ISTD Grand Finals 2014
Text By – Victoria Tester
The first weekend in November was the 15 year anniversary of the ISTD Grand Finals in Blackpool, the pinnacle of the calendar year for the Ballroom and Latin medallist competitors.
This weekend conjures a thousand emotions in a dancer. In the weeks beforehand, I watch my friends’ transit through frustration, determination, intense concentration and finally elation as their hard work and practice comes together just in time for the big event.
The Blackpool weekend always follows the same structure, with the children’s event on the Saturday, followed by the adults on the Sunday. Originally the competition was held in the Tower Ballroom, but due to its huge success and growth in numbers, a few years ago it moved to the larger Winter Gardens. This year’s event saw around 5,000 competitors across the two days, with participants travelling from as far as the West Indies – a monumental achievement for organiser Nicky Miles and ISTD.
My first glimpse of the venue this year was at the ball on the Saturday night. By the evening, the ballroom had already seen a lot of action, with the children taking to the floor in what was a fantastic competition. The youngest event is the Under 6s, how must it feel dancing in a venue with a capacity of 3,000 at that age? These children are the stars of the future. Who knows, maybe this experience will be the catalyst that starts the dance journey of a future world champion.
Every year when I enter the Empress Ballroom it takes my breath away; the sheer scale combined with the stunning decor is a marvel. Ornate balconies festoon the walls on three sides, with chandeliers embellishing the vaulted ceiling, twinkling like the thousands of crystals lovingly stitched onto the dancers’ dresses.
Maybe traditionally not the most beautiful element of a building, but in this case the one that gets me most excited, is the floor. The 10,000 pieces of wood which form the sprung floor were laid in 1934; imagine the number of dances it has seen in its 80 years of life. As I stepped onto the floor for my first dance of the evening, I thought to myself, ‘This is the floor of champions. To dance on this floor is to have shared a floor with the world’s best dancers – what a privilege’.
The ball was a spectacular event, made even more special by the world-leading demonstration by Latin legends Michael Malitowski and Joanna Leunis, who made history this year by winning the International Championships for the 9th time. What an inspiration watching them powering through the five Latin dances. The precision of technique and lesson in performance left the audience awestruck.
Following this and in honour of the 15 year anniversary was a magnificent laser show. It was presented by the company behind Kylie Minogue’s visual stage set design, providing illumination to the palatial ceiling with colours and patterns to beautiful synaesthetic music. We were then invited to dance while the lasers continued overhead; watching the chandeliers melt through the colours of the rainbow while I danced a quickstep is an experience I will never forget.
The day of the competition is always intense. However, I was determined to take heed of my surroundings and not let my nerves blind me to the significance of dancing in such a historic venue. The rounds passed in a blur of graceful Waltzes, debonair Foxtrots, passionate Paso Dobles and sensational sambas, with each dancer hoping to impress the judges enough to be put through just one more round.
The standard of dancing was incredible and so was the noise from the crowd as they shouted for their favourite for national champion. My dance partner and I were lucky enough to win the Under 35 up to Bronze Ballroom couples and were placed 3rd in the Latin. To dance in such a venue is a joy and I am looking forward to the 2015 ISTD Grand Finals already.
People give many reasons for learning to dance, but to name just a few, congratulations to ISTD on 15 years of freedom of expression, 15 years of passion personified and 15 years of the pursuit of perfection. Here’s to the next 15 years!
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