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Can-Am Dancesport Gala - Canadian Open Professional Championships April 27-30, 2000 in Toronto by Nancy De Nino, London, Ontario ndinino@sprint.ca May, 2000 |
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For all you salsa and ballroom lovers out there...If you had the chance to attend or compete in the 2000 Can Am Dancesport Gala, I'm sure you would agree it was an EXPERIENCE! The dancers, the costumes, the make up, the judges., the emotions, heartbreaking failures -- all for this one event. Competitors of all ages, and levels from all over the world gather for Canada's largest Dancesport event. Being a salsa and ballroom dancer, I must admit that the level of dancing at Can-Am blew me away! It was fascinating to watch trained professionals turn dance into a mere art. Dancers competed in several different divisions including the following: American Style: American Smooth, consisting of Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango and Viennese Waltz. American Rhythm, consisting of Cha Cha, Rumba, East Coast Swing, Bolero and Mambo International Style: International Standard, consisting of Slow Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot and Quickstep. International Latin, consisting of Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive. Other divisions included Professional Show Routine, Cabaret, and Professional Rising Star. In the Latin division of American Rhythm and International Latin, professionals like Stephane Champagne and Manon Hurteau from Quebec, danced, whether it was mambo, cha-cha, samba, rumba, jive or paso doble. Each couple did there best to hypnotize the judges with the romance, rhythm and style of their dance. If you think they are fast on TV, think again! Their speed is unbelievably lightning-fast!!!!!! Each routine is cultivated to a mere image of perfection....and all left in the hands of the judges to decide otherwise. What I also found to be a highlight to watch was the Professional Show-Routine and Professional Cabaret Categories where David Howland and Vivienne Ramsey of North Carolina took 1st place in both categories. Although there are many divisions, here are the results for the Open Professional International Latin Division: 1st - Louis
Van Amstel, Karyna Smiroff - New York 2nd - Stephane
Champagne, Manon Hurteau - Quebec 3rd - Andrew
Phillips, Annette Nicole - New York 4th - Christian
Perry Aleksandra - New York 5th - Bill
Linde, Lene Jefferson - Denmark 6th - Claude Crevier, Kathy McCraw - Quebec
It was a disappointment not to see my favourite dance couples in this competition -- Gary and Diana McDonald from the U.S. who specialize in International Latin and Smooth Divisions and have won 10-Dance Championships in the past; as well as Bob Powers and Julia Gorchakowa of the U.S., undefeated in the American Rhythm division for the last five years. If you ever get the chance to see Bob and Julia perform, they bring a whole new flavor to the Latin dances -- especially the Mambo and the Cha Cha. Their speed is incredible—Bob with his slick latin flavor coo's and mesmerizes Julia romantically through the dance. Her body is pure energy, fire and she can move her bones like resonating liquid. You spend a lot of your time figuring out how she moves the way she does!!!! If you missed this spectacular event, there's more to come this year......including "DANCESPORT MONTREAL COMPETITION" , June 29-July 1, 2000 by Pierre Allaire & Mireille Veilleux. As well, there is the infamous, "Ohio Star Ball Dance Championships" in Columbus, Ohio November 14-19, 2000. If you have any questions you can email me at ndinino@sprint.ca In the meantime, keep dancin' fellow salsa and ballroom lovers..... Nancy the Salsaqueen Note: Here are the best photos taken at the Can-Am Dancesport Championships. The dancing was so lightening fast, that many of my pictures came out in a blur. International Latin Division
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