German Dance Cup 2019- a review from a competitor, friend and supporter
It`s getting hot in here…. as in previous years, whenever the German Dance Cup opens its doors it is so, so hot in Germany. Nevertheless, the new event director team, Marina Krüger, Slavi Baralic, Kathi Bittner and Alex Balzer can draw the line after a successful German Dance Cup 2019:
After a one-year-break, Marina Krüger found three new partners to run the event with her. The goal for Marina was to step back, allow her younger colleagues to take the lead, and make sure that the German Dance Cup continues as an official UCWDC qualifier event. The influence of the new event directors was visible; they managed to find an affordable hotel that was close enough after the last hotel cancelled the deal with the German Dance Cup in 2017. We had a huge dance floor and as far as I can tell from my experience at other European events, it was the biggest dance floor in Europe so far.
However, for us competitors it was a challenge to plan, as we did not know, if the German Dance Cup would continue until after February. Everyone was happy when the new event director team announced that we would have an event this year in Germany. Nevertheless, the time frame to prepare was more than challenging, for the event itself as well as for the competitors.
The outcome is nothing to be ashamed of: 130 contestants from three continents showed the results of their hard work and training. Guests from the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Croatia, the US and Malaysia danced next to each other and had a lot of fun on the dance floor. An extra highlight for all the guests was the team Supermoms from Malaysia. Language was no barrier as everyone spoke the language DANCE.
The support from the line dance family was amazing and we all felt as we are working hand in hand: acting superstar male world champion Marlon Ronkes was the MC for the WHOLE weekend and even gave a little singing performance. Tommy Weafer was the perfect DJ and kept everyone dancing until we saw many shoes not on the feet but lying next to the dance floor. He never got tired to count us all in and make sure we did not dance off beat. The judges Stephanie Smeers, Shaun Parr, Ann Cunningham, Joanne Wong and last but sure not least Clive Eaton-Stevens spread such a positive atmosphere that allowed for no nervousness. Even those contestants who competed for the first time and do not speak English, like my sister, were relaxed. The scoring luminary Ed von Adelung worked hard all weekend long and next to this taught the new event team a lot. He also found the time to chat with us Germans and share a joke here and there. Superstar Shauni Dankers did an outstanding job choreographing a 50s show for the Saturday night party which led to standing ovations. Most of us could have watched the show for the whole night. Superstar Rebecca Lee was an amazing addition to the team and supported the primaries during their first competition ever. It was so cute to watch the little ones perform especially with the encouragement Rebecca gave them.
The international support was very special but the support from the German Line Dance community was out of this world. The president of the Federal Country Western Committee, BfCW e.V., Josip Miolcic took a seven-hour journey from Munich to support the German Dance Cup, contestants from all over Germany came together and offered their help with the floor, live stream, decorating, cleaning…with everything. The involvement of Germany’s biggest line dance club, Linedance4all e.V., helped a lot. With over 230 club members, me being one of them, there were so many people available to support. Not only offered the Linedance4all e.V. help but also provided many competitors. The biggest team with 35(!!!) team members from the Linedance4all e.V. filled the big floor completely.
Superstar Shaun Parr turned in a true star during the preparation for the German Dance Cup. Not only did he contribute as a judge, danced in the Superstar show but also offered his advice and shared his knowledge with the new German Dance Cup whenever needed. The collaboration between the German Dance Cup team and the Let’s dance team was exemplary.
Two days prior the event we found out that there have been some health issues for Marina and that she could not attend the German Dance Cup. Therefore, the new team was on its own and we saw Slavi and Alex running, rushing but besides that no one really noticed any challenges. For the competitors, spectators and guests everything ran smoothly and very professional. It was until after the German Dance Cup that they shared a couple of stories with us and we were really amazed how they handled every challenge and found a fix for every problem.
All in all the German Dance Cup event directors can look back at a successful event and I know that they are already busy preparing for next year. From the 28th to the 30th of August 2020, the German Dance Cup will again open its doors and let’s see how hot it will get in 2020.
For further information visit www.thegermandancecup.com
(written by Ulli Esser)
