Follow me Around Blackpool 2025 - Part 3 By Jack Reavely

The history of the Blackpool Dance Festival includes superb Team Matches which brought the audiences to their feet, and the bars were empty as everyone had dashed into the Empress Ballroom to get their seat or find a place, from where they could see the entire proceedings.

The superb gladiators of dance were sizzling with she relish and the anticipation of dancing on the floor to excite the audience was filling the air, all around the couples, from the four teams which were in fact fulfilling their destiny by being part of this magnificent historical dance show of shows.

Within the years of team matches, there have been many differences during the traditional walk round, which each team does and the team captains walk with pride and fervour too as their facial expressions show their undoubted thrilling feeling that battle is due.

The adjudicators were Sascha Karabey, Kota Shoji and Donna Shingler, and the team captains were Great Britain John Byrnes, USA Karina Smirnoff, Europe Melinda Skufcatorokgyorgy, and the  rest of the world, Roxie Jin Chen.

A more academic walk around this year, was much more sophisticated than were some of the showbiz ones of years gone by, and there was in the past, some thoughts that there has been a move into thoughts that the over the top presentations may well have diluted the main objective, to present ballroom and Latin dance, as an artistic rhythmical time, of impeccable good taste fit for a King and a Queen to regard as something of a great appeal.

The craving for dance, dance and more dance is being fed by this event and it was simply stunning to see them all, and consider the different nuances that were so succulently presented.

For my eyes and ears, there was a tango performance from Dusan Dragovic and Valeria which did not allow my eyes and ears to stray away from their performance in that dance.

There was an aura around the man which sent a signal that he was the commander in chief of an army of great dancers and he would devastate the enemy, by leading his troops to a victory and his Lady of dance absorbed his leads and his fabulous look of dwelling and freezing on the slows so as to produce a frozen second of chosen slow steps. Isn't it so very fascinating.

The judges looked as if they had just won both the British Open Professional Ballroom and also Latin Championships as they knew that recognition was there as they walked to the floor.

Kyle Taylor had, only some days prior to the festival, announced his retiral from competitions as with his lovely partner Alisa Margolis, they were moving onwards to other spheres of dance. They took to the floor after a lovely letter from them had been read out by Robert Bellinger, and danced their very last dance, within a competitive atmosphere, which of course brings tears to the eyes and the dance world wishes them well.

As I sit at my typewriter it seems impossible for my mind not to travel back in time, and that is exactly what has just happened. I find myself within the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool for the Junior Festival of 1976 and realise just how important this festival is, and still is, as it nurtures couples, or individuals, who will go on to become leaders of the competitive scene in years to come. 1976 revealed items of great interest, so I allow my mind to float backwards and I sit, pen and paper in my hand, ready to evaluate the Junior dancers of that Festival.

At that festival, Madame Ilett the organiser, suddenly revealed that The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester would visit the ballroom, to see the dancing for a short time. Everyone was warned to be on best behaviour and to look smart and sophisticated and for sure nobody didn't look the part, and when the Royal couple appeared, they walked round and spoke to some of the participants… Gosh-a-Golly… how about Prince William and Princess Kate? Could they arrive? On re-reading my article, at that time, it was clear that terrific talent would be revealed and as an example of that aspect now ultra famed Marcus Hilton was competing, with a young Lady of dance called Janet Wild, and there was a simply gorgeous personality emanating from young Marcus, as he flashed round the dancefloor and his naturality of the production of Quickstep was mesmeric and he showed so much promise. In the North of England Ballroom Championship, the winners were Michael Corrighan with Adele Preston and yes that is the same young Lady we all know so well as a superb exponent and she is married to that great exponent, Hide Tanaka. Marcus and Janet were third, and David Fleet dancing with none other than the fantastic exponent of dance was Shirley Rich whom we now know as Shirley Ballas and she proved at that early age time, to have the most amazing abilities in dance, so never underestimate the knowledge those you see judging you have at their disposal. I remember vividly Marcus in Quickstep, especially as I did see him using a heel lead on a forward locks last step, but his enthusiasm and his talent were mesmeric.

One of my remarks on Shirley were that she would not just be good but would be much more than that, and she would be very good and very soon to as all ingredients necessary showed through and she simply lived to dance and dance… She still does. Andrew Sinkinson – Kate Jones, perhaps future champions as they really only require time and application. The junior Latin championship and I saw for this the first time a young lady dance and she transmitted, with her then partner, Philip Webb and her name was Karen Johnston, and they came into 4th position with a performance which left spectators gasping with astonishment at the sheer brilliant of this girl’s personality projection which left many gasping with pleasure at the brilliance of this girl’s personality. I cannot recall a girl with so much dynamic appeal for years. She sometimes looked as if she was on the stage, at a cabaret show and rolled her shoulders and body with complete abandon, to the delight of many and the consternation of others.

Marcus and Janet won that Junior Open Latin Championship to great applause. I am led to understand that as the downstairs aquarium was rather dark for many, young Karen knew not just where it was but who was there and that is where she had no chance whatsoever of escaping young Marcus and why should she have… the partnership was eventually cemented and we had two of the Icons of Dance who are magnificent holders of so many Championships in both Latin and ballroom… Lucky young Marcus… Just send me a fiver Marcus, to assist overheads, or I will rejuvenate and have a dance with Karen… In the Latin my notes revealed Shirley Rich (Ballas) she is a terrific and reminiscent of a really top class present day professional girl, now guess which one… I can almost smell the past, as it flows inside my memory, and I hope that the notes written will bring pictures into your mental recollections.

The Junior couples mentioned were all possessors of sporadic brilliance, which was interspersed within their entire life in dance, with the use of subtle undertones and understatement, which is a sign of real royal class. They throw away over complexity, as if it was the norm, and they will, for the rest of their lives remember the Blackpool Dance Festival, Junior style, as if it was held yesterday… me too.

Within the world outside our world of dance, the convention of the way so many dress in today's fashions, seems to me to be “if it fits, bring it back”. So it is wonderful to see, in dancers, and in the competitive sphere such lovely sartorial elegance… the age of Fred and Ginger is still with us… Hooray.

I recently saw an advertisement from many years ago, for Fry’s Chocolate and the words were so relevant for everyone and were as follows:

Desperation, Pacification, Expectation, Acclamation, Realisation.

I can add thoughts from a couple dancing “wow, we are through to the next round at Blackpool… Heaven can't be much better than this.”

Quality is difficult to acquire, but made simpler by application, and there are no shortcuts to obtaining it but, when acquired, it displays a refined sophistication and in my opinion it is not an egg spoon race.