The Imperial Latin Championship was held on Sunday 8th October at the Lakeside Country club in Surrey and was a successful day, the comp being organised by Michael Stylianos and Monica Needham. The venue is a very good one for both competitors and spectators alike. There is a lot of room for everyone to move about freely, yet there is an intimate feel to the place, with the dance floor being set lower than the seating in the surrounding area. The venue houses a bar and buffet within the hall, which was greatly appreciated by all.
The music was provided by Greg de Wet and was excellent as ever.
The Amateur Latin started at 11am with approximately 120 couples dancing in 12 twelve heats. This large turnout takes a lot of time to get through, hence there being seven rounds from beginning to end, and with the final being at midnight it was a very long day. Unfortunately there was a 3hr break between the 3rd and 4th rounds, which is not a good thing from a competitors viewpoint, as you have gear yourself up all over and it is like starting the competition all over again.
The result was as follows:
1st. Ricardo Cocchi / Joanne Wilkinson. Italy
These two are great to watch. Ricardo has an elegant and - for want of a
better word - coolness to his style. This combined with a dynamicism and
rhythmic strength in his body and a lovely softness through his leg and foot
actions, makes him very watchable. Joanne, whilst being very strong in her
legs and feet, can appear a little hyper-extended and pulled up which can
appear a little hard. She has a wonderful vivacity of style, a strong
rhythmic feel and power in abundance.
2nd. Vlad Pavlov / Svetlana Polianina. Russia
These two have a subtle style and class that would make them more suited to
the professional field. Their dancing has great quality and depth. Vlads
greatest asset is his body rhythm and his style is very similar to Bryan
Watson in that respect. The downside for them is that in competition you
often have to look for them and they don't seem to shine like they do at
practice, where their abilty is very evident.
3rd. Eugene Katsevman / Maria Manusova. USA
Eugene and Maria had a really good day. They were fast, clear and precise.
Their work contains some really wicked tricks and though they are a small
couple they stood out from the word go.
4th. Andreas Dale / Agnieska Melnicka. Norway
This is a very new partnership and they have exciting potential.Their
choreography is superb and the dynamics are well developed. I felt they were
very lucky to finish this high as fundamentals of movement and basic actions
seemed non -existent from Melia. This was particularly so in Rumba where
there was no settlement or hip action when moving from foot to foot. Also in
Samba where the entire dance was done on straight legs. I found the drawn
out kissing of the hand at the beginning of rumba unnecessary and
off-putting, as it didn't seem sincere.
5th. Peter Stokkebroe / Kristina Juel. Denmark
These two were unlucky. While they can dance better than they did, their
quality should have had them higher. Peter was strong and dominant and
showed clarity of action. At times Kristinas movements didn't seem to
coordinate throughout her whole body making her actions appear rather stiff
and stilted. This prevented her from releasing her weight to Peter, so the
perfomance wasn't as deep or as rounded as usual.
6th. Michael Malitowski / Iwona Golczak. Poland
This couples dancing is really pleasing to the eye. Nothing was offensive
and they had a lovely sense of artistry about them. Their personalities come
across as being natural and unaffected, which is refreshing to see. Their
work suits their individual talents and helps present them in a very
positive light. Immensely watchable.