East Sussex Dance Highlights 2014

Night of 100 Stars - Adult Ballroom Classes Trip, October 2014

Meeting Professional Latin dancers at Night of 100 Stars

Night of 100 Stars was a feast of world -class demonstations in Ballroom, Latin American and Show dance from the very best dancers (in the UK for the international championships the following week). Held at the Effingham Park Copthorne hotel, East Sussex Dance were lucky enough to secure 2 tables so that our dancers could enjoy the amazing standard of professional dancing. The evening also had time for social dancing so that our students could practice all the steps they have been learning in their dance classes!

Some of our younger Ballroom dancers at the Empress Ballroom, Blackpool 

The East Sussex Dance Ballroom & Latin competition team danced their way to success at the Blackpool Grand Finals in November. Our dancers reached quarter - finals, semi - finals and we even had 3 placings in the finals, including a 1st place in Ballroom!

Our Blackpool Ballroom champions receiving their awards

 Each of the dancers had qualified for the National Event at Regional competitions throughout the year and had worked hard to prepare for the prestigious Finals in the Empress Ballroom. The kids were especially supportive of each other, and everyone enjoyed the weekend of dancing.

Latin Finalist with proud dance teacher!

Back in Sussex, Lewes Goes Strictly, a Ballroom & Latin dance class for beginners and improvers returned for a 7 week course and culminated in a Tea Dance at the end of November. Dancers of all levels came together to enjoy an afternoon of dancing with tea and cake at Southover Church in Lewes. 

The following weekend was our ISTD exam session in Patcham, Brighton. Students from our children's and adult's dance classes took part, entering for medal tests at all levels from Under 6 and Under 8 ' tests through to Gold Star and Awards. Results, along with certificates and medals will arrive in January. 

The last week of term was "Watching Week" where friends and family were invited to watch their children's dance class. At the end of each class we took a retiring collection for Chestnut Tree House (the Sussex childrens hospice) and we raised over £100! 

Looking ahead to the month of January, we have New Beginners classes for Adults and Kids as well as specialist dance workshops, regional dance competitions and social dancing events for all levels.

Easter holiday dancing antics - not just in Sussex!

The Easter holidays began with a week of private tuition and exam rehearsal classes (in preparation for ISTD dancing exams in Brighton on April 27th) plus Adult Social Ballroom & Latin dance classes running as usual in the evenings. 

Alongside the Easter holiday dancing lessons, we've been up to lots more...

The Spring of Youth

On Saturday 12th April was "The Spring of Youth" at Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead. This was an evening performance showcasing different performing arts groups from across East Sussex. East Sussex Dance had three students invited to perform; Oscar (11) from our Brighton Ballroom class, Camille (12) from our Lewes Ballroom class, and Tessa (16) from our Danehill Ballroom class, who was also involved in several Jazz numbers with Sussex Youth Dance Company.

This was Oscar and Camille's first performance together on stage and would be very different to their previous competition dancing experience. Usually there would be another 6-10 couples sharing the competition dance floor but here they had a big stage all to themselves. On the night the kids gave their Jive routine energy and attack as well as projecting and performing to their audience - a job well done.

An experienced stage performer, Tessa danced a beautifully presented Tango and expressive Rumba. She managed some very swift costume changes and remained focused and professional throughout the show. Tessa is an elegant dancer who really shone both on stage and off. Thank you Tess!

Fitsteps

Meanwhile, Alex was on her way to Oxford for her Fitsteps Instructor training course.

Fitsteps is the new dance fitness craze sweeping the nation, designed by BBC Strictly Stars Ian Waite and Natalie Lowe. Fitsteps uses the contrasting Ballroom and Latin dance styles to create a balanced workout that will tone, strengthen and increase cardiovascular fitness as well as teaching the basic steps in each dance with style and flair. Fitsteps classes are fun, varied and "Fab-u-lous" so Alex is very excited to be able to teach Fitsteps classes in Brighton and Lewes.

It was an intense 9-hour day of gruelling workouts, theory and practical assessments but the fantastic course instructors, great music and quality choreography kept the delegates motivated and excited. Strictly's Ian Waite even dropped in at lunchtime to give everyone some encouragement.

Alex will be launching Fitsteps Brighton at Patcham Community Centre on Wednesday 30th April, 9.30am. 

Fitsteps Lewes will be on a Thursday at 6.30pm to begin with, start date tbc.

Entertaining the Senior Citizens - Short Performance in Eastbourne

On Thursday 16th April a completely different East Sussex Dance fixture was booked in. Six boys and one girl headed over to Eastbourne to entertain the senior citizens at a local care home. 

Our Lewes Street dance boys wowed the residents with their fast-paced, high energy routines whilst Joe, Colombo and Olivia (from our Brighton dance classes) did the Waltz, Rumba and Cha Cha Cha. Olivia was brave enough to dance a solo Jive to Jailhouse Rock which went down a storm (you can't beat a bit of Elvis...) 

After the short performance we were rewarded with lemonade and cupcakes and the residents asked the Lewes Street dance boys to recreate their "baby freeze" (see photo below). Of course the boys were only too happy to oblige! 

For more information about our classes, visit our website or call Alex on 07901962163.
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Spring-Summer dancing at a glance

5th April Social dancing / Practice session, Lewes

12th April Youth Dance Show, Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead

17th April Entertaining the Senior Citizens at Milton Grange, Eastbourne

17th April Fitsteps Launch, Lewes

24th April Ballroom & Latin Beginners Class and Social dancing, The Inn on the Park, Golden Cross

27th April ISTD Medal Tests, Patcham

3rd May Danehill/West Hoathly Adult Improvers Class - Summer Term commences

5th May Bank Holiday, although Ballet classes will run as normal

11th May ISTD Ballroom dancing Competition, Brighton & Hove

17th May Dress Rehearsals for School Show

8th June ISTD Ballroom dancing Competition for kids, Brighton & Hove

28th June Cologne dance festival

21st June ARBTA Dancing Exams, Patcham

5th July School Show at Michael Hall Theatre

Southend Competition Report

Today we were at a Children's Ballroom and Latin dance competition in Southend. Although we only took 8 dancers, they represented East Sussex Dance very well!

You can see how well they all danced by viewing some of the videos on our YouTube page.

First up was Emma, who danced  in the Juvenile (Under 12) pre-bronze category. Emma danced the Quicktep and Cha cha; she really catches the eye on the floor despite being one of the littlest dancers in her event.

Next was Francesca, also competing in the Juvenile category but her dances were the Waltz and Jive. Francesca's enjoyment really shows through her dancing, to the point where we couldn't watch anyone else!

In the Junior couples categories, dancing the Quickstep and Jive were Natasha, Josh, Camille, and Oscar. The boys' posture has improved tremendously over the last few months and they are now standing like young men instead of boys. 

Camille and Natasha showed great control in their very demanding Quickstep and Jive routines; a difficult thing to accomplish considering these are the two fastest dances!

Representing the older students were Jack and Elysia, two very experienced dancers. You can tell these two have been dancing for years in their confidence on the competition floor.
The attack and precision Jack displayed in his Tango and the musical expression in his Rumba require years of refinement.
Elysia presented her Gold Foxtrot exactly how it should be danced; with effortless, powerful movement and big shapes. 

Coming soon...
Forthcoming shows in Worthing and East Grinstead
Weekly school update
Bournemouth children's Ballroom & Latin Competition report

Visit www.eastsussexdance.com for more news about our children's dance classes, competitions, exams and shows across Brighton, Lewes and East Sussex and follow us on twitter and facebook