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- Posted by admin on 11.03.2008
ANEWEST HISTORY OF COMPETITIVE BALLROOM DANCE
In our days already nobody will surprise the competition of ballroom dance. The levels of these competitions are also different. All got used to it. For a person, who is in earnest engaged in dances, three competitions on different grounds is normal for days off. But let us remember that only about 15 years ago it was impossible to imagine such amount of competitions. Why? How was business put with ballroom dances before? What was all begun with?
Up to death of Stalin, ballroom dances, as well as all western, rejected authorities. But with arrival of the Khruschev's "thaw", development was most active. First official competition, and more precisely, the first international competitions took place within the framework of World Festival of Young People and Students VII in Moscow. It is desirable to mark that in the finale of this competition there were two pairs from Leningrad. And it is a not chance!
Exactly in Leningrad, active development of ballroom dance penetration of which begins, even through a "ferrous curtain", it is impossible to stop. Certainly it didn't do without the "faithful way" of Central Committee of party. All information about dances was very fragile and inferior in those years. It was necessary to do translations from the English texts, to meet with people, which saw competitions in other countries though the edge of eye. Contacts of the allied republics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with a west give to know about itself. Serious school of ballroom dance is engendered here.
50th years for Leningrad and Baltic republics it is possible to describe as years of studies, adjustings of connections and organizations of competitions. In Moscow all the time ballroom dance practically did not exist. Got to the point that Leningrad's people organized competitions in the capital. One of such international competitions was organized by Bel'skiy D.M., Snezhina M.V., Demel'tman I.M. It is important to mark that on this competition pair arrived from German federal Republic, that was very important for organizers. Exactly this competition was given by a serious shove for a further exchange by information and collaboration with western dancers and teachers.
60th years pass similarly with obvious leadership in Leningrad and republics of Baltiya. In these years higher organizations began to attribute ballroom dances to sport. As visible, this serious question was already decided three decades ago.
At the beginning of 70th Leningrad is again a secret leader in development of ballroom dance, but simultaneously with it the Baltic states becomes a serious competitor.
Over some years dancers from the Baltic states will in a great deal excel dancers from Leningrad. And another city appears in the USSR, where swiftly ballroom dance begins to develop. It is Tagan-Rog. An excellent organizer and leader Mark Samuilovich Kac worked here. He managed to put ballroom dance on a "stream", managed to interest. A result of his teaching is the known dancer of 70th - Alexander Zubkov.
Such development of ballroom dance was to arrival of L.I. Brezhnev. The known "stagnation" was brought down on ballroom dance too. Every organization of competitions is stopped. Reason of it was a policy of CC (that westerly is badly!) In an alternative to the Western-European and Latino-American programs, so-called Domestic program was "voluntarily-forcibly" imposed! Strictly speaking, nothing bad was in these dances too. But ballroom dance already deeply sat in dancers. For them dance without a "standard" and "latin" is not dance.
"Underground" organization of competitions begins in these years, thus status some of them is very serious. Organizers of such measures were in a serious danger - up to the loss of work.
But competitions pass. To stop people from ballroom dance becomes senselessly, because plenty of people dances. At enough serious organizational level child's competitions are already begun to conduct. As a result of such "secret" peripeteias on official competitions the Domestic program is added necessarily to a usual standard and latin. A compromise was found in this case. Ballroom dance continued the development. Certainly, most serious splash, the powerful stream of information began with reorganization. Leningrad is again in the number of leaders among cities the USSR. And as logical completion and real possibility to be legalized, ABD (Association of ballroom dances) appears in 1987-88th. This organization was under the supervision of CC. It's again policy.
In these years in Lithuania a traditional annual tournament the "Succinic pair" begins to pass. Here on judging invited our and foreign judges! No wonder that status of this competition quickly became ever-higher. Moscow could not already look at such "ugliness" through fingers. It was necessary to react. And Moscow "gave good", but with one condition: in judging only our judges. By it was actually set embargo on foreign judges. For the sake of maintainance of status of the "Succinic pair" dancers from the Baltic states began to work very strong. In formal protest from the side of Lithuania - turned up, that in the case of prohibition on invitation of foreign judges, dancing Lithuania will go out from composition of the USSR. So the "Succinic pair" gained their own way, a tournament had been conducted without changes.
And again, in those communist times, when it was difficult not only to dance abroad but also drive out, where is it easy to be designed, being in Leningrad or when pass a road that to call up Ministry in Moscow? It's simpler to muscovites when they walk on cabinets and will meet people, who can be from acquaintances or those, who can help to be moved somehow. And then Moscow - the capital is interested in that to heave up to itself. Not by chance there is all first - the International competition I, seminar I, arrival of World Champions I. And it will always be so, in fact Moscow is the capital! It is correct. Although it is a pity for Power.
And trainer's potential dried up in Petersburg, as compared to that, when the Peter pairs were the best on competitions, and such was. And "the last from Mogikan" are Igor Suvorov and Lebedev, former Leningrads are proof to it. They dance until now. Probably, in trainer's composition changed something and not in the best side. Well, at first, the best trainers went away. Today there is not Dmitryy Michael Bel'skiy, Victor Davidovskiy, and young people, apparently, did not grow to such level. Although, if to look at a general issue and general mass of dancing, today Petersburg begins to rise slowly. Different organizations, which compete between itself, are created. And their looks to existence of ballroom dance in a great deal differ from each other. All of it has a right on existence. Now in Saint-Petersburg any persons interested from young to old can choose an accessible on your own club or studio for employments by ballroom dances. It is the most important, isn't it?