© Jeremy Hoare Some useful websites... www.la-escuela-de-baile.co.uk www.spanishdancesociety.org www.vivaespanashows.com www.dance-london.co.uk Escuela de Baile is moving to new premises in Chalk Farm and their intensive Easter course will be held at the Urdang Academy. Carole Edrich reviews

Between March 16th and 18th, the Spanish property and lifestyle exhibition Viva España hosted a Strictly Come Spanish Dancing competition...

Competitors had three minutes to demonstrate their skills to Vera King of the Peña Flamenca de Londres and Sherrill Wexler of the Spanish Dance Society. They judged three heats every day and were joined by Brendan Cole of the BBC’s Strictly Come dancing on Sunday for one semi final and the finals. Wexler said “When we discussed the entries with Brendon he either agreed with us or said clearly that the dancing did nothing for him. On the whole we all agreed and he appreciated that everyone was doing their best.”

The essence of flamenco is performance to live music. The dancer communicates with the musicians, sets the tempo and calls for changes from one movement to the next. There is so much flexibility and so many ways to interpret a [a href=”http://www.caroleedrich.com/lexicon.htm#Palos”]palos[/a] that it’s very difficult to know what might be required in advance. Angus Cruickshank, guitarist for Escuela de Baile and one of four musicians at the event said “Playing for the competitors is a big responsibility. There’s not enough time to rehearse and you’re living on the edge. You don’t really know what each person is expecting or what is required and unless they’re really good you can’t follow them. They’re depending on you. You try so hard to produce music that will support them and really don’t want to let them down. In a way it was easier for the people who danced to a CD. At least that meant the dancers were performing from a level pitch and that it’s not the live music that has thrown the dancer.”

Sandra Rapacioli danced flamenco tango to win the under 5 year’s experience category and a free intensive Easter course with Escuela de Baile. Isodaora Peric’s Bulerías por Solea won the category for dancers with over 5 years of experience and a free course with the Spanish Dance Society. As the overall winner Peric also received a holiday for two in Spain.

The judges and organiser enjoyed the event; “Although each day was very long for us, Vera and I had a lot of fun and it was particularly rewarding when we saw the fruits of our work at the finals” said Wexler. Nuria Garcia added “The worst part of it was seeing people getting knocked out in the heats. Whoever it was, it was heart breaking. I felt for them all.”

Nuria Garcia, head of Escuela de Baile said “I was really happy with the professional show. Katherine and Oliver Griffin danced really well and so did the chorus of students from the school” Ms Wexler agreed “The professional performances started off very well on Friday and got better every day.” The chorus comprised Amanda, Anneka, Daniela, Eri, Natalie, Sarita, Susie, Suzanne, Vicky and Yumiko. Musicians were Angus Cruickshank, Mark Brown, Ulyses Dias and Fernando de Sevilla (also known by the more geographically correct stage name Fernando de Tottenham).

In the adjoining hall, Move-It (the UK's biggest dance exhibition) brought together a wide variety of dance styles, stalls and expertise under one roof for three jam-packed days. Although the audiences were completely different it was clear that everyone loved the flamenco competition and show. David Domoney from GMTV was the perfect compere and Ms Garcia worked hard behind the scenes. Angus Cruickshank, one of the four musicians said “David Domoney was brilliant. He covered everything seamlessly, made everyone feel relaxed, had an easy, friendly banter going on with us in the band. Wexler added “He was so professional and even made sure that he had the pronunciation of the different dances and competitors names right.”

The day’s show combined the competition with a professional show and it was clear that everyone enjoyed both. A significant number of audience members became very involved and returned each day to watch the competition develop. The venue is enormous as befits the largest Spanish property and lifestyle event in Europe. You could find your Spanish dream-house, a great golf course, a sumptuous spa, pick up some tapas and a drink, pop over to Move-It and learn a new dance, then come back and watch the flamenco all in a day. With any luck this will be the first of an annual series. As more people enter it should become even more fun, interesting and difficult for the judges.