DISA Marcus & Karen

the legendary Marcus and Karen Hilton
TALK TECHNIQUE

'I think as a judge, the first thing we see is the silhouette. The shape of the dancers as they take up their hold is very important to the eye. Whatever shape the couple have, they should show a balanced and connected hold which should be clean and effective.

We then notice the movement across the floor and the maintenance of the shape. I think in the early rounds in particular, when the judge only has a few seconds to watch each couple, these two points are the most important factors.

Through the rounds the judge is then mentally forming an opinion of each couple as they progress. Once the competition draws to a close we have more time to watch each couple and therefore many other aspects come to the front of your mind. The footwork, timing and leg action together with the movement and shape, now are very important and depending on the standard of the competition, feeling and choreography also plays an important part.'

He is not overly concerned about the increased amount of 'shadowing' on the floor, a form of gamesmanship where some couples try to intimidate their closest rivals by dancing close behind or in front of them. 'With regard to shadowing. I have no problem with this aspect in competition as long as there is no intentional contact from couple to couple. I think to put another couple under pressure is very important if you know what you are doing! There is no need to push or clash, it's just a case of letting the other couple, the judges and the audience know that you mean business. It is very important however, to only attempt this strategy if you are worthy of such a pursuit. If you end up with egg on your face, like some couples have, then it is a complete waste of time. '

Once, in an earlier interview I did with Marcus and Karen for 'The Times', they told me they dance 'on the edge of balance'. They achieve their extraordinary look by pushing the balance between them as far as it will go. But how is this actually achieved? 'When we dance, we believe we dance from foot to foot and in particular the swing dances this means dancing from out of balance to out of balance, much the same as when we walk,' says Marcus. 'We start to move our body from our legs and the feet then this propels our body weight forward and we then collect our body with our feet.

'The process then continues as we walk or dance. I think the more advanced we become the more shape we should produce. This will mean that our head weight must become very active, but with a still look.'

Sounds impossible Marcus, but perhaps it is achievable. But where does this all come from? 'We do this by applying as much pressure to the feet as possible. To do this in a balanced way and the perfect shape, it is important to understand the body balance, both separately and also together when dancing as one, which is Ballroom Dancing.'

This is where a positive middle line is important, he says. 'While shaping, it is of utmost importance to maintain physical postural perfection and this can only be done by using the correct foot and ankle action.

'While moving backward for either the man or the lady, it is important to retain a certain amount of balance toward the front foot. The poise for the lady should be towards the moving foot and the balance toward the front foot. ' This, he feels, is where most ladies go wrong. 'The sides of the body should always remain positive and should never show a broken line. To produce the correct shape the knees must be used at every opportunity, they are the hinges of the lower body. The correct use of the standing leg, or action leg as I like to call it, together with the action of the moving leg should be studied ] to produce the required action and movement.'

With relation to the male dancer, the most common problem he sees is slightly different. 'With regard to the man, the biggest problem is in relation to movement in a forward direction. I think the biggest problem is that of swinging down into two legs in the moving dances and the positioning of the man's right arm and point of balance in the Tango.

'Generally the man puts too much pressure on the lady to move backwards if he moves into two legs. It is important to remember to use one leg as the supporting/action leg and the other as a swinging/moving leg. In Tango, if the man places his right hand too low on the lady's back he can produce a heavy look in the lady's back-line. This will also produce a look of back balance in the lady. Also, if the man, while having his weight in the centre of his foot, has a backward balance, this will always produce a heavy look in both the man's legs and body. I like to feel the balance is carried forward in the Tango whilst keeping the weight in a centred position. I sometimes like to explain this as following your own shadow, which is in front of the man and behind the lady, producing a type of sandwich effect.'

These are not impossible aims, he believes. But even if a dancer's technique needs work, and we all feel that we all need more work all the time, it is still possible to lift a competitive performance to beyond that which perhaps the dancer's technique merits. Marcus explains how: 'It is up to every competitor, no matter how old or of what standard, to focus on each round of the competition as well as the competition as a whole. During our career we have found that the most important rounds to make your impression to the adjudicators and the public, are the first round and the semi-final. It is also very important to sustain and if possible lift your performance for the final. It is also very important to make sure that you are both mentally and physically prepared for the whole competition.'

Marcus has his own view on the contentious Olympic question. 'With regard to dancing as a sport or art, I particularly think it is an Artistic-Sport. A ballroom dancer needs the style, elegance and flair of a ballet dancer and at the same time the energy of a marathon runner and the leverage of a high, triple or long jumper. A mixture of these aspects will produce the complete Ballroom Dancer. If dancing was to be included into the Olympics it would be a great advertisement for the Dance industry. At the same time it could create many problems with our current format of competitions, something which will have to be looked into in great depth.'

His role models include Peter Eggleton, and of course the Irvines. 'For me personally, I have many heroes who have danced in the past, both from inside our world of Ballroom and Latin American and also from outside our world. To name a few, Alan and Hazel Fletcher in Latin because of their complete look as a couple and their image. Also Donnie Burns and Gaynor Fairweather because of their total package of dance, energy and charisma and Bill and Bobbie Irvine for their "King and Queen" of the dance world image and for their continuing effort to promote and help the dance scene in their own inimitable way. Also for the competitive edge that they always produced as terrific competitors. Also Peter Eggleton for his imaginative ideas into developing the undeveloped in dancers and for his great detail into producing bigger and better shapes through movement.