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.

New Term, New Dance Classes

School Show at Michael Hall, July 2014

It's been a while since our last blog post,  but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy; quite the opposite!

ESD Students 2nd Place at German Dance Festival, June 2014

Since we last posted we have been to Germany for a Ballroom dancing competition, had our whole school dance show at Michael Hall Theatre in Forest Row, ran 2 kids dance Summer Schools in Lewes, organised various dance workshops and events with our adult students AND attended a UK ballroom dancing competition to boot!

Our Adult Ballet classes and Lewes Fitsteps class have run on Thursday evenings throughout July and August and will continue into the Autumn, with Adult Ballet moving to a Saturday afternoon.

Fitsteps classes in Patcham will recommence on Wednesday 10th September with a new start time of 10.00am. New recruits are very welcome!

On Friday 5th September at 7pm our Adult Beginners Ballroom & Latin class recommences - new students welcome - and our Second Stage Ballroom class resumes on 12th September.

Our more advanced Adult Ballroom classes ran every week through the Summer and we ran a successful Social night on Saturday 16th August. The following week we also ran a Viennese Waltz workshop covering all the basic steps and technique, and even incorporating some American Smooth Ballroom towards the end.

Lewes Kids Summer School, August 2014

The kids have got lots to look forward to this term with new Saturday morning dance classes in Lewes, and of course all of our regular dance classes recommencing in Brighton, Lewes and Danehill. Our children's dance classes restart for the Autumn on Monday 8th September.

Many of our competitive dancers from across East Sussex have qualified for the ISTD Ballroom & Latin finals in Blackpool. We also have Autumn Term ISTD Medal Tests which are open to all students.

Tango dancer at ISTD Southern Area Dance Competition

For a full timetable detailing all our dance classes visit our schedule page.

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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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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