There's every reason to suppose there will be another Ceroc Northern Champs next year and I think it will need to be in a bigger venue. I think it will be an even bigger success. And the word of mouth will be go to Manchester for three days and have a grand time (though will be some who will say chose your hotel wisely).
But whoever goes next year, and I will be amongst them, will not experience the thrill of an event lifting off quite as spectacularly as this one. I was grateful to be at the first and that this blog has in some small way recorded the build up. Maja Kocanova, the franchisee for Ceroc Addiction picked up a challenge which I first raised in a blog some time ago here: http://mindpokedance.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/201313-dance-season-no-5.html
It has some risks associated but built around the core of the great success of Northern dancers at recent competitions - I think the timing was felicitous.
There are a number of reasons why Ceroc Northern Champs rose like an eagle - they are listed below. But even as I write that I think there was probably one over-riding reason why it was a roaring success - the determination and savvy of Jamie Stormer (....but more of him later).
So it all worked because of the many little things and a few big things.
How Jamie and his team arranged the weather is beyond me - but it was scorcher - hot sun blazed down all day and much of the day after when we enjoyed a cool social dance and then a social get-together in an Epicurean garden.
The venue - which Maja has nurtured the Ukrainian Club in Manchester as a freestyle venue of note in the North for a few years now and it attracts folk in from over the Pennines, the West Midlands (just down the M6) and the Irish Sea coast. It has everything one might need and
They attracted the right balance of dancers from all the cardinal points and fast rail links meant the Londoners and South East dances had the option.
The team had planned meticulous in the full knowledge of how other events work but with imagination and some profound insights. Such as:-
- Catering was provided by a van in the car park serving burgers, bacon buttes, chicken pasta salad and baked potatoes. Later it was joined by an ice cream van! Glory be!
But whoever goes next year, and I will be amongst them, will not experience the thrill of an event lifting off quite as spectacularly as this one. I was grateful to be at the first and that this blog has in some small way recorded the build up. Maja Kocanova, the franchisee for Ceroc Addiction picked up a challenge which I first raised in a blog some time ago here: http://mindpokedance.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/201313-dance-season-no-5.html
It has some risks associated but built around the core of the great success of Northern dancers at recent competitions - I think the timing was felicitous.
There are a number of reasons why Ceroc Northern Champs rose like an eagle - they are listed below. But even as I write that I think there was probably one over-riding reason why it was a roaring success - the determination and savvy of Jamie Stormer (....but more of him later).
The venue - which Maja has nurtured the Ukrainian Club in Manchester as a freestyle venue of note in the North for a few years now and it attracts folk in from over the Pennines, the West Midlands (just down the M6) and the Irish Sea coast. It has everything one might need and
They attracted the right balance of dancers from all the cardinal points and fast rail links meant the Londoners and South East dances had the option.
The team had planned meticulous in the full knowledge of how other events work but with imagination and some profound insights. Such as:-
- Catering was provided by a van in the car park serving burgers, bacon buttes, chicken pasta salad and baked potatoes. Later it was joined by an ice cream van! Glory be!
- the timetable had proceedings finishing quite early on and there were hours of freestyle within the day and after competition - though I left at 1am with flagging energy I was assured that proceedings were enjoyed up to the 2am close and beyond. Must have been the magical effect of Sheena Assiph's DJing.
- The bar was cheap, well stocked and quick. And there was water in generous supply.
- The competitors numbers were of a tear-resistant material.
- The bar was cheap, well stocked and quick. And there was water in generous supply.
- The competitors numbers were of a tear-resistant material.
- the timetable was projected at the back of the stage as a "What's Next" reminder
- ladies were allowed to enter as leads - a move prompted by a lack of men in Top Cats. This pleases me no end but I'd be even happier to see men entering as followers! Well done Heather Passmore for asking the question and to the Ceroc Northern Champs team for giving precisely the right answer!
- the successful competitor's numbers were put up on TV screens in the side bar - high up and easily read.
In more regular matters the square dance floor with its broad margins was laid out to increase the intimacy on the dance floor and allow easy movement onto the floor and around the floor.
The competition DJ, Chris Uren, worked from a separate kit from the two daytime freestyle DJs Jon Gammon and Kevin Sambridge. Their choices of music - informed by Chris' playlist for the competition - was wonderfully diverse.
The judges were attentive and expert of course, but one did sense they were the one's delaying the timetable somewhat, further confirmed when Phil Webb was demoted to checking parking as a punishment.
I can't let the first impression pass without acclaim for Chris Uren's fantastic choice of music. The mix was more varied than I've heard anywhere else: older styles and genres found some very good dancers out. Some will regard this as unfair - especially as it was marked different from what we heard at UK Champs. The fiendish difficulty of some of these tracks shouldn't have been a surprise. What was a surprise was that some of the good dancers looked like great dancers given these diverse opportunities. I'm hoping a future blog entry will have Chris's playlist - useful for interest but also if competition dancers really want to test how good they are at the more diverse styles
Praise too for admin, front of house, technical and non-technical members of the team who made this Competition happen. A small unit but perfectly formed - full of enthusiasm and glee as they realised their event was a winner.
And I should say a word about the fantastic dancers and their hard work entering so many categories - but I'd like to spend more time and space on that so sufficient to say thank you to all the competitors for a cracking day of competition - medals were hard won as were trophies. Here's some friends of mine enjoying their moment.
At the risk of heaping Ossa on Pelion (look it up!) my final words for now must be in praise of Jamie Stormer, a man who knows dance, and how to keep things ticking along and how to keep a crowd happy. His stint as compare was perfectly clipped to the essentials but tellingly emotional and enthusiastic. He knows how to whip up a crowd and how to keep the heckler's down.
But more than that is his eye for detail, his passion for excellence and his pragmatic approach. He showed fantastic leadership and delivered more than we possibly imagined on the day. It was a fundamentally dance centred event - rigorous and testing. Jamie made a standard having seen what was possible - I loved the whole event (I usually do) but those around me were clearly loving it too.
I'm particularly grateful that Jamie encouraged me to use this blog to illuminate the corners of the event preparation.
I finish this for now with the promise of more to come - from me and others :-)
The competition DJ, Chris Uren, worked from a separate kit from the two daytime freestyle DJs Jon Gammon and Kevin Sambridge. Their choices of music - informed by Chris' playlist for the competition - was wonderfully diverse.
The judges were attentive and expert of course, but one did sense they were the one's delaying the timetable somewhat, further confirmed when Phil Webb was demoted to checking parking as a punishment.
I can't let the first impression pass without acclaim for Chris Uren's fantastic choice of music. The mix was more varied than I've heard anywhere else: older styles and genres found some very good dancers out. Some will regard this as unfair - especially as it was marked different from what we heard at UK Champs. The fiendish difficulty of some of these tracks shouldn't have been a surprise. What was a surprise was that some of the good dancers looked like great dancers given these diverse opportunities. I'm hoping a future blog entry will have Chris's playlist - useful for interest but also if competition dancers really want to test how good they are at the more diverse styles
Ceroc has lost some of its speed over the years as chart music has become more banal and distinctly slower. The offer of music genre competitions within the technical competitive trials such as Funk'd Up in Wales may be a great wa forward. But those winning the biggest prizes/hardest categories should, in my view, be tested musically first and foremost and not by some highly technical baseline.
But more than that is his eye for detail, his passion for excellence and his pragmatic approach. He showed fantastic leadership and delivered more than we possibly imagined on the day. It was a fundamentally dance centred event - rigorous and testing. Jamie made a standard having seen what was possible - I loved the whole event (I usually do) but those around me were clearly loving it too.
I'm particularly grateful that Jamie encouraged me to use this blog to illuminate the corners of the event preparation.
I finish this for now with the promise of more to come - from me and others :-)
Comments
Post a Comment