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.

East Sussex Dance - Ballroom dancing around the world!

It's been a busy May with a Ballroom dancing competition at Hove Town Hall, a new term of "Lewes Goes Strictly", the launch of Fitsteps in Lewes and much more besides.

Our younger dancers are currently preparing for the end of year show in Forest Row and on 17th May we held rehearsals in Brighton and Lewes. It was a great opportunity for our dancers to see the other classes dancing their pieces and of course to practice performing in front of other students. The choreography is almost all finished now and most costumes have been tried on and assigned so all that remains is to practice-practice-practice before the big day on 5th July.

East Sussex Dance has gone global this Summer...
Our first couple had come for dance lessons in Lewes in preparation for a holiday in Barbados (see below). They started learning with us only a few months ago and, thanks to their dedicaton and practice, were able to take the dance floor by storm!

East Sussex Dance in Barbados!

One of our wedding couples learned to dance with East Sussex Dance in Brighton and did their "First Dance" at their wedding reception in Cyprus at the end of May.

We are also taking a group of 17 students to Cologne, Germany in June for a Ballroom Dancing Competition. Most of us are flying, although Marcus will be driving with some of our Lewes students through France and Belgium. 

Any other international dance opportunities very welcome - preferably sunny locations please!

East Sussex Dance is a dance school based in Brighton and Lewes. We offer dance classes and private lessons across the county of East Sussex.

Follow us on Twitter, Google+, Facebook and YouTube or visit www.eastsussexdance.com for more information about our services.

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

Brighton and Lewes Students at Kids Ballroom and Latin Dance Competition in Bournemouth

After the powerful storm on Friday and with parts of Bournemouth still underwater, we were almost certain last Sunday's competition would be cancelled or postponed.

However, as if someone had flicked a switch, the skies cleared on Sunday morning and the kids' and teenagers' dance competition ran as planned.

It was a successful day for East Sussex Dance; all of our dances looked fantastic and made good use of the very small dance floor.

Daniel danced the Waltz and Jive. This was Daniel's first ever regional dance competition but he didn't let any nerves show through. He got called back into the Quarter Finals for his Waltz; a great start to his dancing "career"!

Chloe "flew" around the floor during her beautifully poised Viennese Waltz, overtaking many other competitors in the process. 

We feel that Indi's performance in the Pre-Bronze Samba was the best she's ever danced. She really gave her all and, as a result, was called back into the quarter finals.

Josh and Natasha made it to the finals of both their Ballroom and Latin Couples events achieving 4th and 3rd placings respectively.

Maya danced a beautiful Waltz and got all the way to the final round achieving 6th Place.

Elysia did very well in the 3-dance Sequence competition, a gruelling event where competitors perform three different dances back-to-back. Even though this was only Elysia's second time competing in this event she danced through to the final, taking 3rd place.

All of our dancers from Brighton and Lewes should be extremely proud of their performances on Sunday. As usual, they represented East Sussex Dance very well and can now enjoy a well-deserved break from the busy competition schedule of January and February.

Many of the dancers are also performing in a number of shows across Sussex over the next few weeks, so we still have plenty of dancing to be getting on with.

This afternoon we have just returned from a demonstration in Eastbourne at a day centre for older people. They were charmed by our dancers, who showed a variety of their competition routines. One lady was a former dance teacher herself and came to thank us personally for coming to visit the day centre.

Special thanks go to Chloe, Maya and Emma who gave up their afternoon to spread a bit of joy through their dancing :-)

That's all for now; enjoy your half term!

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

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