Blackpool 2007

By Armando Martin, former International & US Champion and the current Fred Astaire National Dance Director

Blackpool, England is not a very nice place to vacation, having been built in the 20s and 30s and having had very little done to it since. It is a place that takes us back into time in a way that does not remind us of history or great architecture or beauty of any kind.

The very best food you can find in the entire town is Pizza and Fish & Chips. Order anything else at a local restaurant and you may be taking your taste buds to places they have never gone before!

When I arrived there on Wednesday after a 14-year absence, absolutely nothing had changed. I stayed at the very famous Imperial Hotel, which at one time hosted the English Royals. My room was so small I had to open the window to create some ventilation and to avoid feeling claustrophobic. My view was of a 100-year old alley, which housed tons of doves taking cover from the rain and cold.

So, after leaving my window open once, I returned to my room to find the birds and some presents they left me on my bed, chair, floor, etc. I had left my bathroom door open but they decided not to use it. Nice, ha?

Than I decided, after getting all settled in the Hotel, to go to the Winter Gardens where all the dancing happens. Walking in, listening to the music and watching the couples throwing themselves across the floor creating great shapes and superb rhythmical actions with their feet, bodies, and souls, I remembered why we all go to Blackpool - to watch the best dancers in the world battle it out for the most coveted tittles in DanceSport, the British Open.

Being there also brought me back to my youth, when Laura and I were one of those couples, trying to make a name for ourselves on an International dancing stage. It reminded me of all the hard work and sacrifices that all these kids have to make to get there, with no guarantee of success, but only the hope that some of the judges recognize their talents and continue to put them into the next round, then the next, then the next. Laura and I were one of those lucky couples to have made it onto the Blackpool dance floor with only 5 other couples. That meant that we had made the final and that we had reached the top of the mountain in DanceSport. That feeling was worth all that we had sacrificed to get there.

This year's Blackpool was no exception, mostly disappointed couples and a very few happy ones returned home after nine days of dancing. The people that have to be the most disappointed is the US and the US Team Match team. In the Team Match event, the US sends their very best dancers (2 Latin couples and 2 Standard couples) to dance against 3 other teams; three judges judge the event and, on this particular night, the politics and ironies of judging DanceSport were very obvious. The US had on paper the very best team in the competition - 2 world finalists in Latin and the same in Standard. By far the strongest team in the Team Match competition, they managed to finish LAST! How did that happen? Well, that's Blackpool.

Our Fred Astaire couples were a little unlucky too. Eric Luna and Georgia Ambarian, with their sharp and strong dance styles, were only able to get a fourth place in the Cabaret, a style that is usually dominated by the US. In the Latin, we had Gabi and Vlady and Warren and Babette from Jupiter and Ilya and Nadia from Montville; all of these couples did not go as far as they should have, especially Ilya and Nadia who were in the Rising Star Latin Final last year. Tina and Plumen from the East Side NY studio went on to dance the 48 which they were very happy about.

The Amateur Latin featured a very strong field, and our TOP couple Eugene and Maria were disappointed to end up in 4th place since last year they were runners up in that category.

The Pro Latin was won by Brian and Carmen who retired that night to a very appreciative audience. Also making the finals in two dances were Max Kozhevnikov and Yulia Zagoruychenko from the US. This is a great achievement for a US couple; it has not been done in many years. Andre Gavriline and Elena Kryuchkova made the Semifinals in all the Latin dances - also a great feat for them and the US.

The Standard had a lot of good US couples. The eventual winners were Mirko Gozzoli and Alessia Betti from Italy. Jonathan Wilkie and Katusha Demidova from the US came in 2nd, which is by far the best that a US couple has done in that category. Also making the finals in 3 dances was Victor Fung and Anna Mikhed from the US. These couples are the epitome of class and great quality Standard dancing and everyone in the US should be very proud to be represented by them.

Over all it was a great week for the US and another exciting British Open Festival. I personally look forward to going back there again in 14 years.