Mindpoke dance

Louise Missen and Heather Passmore started competing together relatively recently, both having had competition experience in London in the past.  Like Hannah and Julie, they compete as a couple but also separately in a mix of categories.  I've known them and danced with them both for years - they share an interest in the line of the music and a great quality of connection.  Obviously it's their first visit to Northern Champs and I was curious to know how they viewed going to a new competition. I sent them some questions and they are the latest in my "How a Competition is born" series - you can read more of these by clicking on the "Ceroc Northern Champs" link in the right hand menu - but only after you've read their sparkling prose (and looked at my photos) Photo: Stephen North SN: Why do you want to compete at Manchester?  LM: All the competitions we’ve done so far have had a different vibe – it’s really interesting and really fun go...

Photo: Jonathan Hunter For this Q and A I'm quizzing someone with long experience of dancing in the North West, Blackpool born Hannah Lonsdale is a an experienced social and competitive dancer with her partner in wine Julie Duane.  Hannah knows the Northern and Scottish dance scene well so she's ideally placed to reflect on how Northern Champs is going down amongst her fellow dancers. SN: Kicking off with a local question, what will Northern Champs do for dancing in the North West? HL: The North West has so many great dancers, some who already compete, some are looking forward to giving it a try and some who haven’t even thought about it yet. Ceroc Northern Champs brings the opportunity to home turf and gives everyone a chance to show what they can do in front of a friendly local crowd and a great atmosphere. Jamie and the team have worked really hard to make sure that there are accessible categories for everyone, no matter how little or long they have been dancing. L...

Chris Uren is a very busy DJ working across three Ceroc franchises in the Midlands and Pennines.  His skills as a venue manager have benefitted many an operation and what he doesn't know about music is not worth knowing.  His own Juke Joint night in Wetherby is a magnet for those who like their dance music to be musical.  He'll be DJing the Northern Champs - with a glittering array of DJs giving him a break in the freestyles. Photo credit: Ceroc UK Chris' ability to pull out of the air a track over 50 years old that is jaw-droopingly good never ceases to amaze me.  At Southport in 'Swinger's Hour' I recall he put on some Glenn Miller  - the sound was magnificent especially over those big speakers, as good as nay fine modern classical orchestra _ I was engrossed in this wonderfully thrilling music.  I couldn't be bothered to find a partner, I just sat and bathed in the magical sound.... Chris' feel for what will challenge and surprise...

Ceroc Scorch at Southport 2014 There's a time and place for a new song - and as we heard with Tone Damli Aaberges' "Forty Years" - DJs across the land will given have a chance play soft sentimental crowd pleasers until your ears bleed.  So it was with the Ed Sheeran "I See Fire" hobbitually played throughout Scorch this weekend - it's a nice tune and DJs will respond to it's ability to render a room compliant, engulfed in Sheeran's maudlin lyrics which are about as banal as they come. I hope it has a shorter half-life than the uniquely reflective Damli vehicle of bless'd memory. That observation aside it was a grand weekend away - sun, wine, food, socialising and a certain amount of dancing. The Ceroc team did well in preparing the weekender for a series of downpours which swept the country in no fixed pattern and left us surprised by sun when it came.  The humidity did cause some problems in some of the dance rooms.  We were strugglin...

In the spirit of "while you're writing, I don't have to" I sought the views of one of the illustrious attendees for Northern Champs, Sheena Assiph. Sheena is a competition organiser, Ceroc teacher, former competitor, one of the best DJs in the kingdom and in this instance a competition judge. She makes Scottish Champs whizz along with efficiency, exuberance and generates loads of cash for charity in the process. Photo: Lorraine Coulson (http://www.lorysphotography.com) Sheena catches the mood of a dance like few others I know and she helped me fulfil an ambition I'd given up on - to dance to a piece of classical music.  There are a few dancers who can carve out the delicate shapes that match The Flower Duet from Lakme - she did with such sensitivity it was a proper treat.  :-) I asked her a few questions by email as I had for Jamie here, SN: You have organised a fair few dance competitions in Scotland, what’s the one golden rule for the Northern Cham...

The birth of a new competition on the Ceroc dance circuit gives me chance to talk to some of those involved to illustrate what it's all about. To kick this off I sent over a few questions to one of the key people in the drive to create Northern Championships, Jamie Stormer. Photo credit: Terry Hills Jamie is a well respected Ceroc teacher and successful competitive dancer.  He works for Ceroc Addiction (which covers Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Manchester).  This area has become something of a powerhouse of competition dancing and Jamie has been instrumental in bring on new dancers to the competition circuit. A week ago Jamie was competing with great success in Ceroc UK Championships - now he's busy on the final preparations for Northern Champs which I first previewed here . The other day I asked Jamie via email a few questions about this new competition with a view to sharing them with you:- SN: How did you get the idea for Northern Champs?  ...

So after the Ceroc UK Championships in Watford - the next stop of the dance competition juggernaut is on the weekend of 20/21/22 June in Manchester at the Ukrainian Club in the Cheetham Hill district just north east of the city centre.  The event is run by Ceroc Addiction. You can read about the Watford Competition here . This promises to be a key part of the growing competition network - not least because competition dancing thrives in the franchise area and because this region currently boasts some of the most talented dancers there are in modern jive. You can learn more about the event here on the Northern Champs website  or follow their Twitter account  @NorthernChamps  and on Facebook by liking this page Given the strength of both Ceroc Scottish and Welsh Championships - both built on national competition success - the auguries are good for the Manchester team.  An experienced core to the judging team will see the right conduct of pro...