| Article | : | GOC Mannheim 2002 (4)
On the spot report by Werner J. Braun
Professionals Seque Latin
It was a long time ago, when the best Seque dancers of the World made the audience in the Mannheim Rosengarten get up from their seats for standing ovations. It is long long ago, that the performances were a perfect mixture of top class dancing, show and theatre. It is a pity that this year the level of the Latin Seque performances was on a very low level. No comparison with the performances of the 9ties, when top couples like Hans-Reinhard Galke with Bianca Schreiber, Jukka Haapaleinen with Sirpa Suutari, Ralf Lephene with Lydia Weißer or Michel Hull with Linda Pettersen made the Rosengarden Parkett to the Seque Centre of the World.
What happened, what is the reason that from 16 registered couples only nine sowed up? And most of the performances were not in world format. But still the Germans could celebrate a double success: Markus Klaus and Patricia Deutscher from Augsburg won just in front of Oliver Seefeldt and Anna Moosmann from Berlin. On the third place we found the Russians Oleg Romanov and Elvira Romanova.
The winners danced in their first year as Profis and they found as trainer the former Seque World Champion Hans-Reinhard Galke. For the choreography he used the typical music of the fifties out of the musicals "Swing Kids" and "Smokey Joe´s Café". They had their success immediately and became German Vice Champions behind Martin Dihlmann and Lydia Weißer Dihlmann who in the meantime resigned. They are now qualified for the Worlds in December in Holland.
Their main competitors were the Russians Oleg Negru and Maria Ermatchkova with their parody on "Cabare". But despite fact that in the pre rounds they were told, that their choreography was not according to the International rules and they should take out one lift, they did not follow the advice. Therefore they were disqualified. A very hard measure for the first time in the GOC, but the couple had to take the consequences.
A Big Band with Tradition
One of the reasons for the big success of the German Open Championships is the wonderful competition music of the Wolf Kaiser Big Band. He and his solists are accompanying the GOC Dancers from the first dance 16 years ago. During this period he appr. played each dance 800 times. The sound of the Band is magnificent the music extraordinary. Wolf Kaiser formed out of 20 solists a Big Band which belongs to the few best dance orchesters in Germany - in Europe. About 80 per cent of his music was arranged by himself - some are his own compositions. He composed a special Quickstep with the title "German Open" and also a fanfare for this tournament. He not only is bandleader but also a solist who plays on several different instruments. His repertoire is a giant one: for each of our competition dances he at least has 20 different arrangements. Only for Paso doble he has only four - two of them were composed by him. A speciality are the National Anthems which are always played in honour of the winner of a contest. 50 different of such melodies are in the repertoire of the Wolf Kaiser Big Band - even the Chinese one. 20 of them are arranged by Wolf Kaiser personally. Now he could use again the old Russian National Anthem which was forbidden for a long time: And during the GOC he needs to play it every day!
Prof. Adolf E. Luger, the reliable time planer of the GOC
He is the most important man behind the curtain of the GOC: As soon as the entries are finished long before the GOC starts, he makes the reliable schedule for all competitions, all classes and all halls. He also was with us, when 16 years ago Harry Koerner, Alex Buttweiler and myself started the first GOC. And since this time he celebrates his birthday during the GOC. This year Michel Mauge himself announced Lugers birthday and Wolf Kaiser and his Big Band intonated "Happy Birthday" and the audience in the completely sold out Mozartsaal. Luger teaches at the University of Pforzheim. Up to 1978 he was actively competing and he still is connected with DanceSport. He points out, that "the GOC is also his child! Uncountable competitions with more than 2000 couples must be packed into three halls. And he manages his work perfectly! May he find the time to assist the GOC in the future years as well. With his 62 years he still is a young man!
Werner J. Braun |
