Competing Internationally - Directors Cut!
It was an absolute pleasure for our dancers to be invited to compete internationally in Latin American dance last year! Below – enjoy a recap of Theresa, our director’s experience of the competition in Melbourne.
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The lead up to any competition is really hard work, especially at national or international standard. There are not only lessons to attend, but hours of practicing, breaking in new shoes, keeping fit outside of class (I was constantly going for runs or to Pilates classes), stretching, costume edits, makeup kit to update, hair pieces to make and more.
I chose to update my costume for this competition – I had fallen in love with a gorgeous designer dress I had seen online, so took it upon myself to use it as inspiration for my own garment. I spent hours gluing on 1000s of rhinestones and larger gemstones, adjusting layers of fringe trim and searching online to find the perfect headpiece to match it all. As my teacher told me - “you can never have too much bling”.
A few weeks out there was a local competition in Auckland, which my teacher advised those competing internationally to use as a ‘warm up’. I finally got to wear the gorgeous outfit I’d spent so long on, see if my hours of practice and efforts were paying off, and have an opportunity to practice calming my nerves before going onto the floor with tough competition. I was so pleased to come away from the competition with a 1 st place in the rumba!
The day to fly finally came, so I got my suitcase packed (half of which was makeup!), dropped off costumes for dancers performing for Event Flair back home, and enjoyed a final walk with my dog. I arrived in Melbourne in the early evening, staying with a group of other dancers from my school at a local Airbnb. We chose well; our place was a gorgeous vintage villa, complete with high ceilings and a brand new kitchen - stunning!
Despite comfortable accommodation, unfortunately my sleep was minimal. In a way I was glad – it meant I was ready for my 5am wake up call for hair/makeup! We left the house at 6.45am, ready for a full day of doing what we loved.
On arrival at the venue, we joined the line to get inside. You could tell who was there for the competition by the posture alone – everyone stood and moved beautifully. I could see that many of the people there had gotten ready early like myself – I enjoyed seeing all the gorgeous makeup, carefully curated hair waves and not a strand out of place.
The venue entryway was beautiful – floor to ceiling glass doors, stalls for dance schools, makeup and rhinestone encrusted jewellery for sale. There were two photo areas (for hopefully a post floor victory), and the rest of the space filled with dancers marking through movements, touching up makeup and greeting each other before starting the day.
We found our table inside, which fortunately for us was right on the edge of the floor. The set up was magical – soft lighting, beautiful florals on each table, and a gorgeous big dancefloor.
The marshal area (where you gather before going onto the dancefloor) was military like – a tight ship had to be run to keep everyone on schedule. Competitions move fast – if you miss your allocated time, they will not wait for you – so everyone was happy to oblige. In New Zealand our heats are small, but at this competition, I was competing against 24 at a time, from all across NZ and Australia. It was exciting to see familiar and unfamiliar faces in the line, and feel the energy of the room.
Once called onto the floor there was no time to think, the dancing went by in a blur. Judges’results were quick – delivered via a website - so we knew minutes after dancing how we’d performed. To my delight, I had made it to the semi finals, and would need to be ready to dance again that afternoon.
I took a quick victory break to the town center to grab a coffee and to enjoy Melbourne’s beautiful shopping district, all whilst trying to hide my rival NZ accent(!). Everyone and everything was so friendly and easy, making the humid heat a bit more bearable!
I made my way back to the venue, got dressed and ready for the same militant routine before returning to the floor - this time more familiar and with reduced numbers. My time on the floor flew by again, and I eagerly ran back to my seat to check the judges results on the website. Refresh, refresh, refresh…. and finally – I’d made the finals, the top 8! I ran to tell my teacher, hands shaking.
Another longer break was had before the finals heat, we didn’t dance until 10.30/11pm at night! Luckily, I had adrenaline on my side, and stayed well awake for my performance and to receive my medal, enjoying a photo in front of the photobooths I’d eyed up earlier in the day. Another dancer in the foyer kindly offered to take my photo, making sure I got all the angles, landing me the perfect Instagram shot
The rest of my time in Melbourne was spent soaking up all the art and culture that I could. I saw stage shows, ate at beautiful places, visited local markets, attended classes taught by people I had admired and followed for years, and lived my dream life like a local. It was bittersweet to come home, but I had to be on stage a week later for Event Flair – what a life to live Thank you so much for all of those who made this trip happen – until next time.