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Members of BYU's Ballroom Dance Company are taking time out of their busy schedule to perform several of their top routines. Internationally known for their excellence, they took first place in both the British Modern Formation and the Latin Formation Dance Championships at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, England. They competed against dance companies from China, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. The last time that BYU took first place in the Modern Formation Championships was in 2007. They also took first in 2004.
The full BYU Ballroom Dance Company, made up of the two formation teams, toured England and Scotland for two full weeks of performances.
"We have worked so hard, and felt the pressure of preparing," said Chelsie Nichols, one of the BYU dancers. According to artistic director Lee Wakefield, the company practices more than 180 hours for each routine they perform.
The BYU Modern Formation team performed a piece titled "Americana" directed by Wakefield and his wife, Linda. The dance was choreographed by two world-recornized dancers, Alain Doucet and Annik Jolicoeur, to music composed by Kurt Bestor.
The Latin Formation Team was also coached by the Wakefields and featured choreography by accomplished Latin dancers Michael Malitowski and Joanna Leunis, and Eugene Katsevan and Maria Manusova.
This year's Latin team was noted as an unusually cohesive, tight-knit group who clearly worked and danced in a seamless manner, as one integrated whole, according to the Wakefields.
The BYU team took the Latin trophy in 2004 and took second place in the Latin Formation in 2007.
Webpage at: http://pam.byu.edu/similarpage.asp?title=Ballroom%20Dance%20Company
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