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SA Open DanceSport Championships 2011
July 2011

The SA Open DanceSport Championships have created a lot of buzz in Adelaide and it was great to see a number of Interstate couples as well as one couple from Ireland (they must have taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque).

No, seriously, Julian Tocker and our very own Annalisa Zoanetti are an International couple representing Ireland and put on a spectacular show for all.

Having recently placed in the top 48 in Blackpool (out of 401 couples) and making the quarter final in the recent WDSF Grand Slam in China, they used the short stay in Adelaide to teach at The Emprio and compete at the SA Open.

They are off to New Zealand to compete at the New Zealand National Championships before heading off to London to compete at the International Championships. (Stop press – Annalisa & Julian won the New Zealand Championships!)

Now you will notice the high quality photos in this article. This is because Brett Cousins was kind enough to supply these. I had equipment failure on the day and couldn’t take any pictures. Many thanks to Brett for coming to the rescue. For those of you that wish to purchase any photos, head to Brett’s web site and support his efforts by ordering some photos!

There was room in the venue for more spectators and it would have been nice to get a few more people in the door. Bigger crowds make for better atmosphere.

Having said that, Team Emporio had a strong field of competitors and definitely to most vocal support crew – you guys rock!

There were a total of 18 Emporio couples as well as social & Pro/AM competitors from the studio – great show of strengths.

   Gee & Lauren  

There were too many placing to list here, but we will list the couples that placed first in one or more of their events:

James Virgo & Rachel Lloyd
Cale Amos & Monique Pisanello
Aiden Minshaw & Bianca Lazar
Clint Fiedler & Leanne Tassone
Camron Little & Cherisse (Taylah) Smith

Tony Romano & Cathy Caputo

Brenton Hillard & Karen Bollenhagen

Michael Winnick & Anna Kopeiken

Stephen Carthew & Julie Bennet

Julian Tocker & Annalisa Zoanetti

Also on the winner’s podium were:

Frank Moriarty (Pro/AM New Vogue Masters)
Michelle Williams (Bronze & Below Latin)

This was the first outing for the partnership of Aiden & Bianca and they clearly showed that they are ready to mix it with the best.

Clint and Leanne had an excellent competition, elevating to Level 3 in Latin by taking out both the Adult Level 2 & Level 3 event!

A first for these two as well, as this was their first attempt at the Adult Open Latin & Open Standard. Congratulations on your excellent results.

James & Rachel are a partnership that showed fantastic progress and we look forward to seeing more of them. They placed first in Level 1 Standard.

It was good to see Michael & Anna compete, Michael having to make the long trip from Canberra after recently relocating there for career reasons. They took out the Adult Level 2&1 Standard and the Adult Level 1 Latin.

Cale & Monique had to pull out all the stops, being a little smaller in statue compared to some of the other couples. They showed true greatness isn’t measured in cm and placed first in Level 1 Latin and in the Level 2&1 New Vogue.

Camron & Cherisse (Taylah) took out the Junior Level 1 Standard and put in a strong performance in the Latin & New Vogue. A tall elegant look certainly helps.

Brenton & Karen were delighted to take out the Masters I Level 4 event. Having had great success interstate, they always had mixed results here in Adelaide. This was a great win for them and will surely inspire them to reach greater heights.

Stephen & Julie took out the Masters II Level 2&1 Latin and New Vogue events.

Tony & Cathy continued their excellent form, winning the Masters I Level 5 and Masters I Open Latin.

They just recently placed third in their first outing in Canberra, a great result, given that Canberra was Cathy’s first competition!

It was great to see more Masters I couples in the Latin for a change, with a total of six couples taking to the floor.

One point of interest was that the Masters I Open Latin was singled out as the only event in the Adult/Masters I&II/Pro field not to receive any prize money. Read into that what you wish, it certainly had nothing to do with competitor numbers, as there were 6 couples in the Master I Open Latin final.

Julian & Annalisa clearly stole the show on the day, creating an electrifying atmosphere with their speed, energy and precision.

It was a joy to watch and inspiring for all the Emporio couples. In Adelaide, we don’t get to see dancing at this level very often.

Needless to say they won the Adult Level 5 and Adult Open Latin. Great show!

 Brenton & Giselle

Congratulations to all who danced and on your excellent results.

For a complete list of results check the SA Open website.

Check out Brett Cousins photos here for more photos. 

Chris Gruber