This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Fred Astaire Southbury Brings Home the Gold Once Again

The strengths and talent of Team of Fred Astaire Southbury really shone through at the New England Regional Fred Astaire Dance Sport Championships, held at the Mystic Marriott the week of August 17, 2013.

"Our competition team is growing by leaps and bounds,"  said manager Christian Lange, who was ranked  among the top  three teachers of the New England Region at the Competition. With 450 Entries, Fred Astaire Southbury was one of the biggest studios represented at the Championships.

"We are one of the youngest Fred Astaire Studios in the New England Region," added manager Paulo Jorge, "and our excellence in teaching was evident in the results and medals our students brought home. Our Newcomer Students Laura Conners, Maggie Flahive, Heather Palma and Pat and Ben Kovacs placed among the top couples in their heats,”

In the Championship rounds, which are danced at the end of the day, Fred Astaire Southbury collected an impressive number of medals.  On Thursday, Debra Hendrickson won the Open Gold International Ballroom Championship and on Saturday the students rocked the dance floor. Kim Tallcouch and Karen Montini both placed first in their Championships, Mieke Crider placed second and Rose Chin placed second in Latin "We were overwhelmed," said Lange, with tears in his eyes. "It is so great to see how all the hard work is paying off. Our students put so much time and energy into their lessons and you can not even describe the feeling when you place first and get recognized in front of hundreds of people"

Jorge stresses that dancing is for everyone and at his studio, it spans an age range from 7 to 85.  "It is a pleasure to see everyone dance to the best of their abilities," said Jorge. "Fred Astaire Southbury is becoming one of the most recognized Dance Studios in the New England Region and with reclaiming the ‘Best in Show’ award, we demonstrated how strongly we believe in the guidelines of Fred Astaire,” Lange added .

Some of Fred Astaire Southbury students travel all the way from New York to take lessons at the studio. "But you do not need to compete in our studio,” said Lange. "Sometimes people get the wrong perception about our studio when they read about all the events and competitions we are doing. First and foremost, we are a social studio and our Fred Astaire System is designed to make you the best social dancer you can be. Competitions are a direction some of our students choose to take in order to advance their dancing skills, since the lessons are more intensely structured.  Everyone should at experience at least once in there lives how it feels to waltz, cha ha and foxtrot  across the floor." 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?