Hessen Tanzt Dance Competition

You can see how big the place was!

This weekend I and Nic went to Frankfurt to see Hessen Tanzt that is the biggest dancing tournament in Europe having 3120 couples attending this year (for more information check www.hessen-tanzt.de). The tournament was held in two places, Eissporthalle and Fabriksporthalle, both of which we visited. This was the first time I ever went to any dancing competition and I must say that I absolutely loved it!

In competition dancing there are five different classes the dancers compete in: D, C, B, A and S (super class). To be able to move up from a lower class you have to attend certain amount of competitions and place certain amount of times to places 1 to 6 (D and C) or 1 to 3 in higher classes (B, A and S). From one competition the couples get as many points as they are able to leave other couples behind them. However, you can get maximum of 20 points from one competition. The higher class it is the more points and placements you have to get. Also, when moving to higher classes the amount of dances increases: in Standards you start with Slow Waltz, Tango and Quick Step followed with Waltz and Slow Fox; in Latin you go first with Rumba, Cha-cha and Jive and continue with Samba and Paso Doble.

So, in Hassen Tanzt the dancers were divided according to their classes and also to their age (juniors, youth, amateurs and seniors). When we arrived to the Eissporthalle around noon they were having the Standard rounds going on. We first headed to see the best classes, of course. I just couldn’t stop watching the dancers as they were flying over the dance floor with their beautiful dresses. The movements, poses, stands and everything else was looking so effortless and easy. The audience gave applauds to their favorite couples when they were passing by to support and cheer them up. I was so fascinated of the dancers I couldn’t take my eyes off from them. Nic was being the perfect gentleman to let me just stand there and absorb the small details from the high-trained professionals. Oh I cannot describe the wonderful feeling I had there! It was like a world I always dreamed of but didn’t know where to find it.

Nic's friend just before competition.

After what felt like a couple of minutes but what really was more than 3 hours we had to move from the Eissporthalle to Fabriksporthalle to support one of Nic’s friend and his dancing partner to compete in Standard D class. I met the friend on Friday so it was nice to see someone who I knew to participate to the tournament. In my opinion they did really well and were one of the best couples in their class. Later he told me their placement was 14 which were more than they were expecting. One thing what I considered funny was that they played Finnish tango music there! I might have been the only one to even realize this even though almost all of the tangos were Finnish ones. Who would have expected that?

It was funny how I was already able to spot the mistakes the lower class couples were doing after observing the high class dancers only for a short time. It was such a great opportunity to learn about the small details that matter so much. Even though I am far from knowing anything about competition dancing, it was quite easy to see if the couples of any class were really enjoying their moments in the dance floor. If a couple were seemingly having fun, their dancing was so enjoyable to follow. Also it was so easy to see if a couple was being confident about themselves. I was actually quite surprised even an amateur like me could see these things so clearly.

After watching Nic’s friend’s dance we headed back to the Eissporthalle to follow the Latin competitions. Before it started at 6 pm we had some time to wander around in some of the shops they had there. I ended up buying one skirt that was just perfect for me. When I tried it on and stepped out from the fitting room I could see from Nic’s face this was the skirt we had been looking for. And I must say I looked like a Latin lady wearing it!

Unfortunately we were able to follow the Latin dances only for 50 minutes because we wanted to meet up with Nic’s friends later that evening, so we could only see Samba and Cha-cha. I can now see why people choose to go with either Standard or Latin because these two categories are so different from each other; atmosphere, movement, rhythm, stance, attitude, you name it. 

Our favorite couple.

During the Latin dances I was mostly trying to concentrate on the ladies hand movement to develop my own. I think I got the hang out of it at least in some level.  I first asked Nic to spot the best dancers but after a while I was able to do it myself. There was one couple in the A class that was extremely good, and they draw everyone’s attention from the moment they started their choreography. I wish I would have taken their Cha-cha into a video but I was so charmed I couldn’t do anything but watch. What I really would have wanted to see was their Rumba but we had to leave before that. Wow, one day I want to be able to give that kind of show they did! It was sexy, flirty, over-the-top and, most importantly, they were having so much fun doing it.

 

I am so happy Nic brought me to Hassen Tanzt and I think I learned so much. I definitely have to go and see dance competitions frequently after this. Maybe one day we might even attend one.