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Werner J. Braun reports
It was for the 9th time that the GOC Award "La Dance", the DanceSport Oscar of the GOC, was presented. Michel Maugés Idea worked and was accepted. This Award, initiated and for the first time presented in 1993 in the meantime is well known and is looked upon as the most valuable Prize of Honour in the World of Dancing.
This year as well the presentation took place as first highlight during the Opening Gala of the 15th Jubilee GOC, in which the European Championships Latin of the Professionals was the main event. An unique frame gave the biggest hall of the Mannheim Congress Centre Rosengarten, the Mozartsaal, which was sold out to the last seat. On this evening nearly everybody of name and rank in DanceSport was present. Michel Maugé, master of the house, organiser and initiator of the Award, proudly welcomed his guests of honour. Mentioning all of them would be too much. Representatively I want to mention Deputy Mayer Dr. Norbert Egger on behalf of the Lord Mayor and the City Council, Harald Frahm, President of the German DanceSport Association DTV and as representative of the Professionals, World President WD&DSC Karl Breuer, also President of the German Professional DanceSport Association DPV. and Donnie Burns, Sports Director of the Professional World board and numerous World Champion of the Professionals in the Latin-American Discipline.
About the European Championships you will read separately. Here I just want to mention that the Grand Opening with a phantastic laser show was the most beautiful and remarkable opening of a DanceSport Championship I ever have seen. A big compliment to MKT for this money consuming and deeply moving performance. The evening turned out to be a World event of high class.
The DanceSport Formation Team of the Mannheim twin city Kishenev in Moldavia, presented and honoured by Deputy Mayor Dr. Norbert Egger at the earlier welcome reception, opened the Evening Gala with their formation dances and showed that they deserved to have won the World Championships.
The Award presentation had been modified in order not to be effected by the glamorous European Championship. GOC Sport Director Harry Koerner presented the ceremony in his charming way together with initiator and sponsor Michel Maugé. Instead of the common laudation interviews were made which gave information about lives and the feeling of the awarded.
Oliver Wessel-Therhorn, backed up by his anthem, was the interview partner of Allan Tornsberg and Serena Lecca. It was he who long ago discovered "Little Allan" in Blackpool as great talent. He mentioned mainly the pleasure with which the "little Danish" danced regularly with his then partner Vibeke Toft at the GOC between the years 1988 and 1996 and could celebrate his win in 1991. In 1998 he could make the memorable runners up position with his new partner Carmen (Vincelj). The adjudicators did not grudge it them to officially win, but with the public they were the clear winners.
Serena Lecca, dancing some years with Sandro Cavallini, was discovered by Espen Salberg during a lecture. He named her "Queen of Samba". In 1999 Serena, the black haired Italian, and Allan for the first time danced together at the German Open. Finishing Pasodoble they got standing ovations by the public.
Allan Tornsberg assured, that his faith for the GOC would be a matter of heart for him. "The Mannheim Public is the most honest and fair one in the World. It shows you, when they like you and they show you as well when they do not like you. That is why we always are looking forward with pleasure to dance in Mannheim. We wanted to impress the public. We always did everything to avoid that the public did not like us!"
Oliver Wessel-Therhorn stressed that the couple Tornsberg/Lecca often was copied but never reached. "It will be but one Tornsberg and one Lecca. And later to-day they dance together for the last time - because Allan stops the partnership!" The Danish wants to engage himself in a new dance project with William Pino and Serena surely will look for another partner.
Allan gave a special love declaration for Serena: " This evening will have a special place in my heart. It is for the last time that I will dance together with Serena. I do wish her all the good luck for the future and for a new partner. The splitting for both of us is very sad. We have spent two and a half years together. Serena taught me, what a woman may be for a man, how she may assist a man and how she can stand a man. When we today dance together for the last time, many people will think it would be too early to stop. But the right time to stop you will never find. We will love dancing till we die!"
Especially moving was his statement for the future: " Both of us will never again experience such a love because for two and a half year we experience the great love -dancing". And then the music "endless love" of Tom Jones and Dionne Warwick filled the huge hall of the Mozartsaal. It was really heart moving! Dieter Augstein wrote in the "Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung": "Allan Tornsberg the Latin Lover from Denmark, the most extravagant and passionate dancer of our time!" The last two common dances, the honourable dances Rumba and Paso doble pulled the audience from their seats. The standing ovations lasted never ending!
The special Award was dedicated to the Russian DanceSport Association and its President Pavel Dorokhov received it. Harry Koerner estimated the fact, that the Russian DanceSport competitors joined the GOC from the very beginning and favoured this competition with rising figures of participation from year to year. This year they performed a record. With more than 900 couples they became the second biggest participation nation immediately behind Germany with something more than 1000 competitors. And Pavel Dorokhov who could not hide his tears, had an immense part on the love of his couples for the GOC, to which they look upon as the best competition in the World. And then they stormed the floor - uncountable Russian couples congratulated their President while dancing. A really moving sportive show.
The frame for the European Championship and the Award Ceremony was Wolf Kaiser with his Mannheim Big Band, without any doubt one of the World best dance competition orchestras. Right from the first hour Wolf Kaiser and his orchestra was the musical escort of the German Open Championships. To listen at them always was high pleasure. For this years jubilee he had with him two very talented soloists: Nicole Metzger, who is with the orchestra already for several years, and as guest star the British/Mannheim singer and Soul Queen Helena Paul. Their duo with Cole Porters "Night and Day" and the evergreen "Macky Messer" brought them ovations on applause.
Michel Maugé, the never resting GOC-motor and GOC Sports Director Harry Koerner may be very proud about this their opening evening. It became a splendid success, sportive and surely also for the public
Werner J. Braun
The GOC Award winners since 1993:
1993 -- Oedegard/Laila Krageboel, Norway
1994 -- Hans-Reinhard Galke/Bianca Schreiber, Freiburg
1995 -- Donnie Burns/Gaynor Faiweather, Scottland
1996 -- Kim & Cecilie Rygel, Norway
Ralf Müller/Olga Müller-Omeltchenko, Rastatt/Germany
Wolf Kaiser, Mannheim/Germany
1997 -- Christopher Hawkins/Hazel Newberry, England
Prof. Adolf Luger, Badbergen/Germany
1998 -- Holger Nitsche/Charlotte Egstrand, Dänemark
Luca & Lorraine Barichi, England
1999 -- Lasse William Pino/Alessandra Bucciarelli, Italy
Hans-Jürgen & Ulrike Burger, Wiesbaden/Germany
Ralf Pickemann, Remseck/Germany
2000 -- Bryan Watson/Carmen, Pforzheim/Germany
Michael Torres/Sabine Kramski, Pforzheim/Germany
Ron Self, England
2001 -- Allan Tornsberg/Serena Lecca, Italy
Pavel Dorokhov for the DanceSport Association Russia
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