For Immediate Release
On the spot Report by Werner J. Braun

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IDSF World Championships Formation Standard
Kodryanka Kishinev/Moldova defended their title

The Hanns-Martin Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart was chosen as venue for this years World Championships of the Standard Formations. The hall with ner J. Braunf some thousand visitors is well suited for such an event. The audience has a wonderful view on the giant floor and can wonderfully follow the choreographs of the formations. In the meantime, Stuttgart hosted this World event for the fourth time. The first Formation Worlds took place in this hall in 1989. The visitors showed how attractive this Worlds of the formation teams was. In the afternoon about 2000 spectators followed the preliminary rounds, in the evening the organisers counted about 4000 enjoying semi-final and final. With them the Lord Mayor of Stuttgart, Dr. Wolfgang Schuster.

Joint Organisers of this IDSF event on behalf of the International DanceSport Federation IDSF and the German DanceSport Association DTV were the DanceSport Association of Baden-W?rttemberg TBW, DanceSport Club Astoria Stuttgart and 1st Dance Club Ludwigsburg. As Chief Organiser acted Peter Jocham, TSC Astoria Stuttgart.

The umbrella of the event had Otto Schily, Federal Minister of the Interior, who in his foreword gave his insider knowledge to the visitors that ?formation dancing developed already in the thirtieth of the last century from the idea of the ?plattern dances?. It became an own discipline of DanceSport latest with the introduction of the official World Championships in 1973 in New York and developed in Germany as well very quickly. There is no doubt that a formation competition is optically seen the most beautiful event in the field of DanceSport?. Schillys representative at the competition was Ute Vogt, Secretary of State in his Ministry, who as well presented the trophy of the minister at the price presentation together with Dr. Wolfgang Schuster, Lord Mayer of Stuttgart. They were accompanied by Werner Spec, Lord Mayer of Ludwigsburg, and Harald Frahm, IDSF 1st Vice President and President of the German DanceSport Association DTV.

Erwin Teufel, Prime Minister of the country of Baden-W?rttemberg, stated in the foreword of the programme leaflet, that the competing formations promise a performance of highest perfection and efficiency sport on top level. And he was right!

Andreas Neuhaus from Bremen, compere and moderator of the event, could welcome 24 Formation Teams from the 14 countries Austria, Byelorussia, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Netherlands. Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Chech Republic, Ukraine and Germany.

In the panel of judges under Chairman Heinz Spaeker, IDSF Sports Director, acted: Grete Andersen, Norway; Kestutis Andrijevskis, Lithuania; Michael Eichert, Germany; Wolfgang Eliasch, Austria; Jan Geerts, Belgium; Andrej Gruzin, Moldova and Robert Wota, Poland.



The Result: Marks Music

1. DSC ?Kodryanka? Kishinev/Moldova, A-Team 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 China
Trainer: Petru and Svetlana Gozun
2. DSC Braunschweig/Germany 2 2 2 2 2 4 3 C?line Dion
Trainer: Ruediger Knaack, Oliver Kraft
3. ?Vera? Tyumen/Russia 3 3 4 4 3 3 5 Notre Dame de Paris
Trainer: Natalia Struzhanova, Alexei Litvinov
4. 1st DanceClub Ludwigsburg/ Germany 4 4 3 3 4 2 4 Dance of the Galaxi
Trainer: Norman and Dagmar Beck
5. Jantar Elblag A-Team/Poland 5 6 5 5 6 5 2 Chicago
Trainer: Antoni Czyzyk, Ariane Schiessler
6. ?Moving Action? Waalwijk/Netherland 6 5 6 6 5 6 6 Africa
Trainer: Piet and Gerrie Rullens

The Formations in the Semi-Final:

7. DSC ?Kodryanka? Kishinev/Moldova, B-Team Love Story
8. ?Jantar? Elblag/Poland, B-Team Moulin Rouge
9.-13. ?Mara? Minsk/Byelorussia French Melodies
9.-13. ?VFT? s-Hertogenbosch/Netherland For the Boys
9.-13. ?Impulse? Cheliabinsk/Russia Hungarian Dances
9.-13 TK ?TS Krok? Hradec Kralove/Czech Republic Anastasia
9.-13. DSC ?Raduga? Melitopol/Ukraine Carmen

The ?Kodryanka? Formation from Moldova, IDSF World Champions 2002, convinced in every respect and again won the title: Choreography, music, dresses and performance were outstanding. 7 times place one was the recognition by the judges. Again, they really deserved the title of Formation Standard World Champions.

Petru Gozun, President of the Moldova DanceSport Association and Club President Kodryanka, is ? together with his wife Svetlana ? manager, coach, trainer and choreograph of their formation teams. The new choreography is based on original Chinese music and dances. Peter and Svetlana prepared the way of their formation to the World title very carefully and invested a lot of money. The complete formation team visited China for several times to round up their performance. They collected a lot of music peaces and put them together to a formation music, which matched the international rules. It took them about three years from the idea to the realisation ? but it paid!


DSC Braunschweig, German Champions and bronze medal winners in 2002, could make one step forward and won the silver medal. They beat the vice champions of last year, ?Vera? Tyumen/Russia. The Braunschweig formation team is one of the most successful formation teams in the World of DanceSport with 10 times the title of German Champions, 8 times European Champions and 5 times World Champions. Besides this great success, Ruediger Knaack as trainer was not so happy. He wanted revenge for last years 3rd place and gain the World Title this year. Maybe he and his formation team will succeed next year, when the Worlds is organised in the Hall of their own city Braunschweig .

1st Dance Club Ludwigsburg as well reached the aim of their trainers Dagmar and Norman Beck to improve their last years 5th place. They came up fourth. The hall backed them up with tremendous applause. Their dance of the galaxies appealed audience and judges. It should not be forgotten, that this formation as well is one of the most successful formation teams of the World. 8 World Champion titles in the years 1985 until 1990 and 1995 and 96 proof this success. They started to build up a new team in 1998 and quickly found the connection to the international top teams.

What deserves to be mentioned as well:

Responsible for the music was Peter Haag, Ludwigsburg. Two days he was busy from morning until night. On Friday for the rehearsals and on Saturday for the first round, the semi-final and the final. Respect: There was not even one mistake!

The local television South West 3 was present with several cameras. They will show a cut of the event on Saturday, 27.12.03, as a part of Sport Extra from 16.30 until 18.00 hrs.

The audience was very fair. Despite the fact, that two German formations were performing ? one of them the local formation of Ludwigsburg ? they applauded long lasting for all the formation teams. In the final, when the marks for Kodryanka with 7 times first place were shown, the hall trembled with applause. It was like a hurricane!

The Grand Opening was very impressing, when more than 200 children of all ages, members of the youth sections of both organising clubs, stormed the floor for a special performance in all kinds of dances including Hip Hop and Tap dance followed by the Wheel-Chair Formation of the Ludwigsburg DanceSport Club. They received a long lasting ovation for their interesting and moving performance.

A wonderful colourful picture was the presentation and marching in of all participating 24 formation teams.

All in all: It was a World Championship of highest level, well organised and representative.

Werner J. Braun