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Gold for England at the World Tap Championships
Despite working tirelessly for three years to obtain any form of funding or sponsorship, the England Tap Team and the Youth Company have had to be totally self-sufficient, this is mainly due to not fitting into funding criteria. Other countries that attend the World Championships are given financial backing, some by their Olympic Committees and their dancers are treated as athletes.
So finally on Sunday 28th November 2010 the majority of the team set off for Germany (they were to be joined later in the week by some of the adult members who had assessments at their various dance colleges). The adverse weather conditions made the journey eventful, but thankfully after 21 hours, the coach drivers managed to get everyone safely to the hotel.
The first two days were set aside for rehearsals and to visit the arena so the team could familiarise themselves with the stage, but news was coming in from other countries of major problems at airports affecting many dancers ability to get to Riesa. Cancelled flights meant dancers were left without costumes and as the snow continued some teams began to doubt if all of their dancers would get there. The IDO organiser, Michael Wendt handled everything excellently, allowing dancers to compete out of order with some literally arriving and going straight to stage (which happened to 3 of the English dancers).
Wednesday began with the Junior competition. 3 female soloists and 1 male were representing England – Jamie Spall, Sophie Wathen, Sarah Houlton and Zac Watts, all performing immensely well but it was the later two who qualified for the semi finals to be held on the Thursday.
The first round of the Junior group and Sarah’s semi final took place on the Thursday, unfortunately Sarah didn’t qualify for the finals, missing out by once place, but the Junior group did qualify for the semi finals later that day and subsequently qualified for the finals to be held on the Friday, as did Zac in the Junior male solos, the final also to be held on the Friday.
Despite all the good news 3 of the team where struggling to get to Germany, cancelled flights had meant them leaving the UK later than anticipated. All 3 managed to arrive in Germany very late but were stuck in Frankfurt and Berlin, they did finally arrive in Riesa the morning of their dances however.
Friday saw the first round of the adult dances. 3 female soloists – Lauren Gore, Imogen Weatherhead and Rosie Bretherton competed in a section that was so large that it was decided an additional round would be added. All 3 qualified for the quarter finals and Lauren and Imogen qualified for Saturday’s semi final. Both adult duets – Keith Henderson and Jack Evans and Adina Nyahwa and Zac Watts qualified for the semi finals and the adult formation, consisting of 22 dancers also qualified for the semis.
The evening was dedicated to the Juniors Finals, with the Junior group dancing exceptionally well and with a different scoring method for the finals the team had a much anticipated wait as the rest of the Junior finals took place as all scores are presented on mass. At times it can be confusing if no clear winner was apparent as each judge gives their score of where each dance should rank, but The England Team were clearly World Champions, receiving 5 first places from the 7 judges. The first World Title for the England Team and a very proud moment for all the Team and supporters as the national anthem played and the flag rose whilst the team were on the podium.
The success continued, Zac having just danced with the junior group performing again and securing England’s second medal of the championships, this time silver.
The adult dancers must have been feeling the pressure to continue the success in their rounds of the completion on the Saturday which continued at a great pace the 3 male soloists – Luke Dowling, Alastair Crosswell and Jack Evans all qualified for the semi’s with Luke reaching the finals. All 3 small groups then qualified for the semis with the Boys group and Girls A both reaching the finals. Lauren Gore also qualified for the finals of female competition as did both duets.
The Saturday evening of the World Championships is a very special part of the week, with the arena full of spectators from around the world. The evening opened with a presentation of the nations with all dancers parading the arena in team tracksuits as each country is announced.
This was the most successful year for England to date with every section they had entered being represented in the final – adult female solo, adult male solo, adult duo’s, adult small groups and adult formations. The dancers had exceeded all expectations, with the final results announced as follows:
Lauren Gore – Bronze medal (3rd place), Luke Dowling – 5th place, Adult Duo’s – Keith Henderson + Jack Evans – Gold medal (1st place), Adina Nyahwa + Zac Watts – Bronze medal (3rd place), Adult small Groups – Boys – silver medal (2nd place), Girls A – 5th place, Adult formation – Silver medal (2nd place).
This has been a truly great year for these exceptional young dancers. They have demonstrated the same quality as our English athletes and have shown true professionalism at a young age. The commitment and dedication must be commended at a time when many young people receive negative press.
And so onwards, the current company continue with performance work and preparations are underway for auditions for next years team, details can be found on their website.
This article originally appeared in the February 2011 edition of DancePlus Magazine
This article originally appeared in the February 2011 edition of DancePlus Magazine
