For the past 33 years the Heritage Classic has enjoyed the historically unique Omni Grove Park Inn resort in Asheville, North Carolina as competition venue. Due to the Corona Virus North Carolina restrictions competition has moved for 2021 to Atlanta, Georgia.
I would like to start by saying huge thank you and congratulations to the organizers Colin and Joy Hillary for being able to run an outstanding event in these difficult for dance industry times!
This year I have joined the event with 2 Pro/Am Students Christina and Natasha competing in 2 different levels- Closed Silver and Open Gold.
Syllabus System is extremely important not only for learning ballroom dancing, but also for competition structure. It gives participants more fair competition within their dance level. I always enjoy competing in Closed Syllabus levels like Bronze, Silver or Gold with my students as I find "basic" routines fascinating and it gives more time for both my students and me to work on important aspects of dance without having too much pressure from various complex sets of dance figures.
This time I was able to dance one of Closed Quickstep routines from Syllabus layer of
Prism Method with my student Christina in Closed Silver. Being able to use Prism Method was a great asset for both of us as I already had a great combination of steps prepared for my student and it was so easy for Christina to learn the patterns having a video with name of the steps and rhythms.
We had a great debut together and finished 1st in Closed Silver Championship and 2nd in Closed Silver Scholarship!
Natasha did an excellent job taking part in two extremely competitive divisions - B and C Open Gold. One of our main goals for Heritage Classic from the start was to qualify for the "Best of the Best" Championship finale.
The Best of the Best DanceSport Challenge is a yearly competition between some of the top Pro/Am couples in the country who are winners at the Bronze, Silver, Gold, Show Dance, and Theater Arts levels of dance. The Best of the Best was originally started as a Challenge for the Top Competitor between the Atlanta Open, Holiday Classic, and the Ohio Star Ball. The Challenge has now expanded to 47 qualifying events held throughout the calendar year, including representatives from the Dancer’s Cup Tour, and culminating with the Grand Finale events at the Ohio Star Ball. Each qualifying event hosting a Best of the Best Challenge offers a different category, so interested competitors have their pick of several divisions in which to shine.
Placing 1st at "B Open Gold Championship" at Heritage Classic gave us opportunity to compete against the winner of C division. After all we won "Best of the Best" challenge at Heritage Classic and will be representing this competition at Ohio Star Ball Finale in November, 2021.
Congratulations to Christina and Natasha and all the participants!