Whakatāne Rock ’n’ Roll dancers set sights on national champs
SUPER TEAM: Ready to shake the floor in Wellington in the top club section are, from left, Sharon Redding, Billy Paihau, Natasha Smith-Bateson, McKenzie Smith-Bateson, Jane Baume and Karen Saul. Photo Troy Baker E6208-0693
Troy Baker
Whakatāne Rock’n’Roll Club has danced its way into the national championships in Wellington with two team events, and a same sex couple twisting for top honours this weekend.
Dancers Jayne Baume, Mckenzie Smith- Bateson, Sharon Redding, Karen Saul, Natasha Smith-Bateson and Billy Paihau make up the team competing in the Open Top Club section while Tracie Stevenson, Pauline Watty, Karen Saul, Jayne Baume, Erika Neuhauser and Sharon Redding make up the team contesting the Senior Team category.
Whakatāne Rock n Roll Club has a long history of national competition and has frequently made the podium with club captain Karen Saul admitting that they have often placed well.
“As a small club we do punch above our weight at nationals. Other regions don’t expect little old Whakatāne to do well so they tend to under rate us”.
“The songs we dance to in the team events were release to us in March, but the same sex section won’t know their songs until they step onto the dance floor, which will be one slow song and then one fast”, said Saul.
Natasha and Mckenzie Smith-Bateson have attended eleven national championship events with two podium places over that time so enjoy the thrill of competition. They continue to enjoy the thrill of competition, even though the club’s focus remains largely social.
“We aren’t really a super competitive club and while we have a bus of 37 that are heading down to Wellington, not a lot of us compete. We usually enter the teams events as it allows more members to have a go to a choreographed song but mostly is a very social event”.
“We have done quite well over the last couple of years as they changed the rules allowing more woman to compete together due to a lack men available to partner with”.
They say they still get butterflies when they step onto the floor, even though they have been doing it since 2011.
“It’s the lifts this time that make me nervous. It’s normally the men who use brute force who do the lifts, but now it’s up to us so the last thing I want to do is drop someone – but I still love it,” said Bateson.
The team has high hopes of making the podium this year despite a last-minute challenge.
The open team had one of their dancers pull out recently which left the team with not much time to replace and train another member. Luckily Billy Paihau, a lone male, put his hand up to fill the gap.
