EURODANCE 2012 in Southport, England

EURODANCE 15th – 17th of June 2012 in Southport, England

First of all we want to thank Dirk Leibing of the City Stompers in Hamburg. More than over a year ago he told us, that an unprecedented event would be taking place in England, an event with 30 choreographers and three days of line dancing around the clock. First we thought, well ok, but then decided to sign up in July 2011. It was the right decision, and despite the long traveling and the cost that inevitably come with such a trip, we do not regret it at all. It was a once in a lifetime experience not only because 32 choreographers came (I hope, I counted right), but because it was a great event all the way through. Here is what really amazed us:

DANCES

The dance curriculum was really good. Of course good and exciting is a matter of opinion, but there was a balanced mix between music genres and skill levels, so you could always find something you liked and the three halls were always full. We loved the fact, that a clear schedule was available right from the start. We always knew, who would teach which dance in which hall at what time and what the skill level was. If you were not sure, which workshop you would like to attend the next day, you could watch a short presentation with music the evening or morning before the next classes. As all workshops startet on time and some even a little early, we always needed to be in the respective hall on time. The number of advanced dances and beginner dances were almost even and it was evident from the beginning, that no line dance beginners were present. Altogether the level was quite high for us. Some dances were taught in a breathtaking speed for us. Maggie Gallagher taught her advanced dance „Sexy Naughty Me“ in just about 25 minutes. This gave us no room for doubts or questions. Most choreographers were very dedicated and used the given time to explain everything clearly and give us opportunities to practice. If you knew your techniques and your vocabulary you were able to follow the instructions. At the end of the 3rd day the participants were asked to vote for their 3 favorite dances. With a clear majority of the votes Guyton Mundy and Rachael McEnaney, who was not in Southport, won the „dancer’s choice award“ for their dance „Back In Time“. Craig Bennett took second place with his dance „Time Bomb“. Unfortunately we cannot recall who won third place. However, we absolutely agree with these votes. Other dances we learned and really liked are:

„Rock, Paper, Scissors“ by Maggie Gallagher; „Solid Ground“ by Debbie McLaughlin; „Next To Me“ by Niels Poulsen; „Oh My Days“ by Shaz Walton; „Radio Active“ by Kate Sala & Robbie McGowan Hickie; „Point Of No Return“ by Ria Vos

However, we were not able to attend all the workshops. There were always three at the same time and we needed breaks here and there.

CHOREOGRAPHERS

Many of the choreographers, who came to Southport, were already known to us. This way we knew what we could expect in their workshops. Therefore we were especially curious about the others, e. g. Shaz Walton. She is quite a bit younger than we had expected, and her workshops took everything out of us. It was also nice to finally see and meet the choreographers, whose dances we had already learned a while back, e. g. Gaye Teather („Kill The Spiders“) or Alan Birchall („Wave On Wave“) and Rep Ghazali („Cabo San Luca“). There were also quite a few younger teachers, we hadn’t heard of before this weekend, who already have a name in the English scene, e.g. Debbie McLaughlin and Joey Warren. Their dance styles are very nice and it was great fun to watch them. The younger generations were in good hands with them. Next to the English teachers there were choreographers from other countries: e. g. Maria Maag and Malene Jakobsen form Denmark. Their workshops were just as popular as most of the others. The strongest magnet was – and we hope, we observed this correctly – Guyton Mundy with „Back In Time“. The hall was full to bursting and we all hat tremendous fun. Many choreographers spent their breaks in the workshops of their colleagues, which means you could find yourself standing next to Ria Vos, Jo Kinser or Niels Poulsen.

PARTICIPANTS

There were round about 400 dancers, of which about 80 were from England. This left a big remaining group of dancers coming from other European countries (Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Lithuania, Austria and Switzerland). It really surprised us, that only one person had come from France. The German group consisted of 11 people. What amazed us was the large group of 18 participants from Japan! Maggie even welcomed a couple from Shanghai in one of her workshops. Most dancers had no problem with the level of the workshops and the fast pace. We were particularly fascinated by the fact that many of the elderly English ladies participated in almost all workshops and didn’t shy away from even the most difficult dances. We pull our hats for their panache and their dancing skills. You just had to see it! It gives us courage and hope that line dancing at an advanced age is still possible.

PARTIES

And dancing was not over after the workshops! After dinner you could dance almost without end in the three halls belonging to the hotel. The main hall was reserved for mainstream dances. Country music was mostly played in the small hall lying next to the main hall. You could easily go back and forth between these two halls, making it almost impossible to get bored. If you had a song you wished to hear, the DJ’s were always forthcoming and tried to incorporate it into their program. The modern new liners were held on the first floor in the second largest hall of the hotel. Most of the young dancers could be found there. Sometimes the older participants joined them on the dance floor or sat on the free chairs to watch them. We also sat there and had to admit to ourselves, that we didn’t know a single one of their dances. But that’s the way of the world: the young storm ahead – this was one of the nicest discoveries of the weekend. There are many young line dancers that are passionate and committed about their music and dancing.

EVENT MANAGEMENT

The event was held by Bossy Boots Promotions represented by Ken and Sue Weston and Awesome Line Dancing represented by Dave and Pauline Baycroft. They seem to be very experienced with organizing und putting together big line dance events. Everything, up to the icing on the cake, was meticulously planned. The hotel itself, its rooms, food and service were good – quite better than the hotel, which is used for the Crystal Boot Awards in Blackpool. The halls have glass roofs with large and gorgeous lamps. The furnishing in the lobby, in our room and in the dance halls added to the feeling of comfort. The English food might not be to everybody’s taste and we could not sleep without earplugs due to the continuing music, even after we had practically fallen into bed out of exhaustion. The only thing that bothered us quite a bit, was the condition of the floors in the two big halls. Even though cooling machines were running throughout the event, the floors were very blunt. Again, we want to say big thanks to the organizing team for the perfectly prepared line dance weekend. They achieved so much!!!

DANCING SHOES

Dancing shoes was another new discovery. For years we have been wearing very light and comfortable dancing shoes, which we also recommend to the participants of our dance classes, when they start to line dance. And what do the English ladies wear? When it comes to their dancing attire – shoes as well as clothing – they are not as sporty and casual as we are. They value style and color. Sue Weston had a big shoe sale in the hotel lobby that could not be overlooked. However, in the beginning we ignored it, as we thought: „These shoes just can’t be comfortable enough to dance in all day!“ But after 2 1/2 days of witnessing the large assortment of dancing shoes with heels being worn, even some that were quite high, we had to admit, that our first thought could not be right. The English women danced the entire day and even continued into the night in modern colorful shoes without socks. We were fascinated by this and decided on the third day pretty much at the last minute to visit the stand and to each buy a pair of shoes. We are looking forward to trying them out and to test for ourselves how comfortable they are.

CONCLUSION

EURODANCE 2012 was a most wonderful experience. We met many nice line dancers, had a lot of fun and learned quite a bit. We once again extended our look onto the world of line dancing and gained new points of view. With heavy feet and legs we travelled home, totally riveted by the weekend. Anybody that would like to join the fun in 2014, should sign up as soon as possible for mere 20 British pounds and reserve a room in the „Prince of Wales Hotel“. There is nothing better than having the hotel rooms and dance halls practically next to each other.

In this sense … HAPPY DANCING.