Britrock The Aftermath

[Minnie M]

Actually it is only half way through - still got the finals. I nipped home to see Stictly (cors I can)

Lovely to see Mrs. Jive Addiction (Marianne) in the Seniors (she looks really good for a senior)

Simon & Nicole did a fab Showcase (I am sure they will win that)

Change of judges and no West Coast Swing (no entrants apparently)

Will report back when I come in tonight - unless Andy McGregor gets on here first.

[Minnie M]

Hopefully Andy McGregor will correct my mistakes and fill in the gaps:

Showcase
1st Simon & Nicole
2nd David & Anita
3rd John & Debbie Paul (I think)

Open
1st Simon & Nicole
2nd David & Anita
3rd Alex (looks a bit like DTS) & Debbie (I think)

No Advance

Intermediate
1st Alan & Sandra
2nd Matt (with spikey hair)
3rd Simon Hastings & Jade

DWAS
1st Simon & Alina
2nd Dwain & Debbie Paul
3rd ?

Seniors
1st Diane & ?
2nd Marianne Armstrong-Jones & ? (and she looked fab)
3rd ?


Hotshots
1st Steve & Sophie (for Brighton LeRoc)
2nd Dwain & Jo
3rd Simon Hastings & Jade

and THE PIRATES from Northampton won the Team Category

[Minnie M]

whooops I forgot ............. Young 4th old Kate won newcomer of the year

This pretty little girl stole the show, especially with those large headphones on.

AND.......... it was lovely to see Jane Goodman (on a flying visit from Oz)

[ElaineB]

Me and 'Im weren' there, but we always loved this competition. Many congratuations to all the competitors.

Elaine

[Minnie M]

Me and 'Im weren' there, but we always loved this competition. Many congratuations to all the competitors.

Elaine

And you were well missed - don't get to see you guys much

Lots of faces missing (especially yours) but it was really well attended, taking into account the two big dance weekenders.

Change of some of the advertised judges, but AFAIK all new BritRock judges

• Viktor
• Simon Boreland
• Carole Haines
• Christine Keeble
• Graham LeClerc

Sally (DJ Bunny) played a fantastic set and her choice of music was IMO perfect for the competitors

Gordon was brilliant as the MC

Andy McG looked extremely handsome in his shiney jacket and he and his team did a great job (especially Phil Gibbons)

Lovely seeing Tony & Angelina Murphy and bump

Also great to see Mr & Mrs Armstrong-Jones (their first time to BritRock)

The only thing I wasn't keen on was the band if we are going to have a band (and do we) at these events, bring back the Jive Aces

Well done Sarah Johnson & Gordon Pownall and their merry team for a great event

PS: I really really missed David & Lily Barker - this must be the first time they haven't judged - but with Lily being away and the WCS category cancelled

[Yliander]

Minne thanks for the update!!! - was gutted not to be able to be there!! and doubly so to have missed seeing Simon & Nicole performaing agian.

sounds like fab day - can't wait to see the DVD!!

[rubyred]

Huge congratulations to everyone who entered and well done to the winners. In particular my friends Diane and Trevor who won the Seniors, well done [ I have text them today as they are not on the forum]. Lovely lovely people

Thank you Minni M for the update

[Mary]

I went along to Britrock to watch this year - it's so lovely to able to relax and watch other people - far less exhausting day.

There were some real highlights for me. The Pirates of the Dance team cabaret. I am guessing that Lynne Pearson choreographed that - brilliant work. Loved the whole routine and some great ideas in there. Nothing over-complicated but a real class act. Also loved Kari and co. doing their version of double trouble - real entertainment and pure fun. And then there was Simon and Nicole. Awesome . Stunning performances in both Showcase and Open. Don't think I have ever seen anyone dance and perform quite like ever before in the MJ world, and they looked soooo relaxed and happy. Yes, they are my friends, but I have seen them dance and perform many times but this time they took my breath away.

Was also very pleased to see Alan and Sandra compete together and a well-deserved win.

M

[Northants Girly]

The Pirates of the Dance team cabaret. I am guessing that Lynne Pearson choreographed that - brilliant work. Loved the whole routine and some great ideas in there.

Maybe there weren't from Northampton then as MM suggested ?? as Lynne is in Nottingham.

[Minnie M]

Maybe there weren't from Northampton then as MM suggested ?? as Lynne is in Nottingham.

whoops sorry, it was only a guess

[Andy McGregor]

I loved it all, but if I was running it a change I'd make would be to drop the band on the Friday and Saturday. Having said that, it might be that there is a place for live music, just different live music.

The other change I'd make would be to re-introduce the Advanced Category. It's a big leap from Intermediate to Open and there really needs to be somewhere for amateurs to compete once they've stopped being novices but don't want to go up against the professionals.

Overall, I think that this Britrock was the smoothest event ever. From my point of view it seemed to run without any problems at all. Here's a very different picture of how I spent most of my day. Most of those coffees had gone cold before I got time to drink them!

[Minnie M]

...............Andy McG looked extremely handsome in his shiney jacket ...........

Andy must be very tired not to pick up on the above comment

...............he and his team did a great job ...........

Andy did work very hard all day, don't think I even saw him dancing (and that is very unusual)

Could you fill in the gaps of the winners/placings please Andy

[johnah]

There were some real highlights for me. The Pirates of the Dance team cabaret. I am guessing that Lynne Pearson choreographed that - brilliant work. Loved the whole routine and some great ideas in there. Nothing over-complicated but a real class act. M

The Pirates team were indeed from Nottingham, choreographed by Lynne and Mariane Armstrong-Holmes.

[johnah]

Seniors
1st Diane & ?
2nd Marianne Armstrong-Jones & ? (and she looked fab)
3rd ?

1st Diane Dench & Trevor Fisk
2nd Mariane Armstrong-Holmes & Kevin Bartlett [and yes she looked fab]

[johnah]

What a wonderful event Britrock was, well organised by a wonderful crew. Congratulations to Sarah and her team and to all the competitors and dancers. We look forward to returning next year.

[Minnie M]

1st Diane Dench & Trevor Fisk
2nd Mariane Armstrong-Holmes & Kevin Bartlett [and yes she looked fab]

My apologies for spelling your name wrong (don't know where I got the Jones bit from)

[johnah]

My apologies for spelling your name wrong (don't know where I got the Jones bit from)

It happens... lovely to see you there Minnie.

[jive-vee]

I missed the Pirates Routine the first time around but was sat right in front of the judges table when they performed again after winning - wow, I was really impressed - it looked fab I loved seeing Simon and Nicole performing again - they looked like they were having a blast and made it all look so effortless, and Nicole's outfit for their showcase was stunning.

Overall I had a great weekend. As others have said I could've done without the band - especially on the Sat, it got to 11pm and I had some great freestyle dances with lots of fab people then the band kicks in again and I could feel my mood drop slightly. It also seemed to be the same set I'd heard on Friday. As a competition is already very stop/start for freestyle, due to various heats taking place, my personal choice would be to lose the band on the Saturday night. I would much rather have a DJ build and create a mood on the Saturday evening then have this interupted again by a band.

I was very impressed with the smooth running of Britrock and that you could pretty much rely on the timings stated on the programme . I really, really enjoyed seeing my friends - new and old - compete and do so well and I also enjoyed watching the other competitors, overall the standard seemed high. I'd also agree with there being a need for an advanced category - there seemed to be enough - both in number and quality - in the intermediate category to warrant an intermediate and advanced comp. I also liked the fact that in the DWAS comp you had the chance to have a bit of freestyle practise with your partner to get used to dancing with them. I had two lovely partners, made it to the semis and actually enjoyed doing it this time. Had a blast dancing to the second track - a dancey version of Don't Cha with my DWAS partner Ben.

Well done to all and thanks for a great weekend.

[Vegetable]

dani's showcase came 3rd

[Sparkles]

What was the "Hotshots" category? Please will someone explain it to me?

Well done to everyone who took part this year, sounds like it was a great event.