Blackpool 2015 Video Highlights

The Blackpool Dance Festival just finished up in England!  The biggest and most prestigious ballroom dance competition and event in the world.  Each round starts from something like 200 couples.  It would be awesome to attend one day, even if just to spectate.  Some people I know have been able to spectate and/or dance there.  Jealous. Here are some video highlights for your enjoyment!

Slavik and Karina’s Rumba Showcase

Obsessed.  This is one of my favorite rumbas ever and it’s still so, so good, even 10+ years later.  They were the best when they danced together.

Team USA

Note Arunas doing cha cha and being an overall goof.  You never see this side of him! Also, Riccardo and Anastasia dancing standard.

Professional Latin Final Rumba

Michael and Joanna retire after their 8th Blackpool win!  I appreciate them, but am a diehard Yulia and Riccardo fan.  Also, Troels and Ina, WDC amateur Latin champions, went pro and made the finals for a couple of dances.  Should be interesting to see how they do in pro!  That standing spin thing that Maurizio and Andra did was sick.  Also, literally everyone is wearing black or white or a neutral color.

American Smooth Exhibition

For the first time ever, they featured American Smooth at Blackpool!  Historic stuff.  They invited the top pro smooth couples to do a full round exhibition, which was received with a standing ovation.  Maybe dancers will compete smooth at Blackpool one day.  I wonder where rhythm was…

DSI London has graciously posted the first rounds from all the events on YouTube for free!  If you have a lot of time to kill, check ’em out.  There were tons of competitors from China and Japan this year.

Standard Inspiration – 2013 WDSF World Championships

I’ve gotten lazy with posts, so here is some video inspiration from the amateur world championships. I LOVE Tania Kehlet, she is awesome (blonde in the white dress with black criss-crossing). WDSF-style standard is definitely very into extreme shapes, athleticism, unconventional styling, and pushing the current limits of the dance style.

Hurrah!!! And Some Smooth Inspiration

I just turned in the take-home part of my PhD qualifying exams and have thus ended a summer of endless studying and stress. I don’t know how to convey clearly what the process is like to people unfamiliar with grad school, but it involved having to know basically ALL of social psychology (even stuff I hadn’t learned before) and remembering lots of studies and citations, but also thinking about it all on a deeper level.  And then writing 6 essays in 4 hours, and 2 longer ones over the course of a week.  But now that part is done, thank goodness. Huzzah!

Anyway, my partner and I have been working on some new smooth routines recently, which have been really fun and energizing.  In the past I was always sort of afraid of smooth (not that I’m not now) because it’s more independent and expressive than standard, two things that I feel aren’t really in my comfort zone.  Separate me from a partner and I go into “oh no, what is happening now” mode sometimes.  We haven’t done Viennese yet, but I wanted to share this lovely routine by one of my favorite smooth couples, Jonathan Roberts and Valentina, though their partnership was rather short-lived (but very accomplished!)

Bonus video. Watch for the amazing standing spin around 1:20. Sorry for the blurry quality.

Happy back-to-school season for the students (and parents) out there!

Latin’s Changed a Bit Over the Years…

The Latin World championships almost exactly 40 years ago. The style’s changed a LOT, no? Much less goofy bouncing around, more technical emphasis, more earthiness. Not to mention the fashion!

Funny Video: How to Win Ballroom Competitions

If I were funnier I’d write a whole blog as Klaus.

Dance Legends 2013

When I get the chance, I will do a full write-up of my experience from the show (which was amazing!), but for now here is a little teaser preview.

P.S. None of that was sped up. :-O

USA Dance Nationals

I’m currently chilling in my bed, watching the livestream of nationals. Fun stuff! Too bad there’s the 3-hour difference, since it’s in Los Angeles, but I have no problem staying up late :). Yang Chen, the MC, just announced that someone in China’s watching with us! Pretty awesome.

It’s fun chatting with other people watching on the livestream and spotting people I know or recognize from other comps.  Occasionally couples will even look straight into the camera, or you’ll notice something funny, like a judge rocking out to the beginning of a fun song.  Not quite the same as being at a live comp (I think watching live is just so much better than video) but pretty fun, and doesn’t require a plane ticket across the country.

If you want to join in, just check it out here!

Youtube Inspiration: Partnership, Trust, & Connection

Not ballroom dancing, but a fantastic example of passion, partnership, trust, connection, and pure athleticism. I guess it could be categorized as theatre arts, but also has some gymnastics and just some plain crazy stuff thrown in. One of the most beautiful things I’ve seen.

What to Do When Some Guy Tries to Steal Your Partner

Love it! So great to see competitors being playful on the floor.