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DOG DANCING Dog Dancing In Denmark |
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On the 23rd of October this year Denmark held the very first Kennel Club Registered Dog Dancing Competition. As this was the first time such a competition had been held in Denmark, the organisers had the job of setting the standard by which all future events would be compared.
Emmy Simonsen, Johanna Allanach and Marianne Blom Larsen certainly did a splendid job, as was witnessed by all on the day, but more of that later!
As there are so few people within Denmark who have witnessed this brilliant dog sport, it was decided that the organisers should look for people outside their own Country who have experience in judging, competing and organising similar events.
This is when we became involved by expressing an interest to an email sent early in the year which resulted in Emmy inviting both of us along to judge at this event. Perhaps we should tell you a little about ourselves. We have both been successfully competing in Heelwork to Music and Canine Freestyle competitions in Britain for many years and between us, we have won more first places in Advanced competition than anyone else in GB. We have Judged and held seminars for 'Dog Dancing' all over the British Isles and also overseas in the USA, Israel and Holland. Whenever possible we take the opportunity to promote the sport by performing all over the country and in the media with many television, radio and magazine appearances to our credit.
So Sunday dawned - Competition Day! We had visited the venue the day before but there was a display of craftwork in the room, but what we could see looked good. When we arrived at the building we were amazed at the work which had been done that morning by Emmy, Johanna, their friends and helpers. The freshly laid carpet looked wonderful and the ring so inviting that we would have loved to have been dancing with our own dogs there!
A lot of thought had been put into every aspect of the day, from the dog's welfare and competitors' nerves to the judges' seating arrangements, score sheets ready named and copious drinks, nothing had been overlooked. We were introduced to Tina Jørgensen, our co-judge and were able to discuss the job in hand. Because there were no Danish judges, other than Emmy who was taking part, Tina who has proved herself in both Obedience and Agility was very helpful as she was able to translate those songs chosen by competitors which were sung in Danish to help us to understand if the routine had been complimentary to the theme. The competition was opened with a speech of welcome and then the "Dog Dancing" began.
For us, the day flew by. The routines held our attention and all the dogs looked happy. Most of the handlers looked happy, or at least very relieved as they left the ring. There were many memorable routines, but it would be unfair to pick out just a few as we do appreciate how much time and effort goes into this sport, from choosing your music and choreographing your routine to the making of costumes and teaching the dog new moves and finally the hardest part - learning it by heart and putting forward the performance of your dreams.
What we would like to say is that the standard overall was good; we would not have known that this was Denmark's first competition by those teams which we judged! The variety of breeds in the competition was also very good. One of the best things about this sport is that you can excel with many different breeds as, unlike other dog sports, you don't have to complete a round which the judge has created. Your choice of music and moves can show off any breed to its maximum potential.
Along with the prizes of dog food and the massive rosettes awarded for those placed, we brought two trophies from England. No-one but us knew what they would be awarded for, but we noted every routine very carefully looking for our "special" winners. The first trophy was presented to the team with "the best start pose"; the second trophy was for "the best finishing pose" and we were very pleased that we had two worthy winners, one with creative start and one with a creative finish. We did note that not many teams had thought about these two important aspects of a routine, many just sitting the dog at heel ready to start - Come on you Danish dog dancers… anything goes, so let's see as much imagination in your beginnings and ends as we saw in your routines' entirety! An interesting start will attract attention from the judges and the audience, which is what you should be aiming for throughout the performance and a well held end pose signifies time for applause!
To sum up our impressions of the competition, we have to say that the Danish Dog Dancers could hold their own against any other country we have seen compete in this sport. Congratulations to the winners and those who were runners up, you were brilliant! Congratulations to everyone who entered the competition for making our day so busy. The organisation of the day was second to none. The Danish people were so friendly and welcoming (and the lunch delicious - thank you).
We hope to be able to return to Denmark
again very soon. Thank you to everyone (and the weather!) for making us feel
so at home.