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Dates of Competition

The adult U.S.A. tap team will be performing:

   Friday December 4th - Saturday December 5th

This year six students from the Hackworth School of Performing Arts will be traveling to Riesa, Germany to compete at the World Tap Dance Championships.  They are traveling with their teacher, Lisa Heath, and many family members as they begin this exciting adventure. Once they arrive in Riesa, Germany they will meet up with the rest of the USA Tap Team that have traveled there from other areas in the US. The entire team will compete in the Children, Junior and Adult divisions.

There are preliminary rounds of competition which are followed by semi finals and then finals. Cuts are made at each level and the students  wait with bated breath to hear their name called for the next round! The competition officially begins on December 1, 2009 with the Children’s level, then the Junior level followed by the Seniors on Friday December 4th. In the meantime we will be doing some sight seeing and traveling by train to Christmas Markets, street fairs, and possibly Nuremberg or Berlin.

And now for the pictures ( just click it )
Places we went to while in Germany

Pics leading up to the finals

Pics of the finals

Saturday/Sunday: We arrived in Philadelphia at 2:30pm, left Philadelphia in route to Frankfurt, Germany @ 4:30pm. It was not as long as it seemed; after dinner, a movie, some restless sleep and the loss of 6 hours as we crossed time zones we arrived in Frankfurt @ 6:15am(which was 12:15am Southampton time). We put our dollars away and pulled out the Euros as we scavenged for some breakfast in the airport while we waited for our next flight. At 9:35am(which was 3:35am Southampton time) we boarded our final flight to take us to Dresden, Germany. By 10:30am we arrived in Dresden, collected our luggage and waited for our our bus to take us to Riesa. We had the whole coach bus to ourselves and for the most part we watched the countryside go by during the hour bus ride. There might have been some dozing going on but the excitement and adrenalin was feeding everyone for the most part. We passed a castle in Meissen, numerous wind turbines(Europe is very green) and some very picturesque houses all neatly kept with lace curtains and decorated for Christmas. We made it through dinner without falling asleep but people started succumbing to the long trek and started drifting off to their rooms around 5:30pm on Sunday(11:30am Southampton time). Everybody was snug in their beds for the night tucked under their goose down comforters.

Monday: Off to Leipzig. After a good nights rest it was Breakfast @ 6:30am. The hotel had a fantastic spread of eggs, bacon, sausage, cereal, yogurt, breads, fruit, jams, sliced deli meats, cheeses, juice and coffee/tea. We proceeded to waddle to the train station to see about catching a train to Leipzig. There is definitely a language barrier at times but fortunately we found 2 different people that tried to help us figure out how to purchase our tickets. We are now travel pros at the train vending machine as we discovered how to purchase our Sachin all-day ticket good for up to 5 people for only $28 Euros. Since we were a party of 15, 3 tickets went a long way. Fast-forward to Leipzig. We figured out how to exchange money locally into Euros and that bathrooms are called WC's, often times are co-ed and are not free(.50 to 1 Euro). Much like when you go to the Big-E and tip the attendant, in Germany its a fare but the bathrooms are very well maintained. In Germany train travel is a way of life. The stations are huge(20+ tracks all enclosed) and are frequently combined with an equally large mall in the major cities. The US could learn alot from German mass transit. After leaving the train station/mall we wandered through the Leipzig Christmas market and sampled the many fares. From Bratwurst, fried potatoes, gluewein, crepes(with creme, nutella, fruit, bananas you name it) to fried dough powdered or fruit-filled, gingerbread and butterstollen Christmas bread. Of course that covered all the food but for every food booth there is a booth with a local hand-made craft. By now, we're getting pretty good handling the Euro's!! Another interesting thing that happened while we were here was a young woman approached Lauren and Sarah because she heard them speaking English. It turns oujt that she was an exchange student from Ohio attending Leipzig University and had also lived in Western Mass. Our final stop of the day was at the Coffee House which was the oldest coffee house in Germany dating back to the 1700's. It is now a 4-story museum with a coffee cafe on the 1st floor. Inside there were porcelin coffee cups which were originally cast in Dresden and Meissen. We finally made our way back to catch a return train to Riesa and learned a little something more about train travel in Germany. The 1 and the 2 on the cabins are meaningful. The kids had settled into the 1 cabin while the parents sat in 2. Unfortunately the German conductor found that our tickets were for 2nd class and they had to find new seats. Upon arriving back in Riesa it time for dinner at our favorite restaurant, the Hammerbrau, which is fortunately connected to our hotel. At the conclusion the meal all the kids took the winding slide from the 2nd floor. Rumor has it that 2 parents who shall remain unnamed were not to be outdone and followed suit.

Tuesday: Off to Dresden. Another night, another incredible breakfast(see Monday). Another waddle to the train. Being train vending pros we had 3 tickets in 3 minutes and we all knew to sit in the 2 section so off we headed to Dresden. And here starts another funny story. Train stops short of Dresden but we paid no attention to the long announcement in German over the intercom because we didn't follow much of it. Fortunately, the conductor passed through the train and politely told us we were done, we had to get off. Being somewhat intelligent we finally noticed that everyone else that understood German had already left the train and were boarding buses. Apparently the tracks were down and we had to travel two station stops via bus to reboard the train to resume our journey. We arrived in Dresden about 20 minutes later but had another fun story to tell. Of course, new city, new Christmas market, more German treats. Some were the same, some were different each city has a slightly different character. Both Leipzig and Dresden are very picturesque cities. The architecture is just so unique. There is alot of new construction but oft times there is alot of old architecture, much of it restored or renewed. You will need to check the pictures when they are posted to get a glimpse of some of what these cities have to offer. Our train trip home was not very eventful and we arrived back in Riesa at 5:15pm. Dinner followed shortly threafter at another favorite restaurant, Panama Joe's.

Wednesday: Wednesday: Enough of the traveling for a minute. The kids stayed at the hotel with their teacher to continue practicing and to visit the arena to watch the children's division compete. The parents on the other hand took the day to visit Meissen to see Albrechtsburg castle and another Christmas market with a planned early return to join up with the kids to see them march into the arena representing the USA in the Presentation of the Nations. We'll get back to the Tap Championship at the end of this update as this evening are the finals in the Childrens's division and the winners are announced. None of the Southampton kids are in this division but there were 2 members of the USA Tap team competing so I will report their results at the end of this update. Now, off to Meissen. This trip required a new mode of transportation, it was time to master the Bus. Buying tickets for the bus was slightly easier then buying tickets for the train owing much to the person behind the desk. She was good at writing things down and trying to work with us to understand us as well as help us understand her. We now know the German word for 8 is oct as that was the number of people we had traveling on this day. And 4 x 11 was the 4 tickets we needed which were good for 2 people each to travel to and from Meissen at 11 euros each. So off we headed, that was the easy part. The bus arrived right on time and of course traveling the local streets as opposed to the train gave us a much different view of the countryside. The bus system is as equally well organized as the train. We weren't sure which stop to get off at that would bring us close to the castle. We hesitated when to get off and thanks to a friendly fellow passenger who conversed with the driver we exited at the right stop. The only interesting part and still subject to some speculation is what is the exact meaning of "uh-oh" which was the drivers response when first informed that we wanted to visit the Castle. But nevertheless with the catle in view we marched off the bus. The castle is perched some 200 feet straight up so we followed the most likely path according to our maps and detoured when we found a set of stairs that wound up towards the castle. Arriving at the castle the view was absolutely gorgeous. We wandered the grounds, took a bunch of pictures and finally arrived at the castle entrance. This is where the "uh-oh" comes into play as the Castle is open every day except Wednesday. All was not lost however as there is an attached cathedral built in the early 1500's that was open for tours. The cathedral included tombs, life-size figurines, stone etchings, etc. We found a much easier way down from the castle as we walked down a narrow cobble-stone street that led to the town square which was where we found the Christmas Market. The central theme of this market was the Town Hall complete with 30+ windows facing the fair; a life-size Advent calendar. Each window is covered with a set of blue shutters on which a number is painted. As each day of the month occurs the shutters are opened to reveal the picture hidden beneath. Beyond that, the fair is full of fun, food, crafts, jewelry, etc. The town itself is significantly smaller then any of other that we had visited previously. It was very quaint, the streets narrow, the buildings all painted in different colors, it is just too picturesqe to put into words. We found a nice little bakery on a back street where we each bought the most delictible confections(apple strudel, hand-frosted cookies, doughnuts and kaffee). The bus ride back to Riesa was uneventful and we proceeded to the Arena to catch up with the kids. The finals in the childrens division included solos, duos, trios, small groups and formations. The USA Tap team had 2 girls participating in the solo division. Isabella from Connecticut earned a 2nd place silver medal and Rachel from Florida who earned a 3rd place bronze medal. After the ceremony was over we all caught the bus back to the hotel and as a full team enjoyed a nice dinner together and a celebratory toast.

Thursday: The kids stayed at the hotel again today with their teacher to work on homework, continue practicing and to visit the arena to support the junior members of the USA Tap team that were competing. The finals for this division will occur on Friday. The parents once again got the travel bug and decided to find another town with a Christmas market to visit. This time it was back to the train as we upped the ante and tried for a multi-hop train stop to take us to Grossenhain. The train trip was actually quite ordinary, no surprises, all trains arrived on time and we could easily follow the schedules and the track number where the train was arriving. We hopped a train to take us to Priestewicz about 15 minutes away and then waited about 20 minutes for the final train that would take us on the last hop of our journey to Grossenhain about 5 minutes away. Once there, We followed our nose(you can smell the Brautworst cooking) and zero'd in on the church steeple to find the main square where the Christmas market is usually located. The town was a little farther out, perhaps not used to visitors as much as we seemed to receive a few "are you lost" looks but everyone was very welcoming and helpful. We now have quite a mug collection growing as each town's Christmas market has their own mug design that you receive when you buy a cup of Gluhwein or Kaffee. Our return trip was basically in reverse, as we travelled back to Priestewicz and then caught the train that would take us back to Riesa. Our traveling days have come to a close though as the competion for the Senior division begins on Friday.

Friday: HOT off the Press...Its a clean-sweep into the Semi-Finals!!!
Friday @ 3pm Riesa time:
Female Adult Solos: Lauren Waslick and Sarah Whiteley advanced in the solo category to the semi-finals
Trios: Lauren Desmond, Sarah Whiteley and Margo McCarthy's trio Standy by Me advanced to the semi-finals
Duos: Jonathan Hawkes and Lauren Waslick's duet to Dynamo advanced to the semi-finals
Small groups: Detention Hall featuring Jonathan Hawkes, Lauren Waslick, Stephanie Desmond, Lauren Desmond, Sarah Whiteley and Margo McCarthy advanced to the semi-finals.
That is all the dancing for today in Riesa. The semi-finals begin bright and early Saturday morning.

Saturday:
5pm Riesa time:
Lauren Waslick's solo is in the final
Jon's solo is in the final
Jon and Lauren Waslick's duo is in the final as well as another USA duo from Ct.
The trio didn't qualify
The Small group Detention Hall is in the final
This is a huge honor to have qualified as many numbers as we did for the final. The competition this year has been intense, the tap skill from all of the countries keeps progressing year over year. There are so many good tappers here!!
The results from the Finals:
Duo's: Both USA teams tied for 4th, Slovenia took 3rd, 1st and 2nd went to the Swiss.
Female Solos: Lauren Wasklick-5th, Sarah Whiteley-4th, 1st, 2nd and 3rd went to the Swiss.
Small Groups: Detention Hall-4th, Canada-3rd, 1st and 2nd went to the Swiss.
Male Solo's: Jonathan Hawkes-6th.

We will keep this blog updated with reports of our travels and adventures as well as pictures so please check back regularly!  We appreciate all your support!

Friday November 27, 2009

2009 U.S.A. Tap Team

The team:

(Left to Right) Margo McCarthy, Sara Whiteley, Jonathan Hawkes, Lauren Waslick, Lauren Desmond, Stephanie Desmond