75th Blackpool DanceSport Festival: May 26th - June 2nd, 2000

"DEAR DIARY"...Adventures in Blackpool!

Thursday, May 25th, 2000

At Toronto's international airport, who should we see but Jean-Marc Genereux & France Mousseau, who were also leaving for Blackpool. For our European and Asian-Pacific readers, Jean-Marc & France are former Canadian Professional Latin Champions, now retired from competitive dancing. They had with them their beautiful young pre-school children, Jean-Francois and Francesca. We did not see each other at first -- as we put our carry-on luggage on the seats in the departure area, we happen to hear children's laughter. We then glanced up and saw a father chasing his daughter around one of the columns and speaking French, and just behind them a lady with dramatic red hair watching over her son. They started to laugh and then speak in French, and then we realized that it was Jean-Marc and France! We had a delightful chat -- they happened to be in Toronto that week teaching and were heading directly for Blackpool.

So often, one sees and admires these champions from afar -- the image of charisma, strength and dedication, winning championship titles in extraordinary performances and being congratulated by their legion of fans, particularly in North America. To see them now in casual clothing -- in private moments away from the crowd that knows them as "DanceSport Champions" -- one sees the "human" side. As loving parents playing with their children, blending in with the ordinary airport crowd, and waiting for the boarding call to their next destination.

The flight on British Airways from Toronto to London took about 6 hours. For some reason, it seemed shorter this year, probably because we had some good books to read and exciting discussions about some major new initiatives for DanceScape that will be launched in the coming months. Once arrived in London at Terminal 4, we needed to catch a connecting flight to Manchester from Terminal 1. For those of you who have never flown into London, the airport is a "logistical challenge". You have to wait for a bus to take you to the next Terminal, and from there walk up and down a series of corridors and steps, go through one airport security, check the gate of the connecting flight, and then go through passport control. Then you had to walk to the gate which consisted of more stairs
and corridors -- definitely not wheelchair accessible! But once we got into the plane, the connecting flight to Manchester was only 25 minutes. By the time we walked from the plane to the baggage area, our luggage had already arrived and were waiting for us -- as Jean-Marc remarked when we caught up to him again, "Toronto and Montreal has a lot to learn about efficiency of getting luggage on time, eh!" After a quick exchange of goodbyes and see you in Blackpool, we headed for the cab area and were greeted by the driver whom we had arranged to pick us up upon arrival.

The trip to from Manchester airport to Blackpool was about 45 minutes. When you drive into Blackpool, you'll see the Blackpool Tower, which is the key landmark. We checked in at the Fairview Hotel, 113 Albert Road, E-mail: fairviewhotel@aol.com. This is a family run hotel situated on one of the most popular streets right in the centre of Blackpool, within sight of the Winter Gardens (100 yd) and the famous Blackpool Tower. The Fairview Hotel is also co-sponsoring DanceScape's Internet connection that enables Priority News Subscribers to obtain the latest news from the British Open Championships.

We were pleasantly surprised by our room, which was larger in size than many others that we had stayed in previous years. Their Tudor Bar provided a relaxed, friendly atmosphere with large screen TV and pool table for guests' enjoyment.

After dinner, we visited some family and friend who were having dinner at the Rochdene Hotel, across the street. Having dinner also was Barbara McColl with her young son, Samuel, and her father and step mother. For those of you new to the Ballroom/DanceSport scene, Barbara along with Sammy Stopford were former Blackpool/British Open Professional Latin Champions as well as World Professional Latin Champions. They are now retired from competitive dancing but continue to coach and judge. [Trivia: To whom did Sammy Stopford used to be married? Answer: Shirley Ballas, now wife of Corky Ballas] Young Samuel is about 1 1/2 years old and now walking -- he has a delightful "smile" and definitely a "ham" like his father. According to Barbara, he attends pre-school about 3 days a week. "It's good for kids to attend pre-school at an early age, because they say that the most learning takes place from about one to four or five years old." In England, the children start school earlier, unlike Canada where they formally enter preschool at 5 and then kindergarden at 6.

Like Jean-Marc and France, this was another "legend of DanceSport" who was admired for so many years on the dance floor for all her dancing achievements, but off the floor is like any other normal parent enjoying time with and wanting to do the best for her children.

It had been a long day and with jet lag now in full effect, we headed back to the FairviewHotel for a much-needed sleep.

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