more couples to swell the Professional ranks in this part of the world and after a long hiatus we now are seeing some very good couples taking the floor. The growth in couples in the Standard and New Vogue sections is a bit slower but it is happening, all positive input to match the resurgence of the popularity of our sport in the public eye. The Amateur division couples in the Standard and Ten dance sections are also developing, with Michael Glikman & Milana Deitch continuing their improvement. In the Latin section we are also in for some serious battles for supremacy with Michael Miziner & Anastasia Belykh and Arkady Bakenov & Rosa Filippello throwing down the gauntlet to one another. There are quite a few other excellent couples in this section who did not compete here in Canberra for various reasons, so this field in Australia is also developing quite nicely. The Youth and Junior/Juvenile likewise have lots of couples with the potential to go on to bigger and better things, so perhaps there is a resurgence of Australasia's previous successes on the International stage just around the corner, we certainly hope so!
The results of the major event were as follows:
Rydges Lakeside Canberra Professional Standard Championship
1st:: Davide Tonizzo & Emily Reilly (WA). Quite comfortably won all five dances and once again stamped their authority on this championship. Free moving and very musical they just seem to eat up this big floor with ease.
2nd: Glen Hulkes & Larisa Locke (WA). They were a consistent second in all five dances, although some adjudicators did not see it that way.
3rd: Jared Parnell & Kelli Brogan (Vic). Third place they took and third in all dances was their final summary, the rather evenness of this event meant that they too had some adjudicators seeing it differently from the final result.
4th: Darryl Davenport & Natalie Smith (WA). This still rather new partnership has definitely benefited from their first overseas trip, were a consistent fourth in all dances.
5th: Ricci Hancock & Rachelle Evans (Vic) Fifth in all dances, these two have a soft action that appeals.
6th: Peter Head & Janita Berry (Vic) Shared almost all the fifth and sixth place marks with Ricci & Rachelle, but this time came out on the wrong end of the equation.
Mix 106.3 Professional Latin Championship
1st: Robin Sewell & Alana Donovan (Vic) An excellent showing of powerful, quality Latin dancing from this brand new partnership. They won just three dances, Samba, Cha Cha and Rumba but it would not have been surprising to see them win all five dances. They will be a great asset to the ranks of Professional competitors here in Australia. Robin is a South African by birth, but we welcome him back to Australia for a second time dancing with an Australian girl, we are quite happy to adopt him! A great effort in their debut event.
2nd: David Byrnes & Karla Gerbes (Vic) Winners of this event last year, they knew they had a challenge on their hands and gave it their best shot; they did manage to win the last two dances Paso Doble and Jive. They have great floor appeal this couple and have a very neat strong action in all dances. There is sure to be some great battles looming in the near future with their fellow Victorian based couple who had the ascendancy on this occasion.
3rd: Ross Riek & Katrina Schembri (NSW) Another new partnership and great to see these two out on the floor, both dancers of talent that Australia cannot afford to have on the sidelines. They were third in all five dances, but did attract quite a few second place marks and even a couple of first places from the adjudicating panel. They too are another couple to watch in the coming months, Katrina has always had a special class about her and the move to the Professional ranks has not diminished our opinion of the quality dancing she produces.
4th: Danny Parker & Abbey Ross (NSW) New partnerships abounded in this event and it is great to see. On this occasion these two had to be satisfied with fourth in all dances, but like the couples who finished ahead of them this time, there is talent to burn here and these two also will go on to mount a challenge in the future we are sure.
5th: Andrew Palmer & Briony Penrose (Tas.) In this field of very strong exponents of the Latin style these two were occasionally left wanting in the power and strength department. Sound in other areas of their dancing but in order to challenge for higher honours in this now expanded field they will have to develop a much stronger action.
6th: Shaun Peacham & Cheryl Keep (Vic). Were never going to challenge for higher honours in this rejuvenated field, there is a lot of work to be done if they do want to challenge. They were sixth in all dances.
7th: Paras & Rebecca Wils (Vic) Another couple who have a lot of work to do if they are going to challenge in this type of field, a clear seventh in all dances.
WIN Television Professional New Vogue Championship
1st: Jared Parnell & Kelli Brogan (Vic). These two won all dances in fine style and deservedly so. Experienced exponents of this style, they did drop a few marks along the way some as low as third, but apart for those minor hiccups they still were very comfortable winners of every dance.
2nd: Ian Gillard & Cherie Isbell (NSW) Again experience in this style was their dominant factor; they have knocked on the door for a number of years now, but somehow never quite succeed in prizing it open. On this occasion, a clear second in all dances.
3rd: Darryl Davenport & Natalie Smith (WA). Since making the transition from a Pro-Am partnership to a full blown Professional team late in 2006, these two have slowly but surely been making an impression in the Professional ranks in this part of the world and this style is perhaps their forte, so far! (Yes Natalie is our daughter and in the context of this report we make no apologies!) Third in Swing Waltz, Carousel & Tango Terrific, with fifths in Barclay Blues and Twilight Waltz their lowest marks.
4th: Shane Lawton & Lucy Whitehill (Vic) Australian Championship finalists for some time now these two have not developed their dancing in this style that you would expect that kind of experience would produce. Third in Twilight Waltz and Barclay Blues were their best individual dance results followed by a fourth in Carousel and fifth in the remaining two dances.
5th: Andrew Howlett & Monica Fincham (Vic) In the double barreled battle for the minor placings, that is the State rivalry and the actual outcome of the event Andrew & Monica just missed the boat by virtue of a fifth placing in Carousel, fourths in all the other dances meant they were having a fairly consistent night, but in the final wash up this little glitch cost them dearly.
WIN Television Open Standard Championship
1st: Chao Yang & Yiling Tan (China). First time visitors to this championship and what a joy to watch these two are! Pure class is perhaps the best way to describe them, a tall very elegant couple who just seem to glide over the floor with such ease, but on a closer inspection it is all developed off the power of the standing leg combined by excellent body flight. The won all five dances with ease not quite all firsts in all dances but very close.
2nd: Michael Glikman & Milan Deitch (NSW) Once again there has been a very marked improvement in this couple's dancing. The top line has a cleaner more positive look about it, there is more power also off the standing leg from them also and they held up very well against this very illustrious international company. They were second in all five dances, can once again be very proud of their performance over this weekend.
3rd He Chong & Shan Jing (China) These youngster were also most impressive, lacked the subtly of their countrymen but still excellent dances. Free movers also, perhaps need to work on making each dance look a little different and in the process develop a bit more characterisation. Third in Waltz, Viennese Waltz and Quickstep and fourth in the remaining two dances was their end result.
4th: Craig Denham & Tegan Short (W.A.) Whilst sound dancers these two, they tend to make hard work in the ease of movement department especially when compared with all the free moving couples who finished in front of them in this event. Too often they are caught with their weight between their legs, which does not help their movement. Third in Tango and Slow Foxtrot, fourth in the remaining dances was their final analysis.
5th: Antonio Micheli & Bianca Tonizzo (Vic.) Another young couple who are in the rapid improver's class. It has taken sometime for this partnership to settle we feel, but it has developed very well in recent times. They were fifth in all dances.
6th: Dawid Rozycki & Kelly Yates (Vic.) These two did well to hold out some perhaps more credentialed couples for this last spot in the final, but once there could only have finished sixth in all dances.
Australian Capitol Tourism Open Latin Championship
1st: Michael Miziner & Anastasia Belykh (NSW) The record books will show that this couple won all five dances, but it was not exactly such a clear result as it looks on paper.They did of course dance extremely well with lots of emotion and feeling and great use of the music. However on this occasion they were we feel stretched all the way by the runners-up.
2nd: Arkady Bakenov & Rosa Filippello (WA). Whilst this partnership is still less than one year old it is really starting to go places and they will be a force to be reckoned with here in Australasia in the future. These two are both dancers of exceptional talent and since teaming up they have really made all those talents jell into a great young team. Second in all five dances, although two judges did have them as their winners.
3rd: Craig Monley & Sirani Argaet (Vic) Considerable improvement from these two also. It has a much more balanced look about it now and like so many other couples in this field they will always be a couple that will require a great effort to beat. They were a clear third in all dances.
4th: Laurence Moldovsky & Athena Merillo (NSW). Fourth in all dances was their final summary, but such was the overall depth of this event that they too attracted marks in the top three, but also had to carry some much lower marks, hence their fourth place. They always give of their best and are very consistent performers in all the five dances.
5th: Aric Yegudkin & Masha Belash (NSW) It was great to see these two back to some consistent form. Great competitors who always give of their best, without perhaps getting the results they sometimes deserve. Had to settle for fifth in all dances on this occasion..
6th: Lee Roy Grech & Lucya Sarich (WA). Whilst six in all dances seems to be a result that puts you well out of the race, this was not the case here really. These two have always been nice dancers, but perhaps did not really attack the various events they danced in with the determination to win. This has all changed of late and with it has come a much more positive approach and the sound technique and excellent musicality that has always been there is now being transposed into better presentation and a will to do well as against previously just going along for the ride. Watch this space we believe there is more to come.
Australian Capitol Tourism Open Ten Dance Championship
1st: Michael Glikman & Milana Deitch (NSW) Over the years Australia has produced some excellent couples who have excelled in the Ten Dance discipline. Two World Champions have resulted from this excellence and these two are determined to emulate those successes. This performance in Canberra must surely set them firstly on the road to representing Australia at the highest level and if their current rate of improvement continues who knows they may achieve their ultimate dream. Their strength is perhaps in the Standard section where they were quite frankly outstanding over all five dances, with the power of their Slow Foxtrot, the crispness of their Tango and the beautiful swing and sway of the Viennese Waltz left others in their wake. However it is the Latin section where they have really put in the hard yards and have now developed this section to the stage where it is no longer a poor relation. Well done keep up the good work. They were first in all ten dances!!!!
2nd: He Chong & Shan Jing (China) It was in this event that these exciting visitors from China won over the crowd. Their fitness level was superb and they really attacked this event from go to whoa with the desire to win it. What they lacked in finesse when compared with their fellow countrymen they made up for in enthusiasm. There is surely a couple with a huge future to watch out for. Second in all ten dances was a commendable result.
3rd: Antonio Micheli & Bianca Tonizzo (Vic). As stated previously this couple has improved of late but in this event the improvement was over all ten dances and not just restricted to one style. They were third in the first nine dances and fourth in Jive.
4th: Benny Rozen & Masha Khazanova (NSW). Each time we see this couple there are almost always certain aspects of their dancing that is developing well. This time we felt they were better in the Standard section, with a soft flowing Slow Foxtrot and excellent expression and use of the music in Tango the best of them. The Latin whilst strong and vibrant especially in Jive may require a bit more emphasis on projection. They were third in Jive and fourth in all the other dances.
5th: Christopher Page & Anita Levanat (ACT). These two really did fly the flag for all the Australian Capitol Territory couples and a good job they did too. They were a consistent fifth in all of the ten dances, but can take heart that some adjudicators rewarded their efforts with quite a few fourth place markings in Slow Foxtrot and Viennese Waltz. When they develop a stronger Latin action they too could be a force to be reckoned with in this type of event.
6th: Chris Brown & Jade Hatcher (NSW). This young lady has always been a strong dancer and with Chris they have the potential to go on to bigger and better things. Another couple with a free flowing Slow Foxtrot learn to develop the "make space for one another to dance in" philosophy and the standard style will be a big winner. With more use of positive shapes and lines the Latin will improve also.
Mix 106.3 Open New Vogue Championship
1st: Rhett Watts & Amanda Kirk (Vic). This tall elegant couple has a very pleasant and appealing look on the floor and always looks as though they are enjoying themselves. Comfortable winners by virtue of winning every dance.
2nd: Gino Cella & Lisa Baker (Vic). Gino has won this event with a previous partner but this time had to settle for the runners up spot. Their final summary was second in all dances but they did attract a lot of first place marks.
3rd: Andy Donnelly & Jessica Allen (Vic). This two put in a very polished performance throughout this event. Lots of nice musical expression and excellent arm lines. Had to be content with third in all five dances this time.
4th: Brad Dawes & Brooke Trasler (NSW). This young ladies back was rather static at times in the closed hold position, needs to relax this and let it breath. Overall they are another very musical couple. Fourth in all dances.
5th: David Mitchell & Lauren Andlovec (Q) This man needs to watch his posture as he tends to carry his weight too far back. They always however move freely and dance with confidence. fifth in all dances.
6th: Daniel Maloney & Courtney Schmidt (Vic) A tall and elegant couple with a very strong presentation. Good use of body and shaping but had to be content with sixth place in this field.