On Sunday 26th March, we competed at the J2Dance competition in Nottingham. Once again we had a big team with us, 22 competitors plus parents and grandparents! One of the biggest dance schools in attendance by far, and definitely the loudest.
Whilst some stayed the night before in hotels, others travelled up on the day. It’s always an early start on comp day but this time the clocks going forward an hour made it sting that little bit more. Nevertheless, the FineSteps Team were up and about bright and early. Nikki particularly enjoyed having Molly and Ruby sat on her living room floor laughing hysterically at Instagram videos at 5.30 am whilst Helen did her hair! Thankfully they were quieter in the car until Britney Spears came on the radio.
After a quick pit stop at the services, for Costa of course, we arrived at the venue, ready to get out on the dance floor.
Ballroom
The day started out with the Ballroom couples dances. First up was our newest additions to the competition team, a brother and sister duo, dancing in the under 6 category. They both looked adorable and danced absolutely fantastically! Next up were our more experienced competitors. The couples dances allowed us teachers to watch and take notes. Let’s just say we’ll be working on floor craft before Blackpool! Finally, it was time for the individual dances, lots of Quicksteps and Tangos. In the under-12 category, we had 8 dancers! Yes 8, so we had to rope in Ruby and Ellis to do some partnering too, who both did an excellent job by the way. With 22 competitors we didn’t get much rest so we were glad for a break when the Ballroom was over.
Ballroom Results
We had a fantastic set of Ballroom results coming away with 7 in first place! We also had four in 2nd, four in 3rd, seven in 4th, four in 5th, two in 6th and one in 7th. Not to mention Team FineSteps took 1st and 2nd place in the under 12s couples Tango and 12-13 couples Quickstep!
Latin
Time for a quick photo, a quick change and a bite to eat before moving on to the Latin dances. Our youngest competitor took it upon herself to remind one of our 12-year-olds that she needed to have straight legs whilst she was practising. A dance teacher in the making? Possibly the best moment of the day was the under 12’s couples samba when two of our girls surprised us all with some fantastic faces! It was absolutely brilliant and got everyone cheering! One of our students found out that leaving your inhaler at home on competition day is not a good idea, especially when you’ve got Jive. At least they made the final! Next up individual dances. Mostly Rumbas, with a few Cha Chas and Jives thrown in the mix too. Soon enough the day was done and it was time for Latin results.
Latin Results
Our Latin results were also brilliant with eight in 1st, four in 2nd, one in 3rd, five in 4th, two in 5th and one in 6th. Again Team FineSteps rocked the world by taking 1st and 2nd place in the 12-13 couples Jive.
A massive congratulations to Ellis for taking 1st place in all six of his categories across the day!
Overview
There is something magical about competition day, it’s almost hard to describe, a feeling that you don’t feel on any other occasion. But this time it was almost amplified by seeing it all through the eyes of our newest and youngest competitors. That immense joy that radiated from them all day long, that’s what makes it all worth it. Have a look at our photo highlights to see all the best moments of the day.
We are so proud of all our students, not only because they danced so well but because they all supported and cheered for one another. In fact, we’ve received compliments from some of the judges and other dance schools in attendance about our dancers, which fills us with even more pride.
Thanks, Mums, Dads, Grans, and Grandads for everything! We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did. Also, shoutout to Garry, a.k.a Mr FineSteps, for keeping us topped up with food and drink all day.
So another competition done. Next stop Blackpool!