Kiwi Classic Dance Competition - 2015 as told through American Eyes

Any doubt who the sponsor was?

I started this travelogue recounting my New Zealand experience sitting in the airport nearing midnight, weary and groggy with mounting multi-joint pain spawned from overuse, waiting for HA466 to fly me and dance teacher Yanna home after having competing in the Kiwi Classic Dance Competition in Auckland, New Zealand.

This was my third trip to New Zealand. I am very much fond of New Zealand and New Zealanders.  In fact, my trip last November gave me the opportunity to scout out the competition location, the elegant Langham Hotel. To be sure, the Langham was a perfect venue for this two day international dance competition, the smart rooms just a little smaller than expected, and an elevator ride and a 50 odd step transit hop to the “Great Room” which served - on the 18^th and 19^th of April, 2015 - as the competition ballroom.  As importantly, the bathrooms were very close (they worked overtime to serve me), located at the entrance foyer to the ballroom, where one vendor, Capezio…the major sponsor…was situated along with two “bars” serving snacks, sandwiches, tea, coffee and even wine and beer.  I’m assuming that the alcoholic refreshments were there for spectators and the fortunate competitors who completed their heats for the day and were relaxing and thawing out watching the hordes of remaining dancers take to the floor to prove their worth.   

One of four New Zealanders owns a boat

But my story starts a bit earlier.  We arrived two days before the competition to allow for one day of rest and a little site seeing.  By the time we left Auckland after enjoying two extra days at the tail end of our trip, we had ventured out to a decent number of places.  We got a chance to explore on foot, by cab, by ferry and by tour bus, some of the attractions that Auckland had to offer.  For example, a short ferry gave us the opportunity to experience a nice walk and some yummy chocolates in the coastal community of Devonport, a powerful elevator took us 2000 meters up the Sky Tower, and a cab drove us to the Auckland Museum where we enjoyed the very pleasant and child friendly venue, including a very well done Maori performance. But there was much more of Auckland that we experienced and we both loved it immensely. 

To satisfy our culinary cravings, we discovered two fine seafood restaurants on the two evenings preceding our departure where we enjoyed the local fish.  I had snapper both nights; the snapper in Auckland looked and tasted very much like our Hawaiian Opakapaka (AKA pink snapper), arguably my favorite fish in Hawaii.  It was also so fresh that the fish morsels flapped and “snapped” in my mouth….but maybe it was just the wine talking….ha ha…

Auckland is impeccably clean as witnessed by all of the land and ocean that we viewed.  Indeed, I did not see one smidgeon of refuse in the harbor area, on land, or anywhere in the deeper ocean despite the fact that we saw quite a lot of land and sea on our tourist outings.  There is no rational conclusion other than New Zealanders taking ownership of their country with a communal imperative to maintain their country clean and pristine and beautiful for themselves and to showcase it for the rest of the world.   Of course, it’s a little easier to do so in a relatively stable countrywide population that numbers less than half that of New York City. 

But the other aspect worth mentioning is the relative calm and informality of the people, who are agreeable, kind, friendly and approachable, but also helpful and sophisticated – definitely not snooty or aloof or arrogant. The city felt comfortable and calm and the streets were busy but not frenzied or crazed.  The people were never too much in a rush to do anything including serving you but overall that set the tone for a very enjoyable and relaxing experience as we ventured out to see Auckland and its neighboring areas.  Really, I could live in Auckland a very happy man!

Well I could go on about Auckland for much, much longer, but I’ll move on to competition so I won’t lose any more of my audience.

But before I do that, I want to make an unambiguous recommendation that any serious ballroom dance competitor from the US should attend and participate in at least one international dance competition at some point in their dance life.  I am pleased that my choice was the Kiwi Classic, and I recommend this HIGHLY as one really good choice to fulfill this Easa imperative!  But to put things truly into perspective, there were pluses and minuses.

At the Kiwi, the dance judges can stand in the center of the
ballroom to score the dance heats

Both days of dance competition were intense!  We had little time to do anything other than dance, watch others dancers, or wait interminably in anticipation of the next dance heat during two long days of competition. Yanna and I were in the ballroom the entire 18^th and 19^th competing in about 46 events, six of which were three dance events, with little to no time for a breather of relaxation and/or reflection.  For Saturday it was 11:30am till 9pm when we finally found our way out after conceding by scratching one dance heat, an uncontested Paso Doble that would have us sitting around until 11pm.  On Sunday, we were there from 9:30am to about 11:00pm (although we were able to somehow fashion a 3 hour break in between).  In retrospect, this was too grueling for an old man like me, and I’m still paying the price (one week later) with a swollen ankle and a teetering gait, re-injuring the bad left ankle that promises to shorten my dance career and a noxious reminder of the morbidity exacted on it from previous injuries.

I was only familiar with the American fashioned dance competition format of clustering of dance heats that focus on a single dance type, e.g. rhythm, smooth, Latin, and standard. But the approach taken at the Kiwi was to alternate and diversify the dances so that competitors would have the “opportunity” to observe dancers of all ages, dancing the full spectrum of dances. Youth would be dancing the waltz and the Masters (AKA as Senior) would follow with a jive or cha cha. You could never predict what dance would come next without the program (which by the way lacked heat times). But this sprawling format injected diversity and variety, creating intrigue, innovation and invigoration.  And there were so many new - New Vogue dances to observe in the comp with my American eyes that it was indeed a “treat and a privilege” to be in attendance. And the level of dance was excellent and a pleasure to watch.

As it turned out, ALL dance heats were unisex, which meant that men would not only be competing against men dancing with professional female partners but also competing against women dancing with their professional male partners.  But it was indeed more complicated that that because there were same sex dance heats as well.  At the Kiwi, there were more combinations of dancers and dances then you can shake a stick at!

In the end, the competition flowed unperturbed. Everyone seemed happy and accepting.  Moreover, they seemed sincerely joyed to have Americans in their midst (a truly unusual situation given the general disdain for Americans throughout the world), a competition regularly attended by Kiwis and Aussies that is just beginning to attract an American following (as it was, there were three American competitors there).  But we were truly welcomed. And the three American’s competing were the focus of much attention by many in the audience who wanted to learn what the American dance forms….smooth and rhythm…. were all about.  Yanna told me before we arrived that she expected the best smooth dances from me that I have ever performed and I really didn’t want to let her and myself down!  And I didn’t ….but not without some hiccups. 

Organizer Wendy Johnson and grandchild

I was happy with my results, NO, I was more than happy! And there were no freebees. Everyone that I competed against was a worthy competitor.  Lots of lady dancers, but only two gentlemen.  They were all skilled and gracious.  And, I was so very happy that I performed so well that I have even forgiven myself for the silly and unnecessary mistakes that I made in several heats over the two long days of competing.  

The Kiwi Classic turned out to be a wonderful experience.  Everyone that we encountered was kind and friendly and gracious and respectful.  That included organizers Candy Lane, Kingsley Gainsford, and Wendy Johnson.  So many dancers came up to Yanna to compliment her on everything…her looks, her dancing, her dress, etc.  And a few came up to me to congratulate me on my wins and to say nice things about my dancing.  The Kiwis and the Aussies were truly spectacular in their gracious behavior and I will never forget this wonderful and fulfilling experience, clearly one unforgettable highlight of my life. To come to a foreign country as an outsider and to leave with such fond memories is simply phenomenal. 

New Vogue

Just a few words about the New Vogue dance style we experienced in Auckland. From Wikipedia: The New Vogue dance style is an Australian form of sequence dancing that originated in the 1930s. All New Vogue dances are based on a sequence of dance steps, which are continually repeated, usually until the music ends. The sequences are always either 16 or 32 bars long, and require music that is in turn "sequenced" (composed of verses that are either 16 or 32 bars long)……..  And take notice of these colorful names: Tracie Leigh Waltz, Tango Terrific and Carousel, Fylde Waltz, La Bomba, Gypsy Tap, Charmaine, Barclay Blues, Lucille Waltz, and Swing Waltz.  Come and see them for yourself! 

Postscript.

I usually rush to the computer to unload my mind filled with experiences and thoughts immediately after any dance competition so that my blog gets uploaded within a day or so.  Not so this time.  As you can see, it’s been a week since the completion, and my foot is still swollen and painful and on ice, my walking cane is at my side as I complete the finishing touches to this blog.