<NEW CHAPTER BREAK> 1989, summer after a rough week in Cervia for the Italian Open. I was looking forward to my holiday in Benidorm, Spain with my closest friends. Before I could head out on my excursion, I would finally meet with Julie Fryer to ha ve a tryout, since I blew her off a month ago. A f ew days before my Spain vacation, Julie had flown to Amsterdam to meet with Ruu d, Peter, and Myself (and of course my parents). The tryout went very smooth. Everybody loved Julie’s personality fr om the get go and we started our new partnership. I was still a bit star struck that I was dancing with one of the best girls in the industry ofballroom dancing at the time. It seemed like an odd pair ing because at the time I had a rather reserved and quiet personality . Who would ever in a mill ion years have thought what kind of adventure we were about to undertake or how successful we had become. <NEW CHAPTER BREAK> We hit the ground running as Julie and I got ready for a four week performance trip to Istrie, which was then still Y ugoslavia. This trip would be a great way for Julie and I to get used to each other physically as a dance partnership and to get to know each otherbetter . W e hit it off right away and it felt l ike she was the sister I never had. The shows went well, people loved us together. After a month of being with the same couples for the shows, we created many new contacts. I felt I was growing as a dancereach day . I loved doing the shows because of their entertainment value and it was a chance to use a lot of my dance training. Julie was so f ar ahead of me at the time and had a lot more experience than I did. Despite that she was very patient with me so that I could process everything faster and in my own way . I have always appreciated that in her and it was one of the key elements as to why our partnership flourished. W e rarely fought and agreed on most points. Upon our return to Holland, we started preparing for competition season which kind ofwas nerve racking, since we had still only been dancing roughly two months. We would now have to finish choreographing our five competitive routines and say goodbye to all of the show routi nes we had perf ormed with in Y ugoslavia. Julie and I both picked up the new material very quickly and everything Ruud wanted from us we could pretty much do right away. The enthusiasm started to build and our little team headed for the first competition. <NEW CHAPTER BREAK> The first competitions were domestic and we won basically most of them, but there was really no high level competition except from one couple who lived in London, England. They were the Dutch national champions to beat and they were in the top 24 of every
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1989, summer after a rough week in Cervia for the Italian Open. I was looking forwardto my holiday in Benidorm, Spain with my closest friends.
Before I could head out on my excursion, I would finally meet with Julie Fryer to have atryout, since I blew her off a month ago. A few days before my Spain vacation, Julie had
flown to Amsterdam to meet with Ruud, Peter, and Myself (and of course my parents).
The tryout went very smooth.
Everybody loved Julie’s personality from the get go and we started our new partnership.
I was still a bit star struck that I was dancing with one of the best girls in the industry of
ballroom dancing at the time. It seemed like an odd pairing because at the time I had arather reserved and quiet personality. Who would ever in a million years have thought
what kind of adventure we were about to undertake or how successful we had become.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
We hit the ground running as Julie and I got ready for a four week performance trip toIstrie, which was then still Yugoslavia. This trip would be a great way for Julie and I to
get used to each other physically as a dance partnership and to get to know each other
better. We hit it off right away and it felt like she was the sister I never had.
The shows went well, people loved us together. After a month of being with the same
couples for the shows, we created many new contacts. I felt I was growing as a dancer
each day. I loved doing the shows because of their entertainment value and it was achance to use a lot of my dance training. Julie was so far ahead of me at the time and had
a lot more experience than I did. Despite that she was very patient with me so that Icould process everything faster and in my own way. I have always appreciated that inher and it was one of the key elements as to why our partnership flourished. We rarely
fought and agreed on most points.
Upon our return to Holland, we started preparing for competition season which kind of
was nerve racking, since we had still only been dancing roughly two months.
We would now have to finish choreographing our five competitive routines and saygoodbye to all of the show routines we had performed with in Yugoslavia. Julie and I
both picked up the new material very quickly and everything Ruud wanted from us we
could pretty much do right away. The enthusiasm started to build and our little teamheaded for the first competition.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
The first competitions were domestic and we won basically most of them, but there was
really no high level competition except from one couple who lived in London, England.
They were the Dutch national champions to beat and they were in the top 24 of every
major championship in England and semi-finalists in the European and World
Championships. To beat them was not going to be an easy task.
After a few domestic competitions, we prepared ourselves for our first international
competition in London at Royal Albert Hall.
During the competition, Julie and I got to the same round as the other Dutch couple
which we were pleased with. Julie had already been in the semi-finals, but it was a
tremendous jump in ranking for me. I had skipped three rounds altogether from being inthe last 125 to the quarter final. It was overwhelming at first, but I also felt my
competitiveness grow. Due to Julie’s patience and nurturing, I felt my confidence and
exhilaration for the sport growing fast.
From October to about March we competed in so many national and international
competitions. The domestic ones we pretty much won and wound up in the quarter finals
of most international competitions we attended.
During our competitive run, Ruud had been working a few things out in assessing our
dancing. His analysis led him to believe that I was not really achieving my greatest potential. That being the case, Ruud set out to mold me into a top flight competitor.
Everything always came easy to me when it came to dance. I never really had to work
for results, and Ruud was committed to changing that practice. It was about a month
away from the Dutch National Championships and a month and a half from the biggestcompetition in the world. The Open British in Blackpool. (The Wimbledon of the
Ballroom Dance Industry).
Ruud had a plan of action to get us prepared for the competition, and we were soon about
to find out what he had in mind.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
7 AM was the wake up call every morning to prepare for a full days practice at the studiostarting at 9 AM. A typical day began with a full warm up followed by a full run through
of all five dances with a little extra time tacked onto each in an effort to build stamina.
Ruud would then go through various points that he felt we could improve on. One thingin particular that Ruud focused on was regarding entrance and exit possibilities.
Typically couples would walk onto the floor, stand in place and wait for the music to begin dancing and cease movement at the conclusion of the music. Ruud basically
suggested that Julie and I experiment with different options such as starting to dance just
before the music would start or finish off our choreography slightly later than all theother couples.
At the conclusion of our session, we would dance another full round of all five dances to
music and incorporate the options Ruud had discussed, such as the entrance and exit
discussions.
After we were done with the 2nd round, Ruud would tell us we took it too easy, we were
lazy and couldn’t do it on talent alone. I still remember he would always tell me that, “Ionly liked to watch TV and eat French fries instead of acting like a hungry top athlete”
We would leave the dance studio totally broken down, but for some odd reason, as muchas I wanted to give up, I pulled through.
I had such a hard time since I was a listener and rarely displayed my emotions, at least
not with the outside world. Inside though I was burning of frustration, confusion andexcitement.
The next day, Julie and I walked in the studio, got changed, warmed-up and did the first
round with much less stamina problems and a fresh outlook. We tried not to find anyexcuses and just work hard and no cutting corners. The work relationship became better
and better. We were building stamina, confidence, and a belief in our work.
After about two weeks, we had only a few days left before our first major competition,
the National Championships. The National Championships was important for us because
only the first two couples would qualify to go on to represent Holland at the Europeanand World Championships.
On the day of the Nationals, Julie and I were so prepared that we made quick work of allthe preliminary rounds. By the time we got to the final round, we both felt like it was our
first round and we were enjoying the fact we were in our own world. All the other
couples seemed tired by the final round while we looked refreshed. I guess we had our share of being tired and in physical pain a few weeks prior during training. By the end of
the final we were so excited and felt like the weeks of building up to this moment, the
pain and agony, had just disappeared.
In this particular competition, the MC would announce the National champions before
giving the results of all the different classes. This was the most nerve racking moment of
the competition; waiting for the result. It’s the only thing that is really out of your personal control and minutes feel like hours.
The results were finally announced and we basically blew past the London based couplesand won all five dances. The audience was so enthusiastic and we felt such a relief and
excitement that we were both in tears. Hearing your national anthem is quite a thing.
Nobody had ever trained us for a competition in the way that Ruud had prepared us for
Nationals. We were so focused on the work and getting involved with what we had to do,
that without consciously knowing it, we were totally relating with the audience. It truly
After coming home and a little celebration on our recent victory, it was time to focus onthe Open-British in Blackpool. Since Julie and I were officially still in the Youth Under
21 category we decided to focus our first Open-British on the youth and simply enjoy the
Amateurs.
My first Blackpool was two years prior and I didn’t make it out of the first round with my
Dutch partner, Natasja. Walking on the floor for the first round of the youth was kind of humbling since nobody knew me and we did not perform well. The following year at
Blackpool yielded much of the same. This time I was competing with my first English
dance partner Joanne and we didn’t make it out of the last 125 couples ranking.
In the weeks leading up this Blackpool, we did the same ritual that Ruud had us doing in
preparation for the National Championships. We got so used to it that I started to get
more invested and learned about the emotional aspects of the dance.
Julie and I really got involved in our creative work and the rounds went by quickly. Our
excitement began to show pretty much from the start. Because we were so involved withwhat we did, we were noticed and along the way and the audience was really swinging in
our favor. By the time we got towards the quarter final we had the audience totally eating
out of the palm of our hands. When they announced us for the semi final I was ecstatic
and apparently so was the audience who was screaming their lungs out. We had quickly become the fan favorite among the hundreds of couples competing and that made it
easier. We had reached the final and we already had a better result than ever before.
What made it more poignant was the fact that up to this point I was a virtual unknown inmy industry. When we were called for the final something unique happened, we got a
standing ovation from the audience which was so overwhelming that we danced the
whole final feeling like we were on some form of narcotic. Nothing could go wronganymore and after we came off the floor. Both of our families and Ruud (who had
become family) were crying and screaming. I didn’t care anymore what placement we
would end up getting. We made the final which I never thought would happen and on topof that we had the audience in frenzy. At times I remember being so happy that I forgot
where I was. It was such an exhilarating feeling that I never wanted to end. I don’t think
there is a more rewarding feeling in the world than the appreciation of the audience. We
finished that competition in 2nd place which drew some criticism from the audience whofelt we should have won the whole thing. I personally think that result was just fine.
Thanks to a strong performance and overwhelming support from the audience, we
became visible to the judges.
We competed in the Amateurs Division at Blackpool a few days later and this time we
were not unknown anymore. Even though all the top couples were competing in thisdivision, we got most of the audience on our side again. Normally, a placement of 2nd or
3rd place in the Youth Under 21 division would generally place you in the top 24 of the
Amateur division, but no further. It was thrilling to break through in an unprecedented
ascent immediately to the top 12 right away along with the first placed couple.
If the Nationals and Blackpool results were not enough, the European 10-Dance
Championships had another surprise for us in store.
Julie and I did not only compete in the Latin division (which we won), but we also
competed in the Standard division as well. Ruud was never in favor of us doingStandard, he thought it took away from Latin and he simply thought we weren’t
Championship material in the Standard division.
During the Nationals, we had secured 5th place in the Standard division which was good
considering we did this style a lot less than Latin and paid a lot less attention to it overall
before Nationals. What none of us knew was that to qualify for the European and World
10-Dance Championships, the powers that be at Nationals would combine the best resultsof the individual divisions. We didn’t even think about the possibility of ever going to a
10-Dance Championship, but after we received the official invitation we realized we had
the best overall result and we were the official Dutch 10-Dance and Latin Champions.
The actual European 10 Dance Championships held in Eastern Europe was another
interesting experience. Similar to Blackpool, we started as an unknown couple to theaudience. Just like Blackpool, we managed to sway the audience to our side, especially
with our Latin performance. This audience was louder than Blackpool so it was
definitely inspiring. This Championship competition confirmed our ability to connect
with the audience because it was held quite a long way from home. We had no supportersand nobody came along with us. We had only just finished Blackpool and were in a
semi-recuperative state. It all went so quick and the invitation came so last minute that
we hardly had time to prepare.
I didn’t expect anything results wise in the Standard division. When we were called out
for the semi-final, I thought it was a mistake. I didn’t expect to get into the semi-finals atall. Julie and I were in heaven by the end of the semi-final and the energy in the building
was crazy. We felt on top of the world…just the two of us. We were in for a big surprise
as well as the audience when we made the final. We ended up finishing 6th in the final of the Standard and that’s exactly what we expected, nothing more. This was the European
Championship 10 Dance and we made the final in the Standard division; it was perfect.
Starting the Latin Final, Julie and I felt a lot more confident and it showed in the marks.Seeing our dance marks was very shocking because we ended up winning all five dances
in the Latin division with the majority of the scores placing us into 1st place. It would be
interesting to see what the overall placement would end up being.
We had 6th place in the Standard and 1st in the Latin. As they announced the winners, we
were thrilled every time our name was not called. Ultimately we placed 3rd overall whichwas a total shocker to us, but not to the judges or the audience. Judges and spectators
alike came up to us and told us we would be the next world champions. They loved what
It was very overwhelming and humbling. Being one of the youngest dancers there and
with no real experience, it was hard to take in everything that was going on. It felt great
to be doing so well and to be appreciated by the audience, but we didn’t really know howto react to all of it. All I knew is that I wanted more, it had become an addiction.
What a year it has been coming from absolute nowhere to being the new sensation. Julieand I became known as the young new couple to watch. With a new season ahead of us,
we had a lot to look forward to such as the season opener; The World Latin
Championship and our first Worlds.
The past two and a half years had been life-changing and although the initial weeks were
not pleasant, I came to show that if I really wanted something bad enough, and was
willing to go the distance, that results would come my way.
God, it was amazing how quickly we got results. I started to believe that I could reach
further and I loved connecting with the audience. On top of that, who better to do that
with than with the partner who I truly started loving as a person and as a sister. Julie andI were on a journey together, a reality created by us, guided by our mentor, father and
friend Ruud.
For the foreseeable future, everything looked right.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
Since summer was a little slower, we had time to focus more on developing our skills.
The name of the game was change and we did a lot of it. We changed and addedchoreography while experimenting more with different approaches and new possibilities.
Ruud was a veritable magician and he knew exactly how to tap into our potential. I never really knew what he had in store for us, but it didn’t matter because whatever it was, it
always worked. The Ballroom dance industry in the late eighties early nineties wasn’t all
that exciting. Nobody really stood out and tried to be progressive or push the envelope.That was far from the case with Julie and I. Ruud had every intention of positioning us to
be pioneers and create a whole new look and approach to competitive ballroom dancing.
Dancing for us became so much more about the depth of movement, understanding the
physical, mental and emotional behavior of the psyche and the world possibilities while performing. It was so much more than steps and pretty costumes alone.
Ruud lived half the time in London to start his studies of Laban. Rudolf von Laban was agentleman that had studied human behavior for decades in the early nineteen hundreds
and now had several universities around the world where people could earn degrees on
human movement dynamics. Ruud traveled back and forth between London andAmsterdam to apply what he learned into to ballroom dancing. At the time I’m sure he
didn’t realize in doing so he would become one of the most successful coached within the
industry. Even today, I think I am one of the closest followers of Laban’s work and
totally owe all my success and philosophy to Ruud.
Before we would go to our first World Championships in Denmark, Julie and I would
first compete in the German Open held in Stuttgart, Germany. This competition was
more of an experimental one to try out new chorographical ideas and tactics in betweendances. Whatever worked here we would keep for the Worlds and whatever didn’t was
removed. We were so occupied with our experiments we didn’t really place much stock
in the magnitude of this competition.
It’s worth mentioning also that during that time England and Western Europe had a lot of
exposure to ballroom dancing while Eastern European audiences languished in the
absence of ballroom under Communist sentiment. Germany was closer to EasternEurope and so gave Eastern European audiences a chance to see a world class
competition. Hundreds of audience members from the eastern block countries were in
attendance.
The Eastern European audience was even more raucous than their western counterparts.
They seemed to be our biggest fans. It almost felt like our dancing gave an outlet for inspiration to a people who limited creative or personal freedoms. We were enjoying the
fact that we were noticed and getting a great reaction from this new audience. It was
inspirational to me and it worked well.
During the semifinals, we were dancing the Paso Doble and one of the chorographical
choices we had made was that after the last musical hit in the music, we would continue
on for a few seconds while other couples would stop. So while other couples stopped,Julie was still hanging and almost in slow motion, slid down the floor. The audience was
in shock and in suspense in anticipation of what would happen next while the other semi-
finalists simply strolled off the floor. When I finally let go of Julie and she intentionallydropped to the floor, the audience went absolutely crazy for what seemed like forever.
Julie and I were shocked at the reactions and almost didn’t know what to do, because by
that time all couples were already off the floor. We wondered whether we should soak inthe applause or exit the floor quickly. Well, we chose the former and the audience just
kept sustaining for a long time. I’m sure the other couples were probably thinking to
themselves, “Just who the hell are these people and what did they do to deserve such
applause?” By the end of Jive, there was no doubt in anybody’s mind, even the judges,that we were the audience favorite. Yet, we had to see if we would break through to the
Final.
It was only two and a half months after Blackpool and almost all the top couples were
competing at this Championship. Since we were in the top twelve at Blackpool we would
have to beat a lot of couples to make it into the top six. When our number was called outfor the top 6 we were ecstatic. We didn’t expect to make it to the finals that soon.
Looking at the judges marks, Julie and I had received 3rd and 4th place markings which
The final round went by quickly and we had another tremendous performance. During
the Paso Doble, we repeated what we had done in the previous round to even greater success. We received mostly 3rd places, which we were so happy about, but one judge
decided to give us a first place. The audience went totally nuts and the judge held up the
mark as if to say, “It’s time for a change, and that time is now.”
You can imagine how excited and emotional we were. Audiences and judges came up to
us to congratulate us on our performance. Competition organizers gave us invitations toattend other world competitions. It was pretty clear now we were on the rise and it was
all due to the fact that we dared to be different. This all just solidified my belief that if
you committed yourself, even something unknown or scary, if you believe it, it will work
and you will be successful.
From that point we had less than a week to continue and sharpen our regimen for the
World Latin Championships in Denmark. We had a great performance and Julie and I
became the youngest couple to make it into the Final of a world class competition. Wewere so happy to break though and although it was immensely quick, we were starting to
secure a solid position for ourselves among the top couples that we competed against.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
Julie and I had now set our standards very high and wanted to be included in all finals inEngland as well. In the meantime after the Worlds we traveled the world to compete in
various competitions worldwide sometimes Latin, other times 10 Dance. From Asia to
Europe we spanned the globe. In between trips we had lessons and focused on growingas dancers with Ruud. If I could on days off, I would go clubbing in Amsterdam though
there was hardly any time because of all the traveling and training. I didn’t like the fact
that I had less and less time for anything other than dance, but I didn’t see any other wayaround it. That being the case, I never said anything even though the pressure was
starting to build.
After the New Year Rudd, Julie and I were going into a more intense regimen than ever
and focused our efforts in order to make a big statement at the UK Championships which
would be televised by BBC…a HUGE deal. We were more experienced with all the
facets of performing and Ruud had designed very interesting and daring choreography.
Each couple making it to the Final would have to do a solo and an interview. Right from
the start of the competition, we hit the ground running from the moment we stepped footon the floor from Round 1 until the semi-finals. We never took a single round easy. After
that, we had to wait for word on our “fate”. when the MC announced the six finalists and
our number was included in the coveted six, a feeling of exhilaration came over us.
This was a MAJOR breakthrough in England. England was the Mecca of ballroom
dancing and held the most prestigious championships in the world. Though we did not
end up winning it, making this final meant more to us than any other final we had ever
experienced.
Julie and I were so excited and inspired because we came in with our controversial but
innovative routines and still managed to defeat the majority of the other couples who
came in with their standard routines. The audience was with us because we gave themsomething different and unexpected.
A year and a half prior, Julie and I had first met. Now in a matter of 18 months we wereconsidered one of the top couples in the world. What a great start to the New Year.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
More invitations came in and as a result we attended more competitions. Because of our
heavy travel schedule, we had less quality time with Ruud to develop and continue
growing. We gained a lot of experience as performers, which was good but our
development curve as far as being dancers was leveling off. Another downside was that Ihardly had any social life which had been bothering me for some time, but it was getting
worse. I started losing enthusiasm for everything. Too much traveling, too manycompetitions and not enough practice time.
Although seeing the world and staying at 5 star hotels with great competition results to
boot was fun, the excitement was slowly fading. To show our face as much as possibleon the competitive circuit would make us politically stronger. But the constant need to
press on competing created a lot of pressure. This pressure was so great, that I started to
really dislike practices so at times we would cut our sessions short. Around this time, wealso were getting a lot of criticism, especially from the British judges that we were not
technical enough and too “different” at times. They made us doubt ourselves which was
the biggest mistake we could have made. With World Championships ahead of us, westarted concentrating on working our technical skills.
Things became routine and it started to feel like I was doing it more for everybody else
rather than myself. It was just too much of the same shit over and over again. My performance reflected my emotional state and I was without a doubt losing interest.
At that point, I would never dare say anything because I was quiet back then. I did not
share my thoughts with my family or Ruud, especially my dad, because he thought what Iwas doing was so important. Even though I said I didn’t want to compete so, my parents
constantly fought about it. We ended up going and I always had to hear how much
money and time was spent on me and how I was not showing any appreciation for it. Iwas getting criticism from all angles. Even Ruud said that I was lazy and wanted to do
nothing but sit around and watch TV and eat French fries. The optimist became the
pessimist and the glass started looking half empty versus half full.
My parents, Julie and Ruud might have perceived my lack of interest as laziness, but
really it was just that I felt I was not in control of my own life. I started feeling a bit
guilty because I felt bad for Ruud and Julie. They weren’t the main causes of all this, yet
it was affecting them. So I tried to put my feelings aside and we pressed on. I could cope
with inner anger and loneliness, but I had to come to terms with my secret hell sooner or
later.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
After an unending series of competitions, our second Blackpool was already on the
horizon. For our second Blackpool, we dropped out of the Youth Under 21 competition
and decided to focus on the Amateur division. We made the final, but all the issues thathad been affecting our performances leading up to Blackpool also surfaced. Everyone
took notice and as a result, we did lose a majority of the fan base in that competition. I
was spent. I couldn’t give anymore and our performance was too “matter of fact” and too
mechanical. I felt like I was losing my personal spirit and had no outlet to share myfrustrations. Even if I did I couldn’t even form the words to do it.
On one hand I really felt we needed to slow down and also take some time off, but on the
other hand, I’d end up feeling guilty because it would be perceived as laziness andmisdirected priorities. All I wanted was a balance between a career and time at home
with my friends. Even between Julie and I sometimes things would heat up and thefrequencies of misunderstandings increased. The summer following Blackpool had a
lighter competition schedule, so I had hoped things would smooth over. But things pretty
much remained status quo. I felt Ruud was growing irritated even if he couldn’t quite put
his finger on exactly what was going on. I just kept my mouth shut and pressed on onecompetition at a time.
The pressure at home was very restricting, fighting with my mom about anything and mydad fighting with my mom constantly about how to support my dancing. My dad always
seemed to be a bit more carefree and respectful of my wishes though many years later the
perception would prove false. If there was ever a good side to all this, I would say thatall this traveling at the time meant that I was hardly ever home, which almost made me
forget my domestic problems for the past few years. I had not confronted my personal
problems with my parents’ marriage and alcohol issues, so I could never really expressmyself. I didn’t want to be home so traveling helped but I was also away from close
friends and that wasn’t good. Even when I was with my friends, I couldn’t really open up
because none of them really knew what I had been going through all these years nor did I
think they could relate or offer me comfort.
Everyone assumed I had given everything, so how could I possibly complain? I had
everything I wanted (no expenses, no work, family support) and all I really needed to dowas dance.
But perception is far from reality and it was very difficult. No one knew of the mentaland physical abuse that I had witnessed between my mother and father or the heated
exchanges that kept me up at night. I had tried to muster the strength at times to try and
stop them but I faltered and lost my nerve. The sight and images of my mother crying
with makeup running all across her face, and my drunken father enraged and furious are
images I’ll never forget. The fact we had a professional bar in every house we’ve lived in
didn’t help since it felt like I was living in a pub and my father was the star patron.
My parents didn’t realize that I had witnessed them fight all those years. They thought I
didn’t know anything that went on in their marriage. They would both get so wasted that
they didn’t even remember anything that happened the next morning and life went on asif nothing happened at all. But I knew it was like walking on thin ice because though
things seemed normal during the day, the evening always brought along the complete
opposite. I had nightmares as a result of years of witnessing this exchange between my parents. My mom thought my episodes at night were the result of watching the Hulk on
TV, but she had no idea that it was in fact their fighting that was the true source.
Looking back on those years, it’s amazing that they did not pickup that I was aneyewitness to some of their most embarrassing moments. I became lonely and didn’t
know if I should speak to anyone. I felt if I did it would almost be betraying my parents
in a way.
Thank God for dancing because it kept me away from all of that.
By the time we got to the end of the year we were set to compete at the World
Championship 10 dance in Belgium. We had a lot of friends and family with us, which
certainly helped and made it a lot more fun. Coming into this match we were already
bronze medalists from the previous year. The match went well but nothing significantoccurred and it was a rather muted statement to end the rough year.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
After a fun holiday season, it was back to the same routine and prepping for the second
UK Championships in England. Julie and I had made all finals without any issues andwere just three or four placements away from becoming the next world champions.
Being a regular couple in the final didn’t help inspire us a whole lot. The excitement andthe uncertainty that we felt when we first started was now lost. With everything that was
going on inside my head, I found it extremely hard to find the energy to make the
important “IT” factor happen. Sometimes it was there, often times it wasn’t and I felt
like a light switch with a mind of its own that would periodically switch on and off depending on my mood.
After the UK, we had Nationals which by now was routine and quite fun, zero stress. Ienjoyed our Nationals more because the audience loved us, as we were the couple
destined to bring Holland to the top. I loved dancing on home ground after a few weeks
non-stop traveling. It was also good to be home with friends and enjoy some free time. Ifelt I had already skipped most of my teenage years through competitions and travel, and
I was determined not to waste the rest of my youth away.
This constant barrage of pressure took it’s toll on my partnership with Julie and I felt our
relationship begin to stagnate, perhaps even drift apart. There was a fundamental lack of
communication between us and she had no idea what was going on with me personally. Iwas at fault for this because I guess I just didn’t have the courage to share and be honest
with my feelings.
A few months prior, Julie and I had a competition together in Japan. I met up with
another dancer that I had gotten involved with in a long distance relationship at the time.
We casually joked about the possibility of about just leaving it all behind to enjoy life, butthat was fantasy, I had to get back to reality. Julie and I were on our way to becoming
world champions so how could I possibly leave now? I didn’t have a good answer.
After a series of championships, it was time again for Blackpool. The pressure was sointense that I sometimes wanted to break down and just give up, but I knew I needed to
press on. The European final was in two weeks and Blackpool was in three.
I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. All I could think about was my desire to quit. I couldn’thandle it. I was hurt with no time to heal. Everyone was constantly pulling at me for
something and my life became a picture of happiness when in reality everythingcontradicted what I was presenting on the outside.
I needed an outlet to express myself and I found it in my first dance teacher, Marcella.
Marcella was a best friend and like an older sister to me in a way because she could
easily discern what I was feeling. She had known what was going on all these years and
could see past the façade of a happy family portrait and the perfect dance career. WhenJulie and I arrived back in Amsterdam, I went to the dance studio to see Marcella. The
sight of her made me well up immediately, as if she was the beacon of relief from my
burdens that I had so desperately sought. Even Marcella was taken aback by my sudden burst of emotion and asked me what I was so distraught over. I told Marcella that I didn’t
feel I could cut it anymore. I couldn’t keep up appearances any longer even though I
tried so hard to do it. I had grown numb to everything and I felt like a puppet in someoneelse’s play and I need to cut the strings and find my own path.
All Marcella said was, “You have to make sure you do what’s right for you and nobody
else”.
It felt good to hear that and I held it close to me determined to summon some action from
that sage advice as soon as possible.
Julie and I began our preparation for the European championships and Blackpool.
Though we hardly spoke, we still managed to do our warm-ups and lessons with Ruud. Ididn’t say anything, hoping that I could just get through all of this with minimal drama.
While I was watching TV a few weeks prior, I saw an interview on the Oprah Winfrey
show with Michael Jackson. It was pretty clear that Michael had had an unhappy
childhood or lack thereof. His adolescence had been sacrificed for fame and fortune. I
thought that here was a guy who really had everything he could ever wish for in the
world yet he looked so sad and helpless. Even though Michael was a much bigger celebrity than I was, I kind of felt like I could relate to his experiences; even if it was
within the tiny microcosm of the ballroom dance world. All I thought to myself was that
I didn’t want to end up like him and I needed to do something about it. Michael didn’tstop and look where he ended up. I started believing that maybe I needed to on grounds
of sanity and quality of life. Maybe being world champion would make me happy after
all and all of this was just an illusion. Somehow, my intuition told me otherwise.
During a pivotal instructional session, I tried to be focused and was present both mentally
and physically. Rudd was trying to get me to evoke emotion and include Julie in the
process. That part did not go so well and Ruud immediately sensed something waswrong and pulled me aside to address the issue. His confrontation was too much for me
to handle and I just broke down.
Julie was on the other side of the studio watching on as her partner totally lost emotionalcontrol and looked concerned over what was developing. I think deep down Julie knew
something was always amiss, but didn’t know how to approach the situation. Julie triedto inch closer to the situation and piece together what was being said in the flurry of
dialogue that ensued.
Though she couldn’t hear what was going on in detail, she could certainly read in between the lines. It was over…
I felt bad for her and even a bit selfish, but I just couldn’t cut it anymore. Ruud took usto his home where he and his life partner Peter sat us down and tried to calm us down.
Ruud asked me why I hadn’t said something earlier. Though he tried to make us feel
better, Ruud also had the responsibility to let me know the repercussions of my actions.He tried as best he could to be calm, but he was upset and justifiably so. Ruud stressed
that my decision at this juncture would jeopardize not only my career, but also Julie’s. I
hated myself for doing this and Ruud’s statements only made me feel guiltier. We weresupposed to be a team and I hadn’t included Julie or him in any of my internal
discussions and feelings. In the end I just simply froze. I had no experience dealing
with such powerful emotion and I was ill equipped to share much of anything to anyone.
When my parents got the news, the shit hit the fan. Although I understood their
disappointment over the situation, I was numbed to feeling with their hateful remarks.
“We’re not paying for anything anymore”, “You’ll never make it again”, “How could youdo this to us”, “What you are doing to Julie ”,“How could you be so selfish”, and “Your
career is over” are just SOME of the many wonderful things I had to listen to from my
parents.
I told Marcella the news and it was refreshing to see how she didn’t make a judgment on
my action. She stuck with her advice from before and told me if this is what I needed to
do for myself to gain balance again, then I needed to do it and it was ok.
I woke up the next day exhausted and emotionally empty. Did I make the right decision?
When news broke publicly about our cancellation out of the European Championships, illsentiment came from every part of the globe. One moment you’re the hero, next moment
you’re the villain.
All I heard was the same old story of how I was so selfish and how I made the worst
choice of my life. My parents wouldn’t talk to me, and I truly felt for Julie. I hoped one
day that both Ruud and Julie understood why I did what I did. For days I wondered if Imade the right decision and I never felt more lost and alone than I did then.
Few weeks past and things calmed down a bit, my parents started supporting me a bit
more and I also had time to reflect on my quest to become world champion. What Ifound was that for me personally, it just wasn’t worth it. It all went by too quickly and I
missed out on a world of knowledge and experience because of all the traveling and
competing. It was a vicious circle that I needed to stop.
I needed to do things, but it needed to be on my terms. And if I ever would try to become
a world champion again, it would have to be on my terms. As Ruud had always told me,“The Best Way is Your Own Way”.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
My friend had told me of a college that had training for the arts five days a week 8 hours
a day. Because I had training in classical dance, I was interested. The only problem was
you needed a high school diploma and I had stopped schooling at age 15 to startcompeting. My principal at the time sorted the paperwork so that it reflected I was in
school until 16. My friend’s father convinced the Director of the college to audition me.
The Director told me to show up for ballet class the following Friday morning followed by a modern class. I had always hated ballet and had no experience in modern, but I
wanted to get in so badly that I mustered the courage to audition. During the audition,
my head was spinning. I was excited because I felt this might be a chance to show theworld that I could do things my way and still be successful.
When I came out of the audition, I had no idea what the teachers thought and had not yet
received word of my fate from the Director. All I was told was to wait a few days. Soduring this time, I spent some quality time with my mother at the beach. It had been a
rare moment in time where I was not fighting with my mother and she could tell I was
much happier than I had been in months past.
I had no expectations regarding my acceptance into the college. With no high school
diploma and an audition in Ballet and Modern, I had the cards stacked against me. Idecided I couldn’t wait and during my beach excursion with my mom, I excused myself
to place a call to the college to see whether a decision had been made. I made the call
from the beach restaurant’s phone and I was so nervous, almost as if I was prepping for a
big competition. When I had heard the response that I had been accepted, I had a calm
victorious feeling flow over my body. I dropped the phone with tear of excitement in my
eyes. It was the first time I had successfully achieved something on my own without
anyone else’s input. I felt like a winner again and it felt like the world’s doors weresuddenly opening again.
When I came back down to the beach, I sat quietly down next to my mother and saidthree words, “I am in”. My mother was so happy and she started to cry which made me
well up as well. She hugged me and I swear it felt like the first hug I had received in my
life. It felt so good because it was sincere.
From then on, things were much better with my mother and me. I really enjoyed that
summer making up for lost time. I rekindled ties with family, and really started enjoying
my social life. It was perfect timing before I started my new life at the college. AlthoughI did not know what to really expect down the road, I was really looking forward to
learning new dances and experiencing new things.
I moved into the city of Amsterdam with two friends for life at the college. I loved everyminute of it…even if it only lasted for a few months.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
For a long time after, I stopped competing with Julie and I was told I would never get to
the same point in my career again. Day after day I would think back and wonder if Imade the decision in leaving my world class career with Julie. That made me even more
unhappy, lonely and more insecure.
But I was so much happier now and things at the University were going well. The days
of wondering became less and less as I grew more engrossed in my college activities. I
loved all the classes and the diversity; I even started appreciating ballet. It felt like yearshad passed in my training but really you learn everything in the first few months and after
that it is all about repetition and application. I guess I’m grateful for my good memory
that I could absorb everything I learned efficiently. I felt more confident about my progression as a well rounded dancer having developed poise, control and flexibility. I
was glad that I wasn’t missing out on any steps in my dance education and life for that
matter. I knew this was what I wanted to do and I felt great about it.
After a few months into intensive training I had a very important meeting with the
Artistic Director. In the conversation, she told me that I had the talent to be in any dance
company and even get on Broadway if I wanted to. All I needed to do was finish my four years at the college, but she also said that if I wanted to make good money and not live
paycheck to paycheck, audition to audition, I should consider returning to the world of
ballroom dancing. At first I didn’t like what she was saying. I didn’t want to hear it because I was happy with where I was at this point in my life. I did allow myself for a
moment to consider the possibility of returning to ballroom, but as soon as I entertained
that possibility, a voice echoed in my mind that reminded me that I may not actually be
I wondered what my parents, Ruud, and Julie were going to say. Even though I had
finally regained some support from my parents, I figured they would never support melike they had in the past. Certainly Ruud would never want to teach me again after what I
did to him. I just pulled the plug on everything right in the middle of it all and Ruud had
poured all his energy into me, even while he was exceedingly busy with his own studiesat his University in London. The possibility of him ever mentoring me again seemed
slim. I became scared and insecure at the thought of approaching him, but I knew if I
was ever to make a comeback, I would have to face him sooner or later.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
Every second weekend of November, the Dutch Open is held. It is highly regardedamong the world’s championship events and is known for its atmosphere, great music,
and the best audience anywhere hands down.
I attended this competition just to check it out not really knowing what to expect. I was a bit nervous because I knew I would inevitably run into Ruud, Julie, and pretty much
everyone in the business at that competition; there really was just no way around it. Juliehad decided to turn professional and was dancing with a new professional status partner.
This was to be Julie’s first competition since our split.
I was nervous entering the ballroom because I didn’t know what kind of reaction I wouldget. It had been at least half a year since I had been to a competition or pretty much
spoken to anyone from the industry. It felt like it had been years but I felt excited to be
there and to watch the competition.
When I went up to Ruud I expected a colder reaction during the encounter but he was
much more cordial than I anticipated and asked how I had been doing. During our conversation, Ruud admitted that he understood why I had decided to stop dancing and
actually thought that my decision was not necessarily a bad one. I think he realized that
you just simply cannot produce your best if you’re unhappy doing what you’re doing. A philosophy he has always preached has been that you have to mentally, physically, and
emotionally involved in what you are doing, or else it just won’t be the best you can do.
Ruud told me admired the fact that I had gone out on my own and gained experience inother forms of dance and made a point to educate myself in movement. It felt good to
receive praise from him regarding my decision because I held an enormous amount of
respect for the man. The conversation with Ruud made me rest assured that everythingwould be fine and that I had in fact made the right choice in leaving competitive ballroom
dance. While Ruud and I watched the Amateur Latin round, Ruud could sense that my
excitement and curiosity for ballroom had not diminished despite my departure from it.Seizing on the moment, Ruud casually offered an unsolicited opinion that perhaps I
should consider coming back to compete. Ruud made it so easy to feel like nothing had
Ruud and I talked for a long time after and reflected on what had happened in the past
two years. He agreed it had gone quick, something we didn’t expect because we were
completely wrapped up in the whole mess.
Further capitalizing on the moment, Ruud pointed at two girls during the competition that
he felt might be a good fit for me. I liked both, but the one girl, from Germany, I thoughtwould be too tall for me. The other girl was perfect in terms of height and I loved the
way she moved, but there were two rather glaring problems: 1) She had a partner 2) Her
partner was Julie’s boyfriend.
I had already caused enough chaos in Julie’s world. To ask this girl of all girls, and
inconvenience her boyfriend’s dancing career, it just seemed inappropriate. God, and
what would Julie think about all this? I had so quickly left the limelight and all of suddenhere I was again. I just felt bad about the whole situation. Ruud, knowing the situation at
hand, suggested that he would talk to the girl on my behalf to see if she was even
interested. No one would question Ruud’s inquiry.
Turns out she was extremely interested in Ruud’s proposition and within two weeks I left
the University to start a new journey with a new partner in the ballroom world, with arenewed sense of vigor.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
I made a promise to myself that this time I was going to do it my way and not be pushed
around by anyone. I would express my feelings so everyone involved would know how I
was doing emotionally. This would allow me to have the balance I needed.
I had not spoken to Julie or her boyfriend, but I’m pretty sure they were pissed off at me
during that time and I can’t say I blamed them.
This new partnership was very interesting and I was intrigued by my partner’s beautiful
and mature movements. She was only 19, but danced like a woman well beyond her years. I liked how we had such a good internal connection. What I didn’t know at the
time was that it was also a very spiritual connection.
The choreography Ruud gave us was very different and experimental. At our first major competition, we didn’t make it to the finals but we didn’t exactly get bad results either.
But after a few months of this, it started getting old fast and I was actually starting to get
irritated by this. Maybe I was more competitive than I had let on even though I had saidinitially professed that it didn’t matter to me. I guess seeing other couples make the finals
and leave us in the dust, that a year ago couldn’t even touch Julie and I, stung a bit. Since
I was becoming increasingly bothered by it, I decided that I was going to talk to my partner about changing our approach in order for us to have a chance at winning it all.
Ruud witnessed this dynamic happening and devised his own solution to the issue…he
I guess for sometime Ruud had been operating stealthily in the background and had took
the liberty of speaking with Julie. Somehow he managed to persuade her to consider the
proposition which was shocking since I was all but positive Julie probably wantednothing to do with me ever again. Turns out that although Julie had turned professional
in order to dance with a former world champion, she hated the partnership which I guess
worked to my advantage.
So while Julie and I still had our “partnerships”, Ruud, Julie, and I met up in private to
discuss the possibility of reunification. It was strange seeing Julie after not seeing her for
so long and the initial meeting was rather tense. Ruud had us both talk about whathappened from each of our perspectives. Julie really let it all out and told me how much I
had hurt her and that her career was over in a flash. I also had the chance to share my
own thoughts regarding the unending pressure and the lack of control in my own life
because of the competitive dancing. Before she would agree to anything, Julie asked whythings would be different this time around because she did not want this to happen to her
again a second time. I told her that it had been a year since we had been together and thatwe’ve both grown as individuals and as dancers. We both learned a lot about ourselves in
that time and how we each do things. Julie seemed to accept that explanation.
As a gesture of goodwill, Ruud made me get on my knees and beg Julie to take me back as her partner which I did, which Julie enjoyed very much. Julie had grown a lot more
assertive in the past year and was much more forward with what she wanted. She made
me promise to always be open with her and to never act like I had acted in years pass. Igave her my word and she gave me hers.
Though it is hard to imagine, by the end of the conversation, all three in the room believed that perhaps our separation at the time was the best thing for us. By now the
atmosphere of the room had lightened up a bit and we were joking around with each other
towards the end of the conversation.
We had decided to reunite and our partnership was born again.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
This would be a difficult road and we would certainly have all odds against us.
I had stopped dancing for a year and Julie had turned pro. In some countries, there are
loose stipulations about professionals returning back to amateur status and often require a
12 month waiting period before allowing such transition. Julie and I dancing together inAmateurs would no doubt upset quite a few people in the industry.
Julie had split with her partner and I had to tell mine. I setup a meeting between Ruud,
her and I. I was not looking forward to this meeting but I needed to let her know what
was going on. Once I told her, I was very surprised by her reaction. She told me that she
understood what was happening and was happy that Julie and I were getting back
together. She told me that we needed to dance together. I was so amazed by her character and her maturity. It was very admirable and we gave each other a big hug at the
end of the conversation. Truth is, I did enjoy dancing with her but I was just way too
competitive for her.
Once we Julie and I started, the pace picked up quickly. This time though, I felt better
prepared to handle the pressure, because we were doing things our way and not lettingtoo many outside forces influence us.
As we enjoyed our reformed partnership, Julie and I came upon a lot of obstacles
especially with the whole amateur/professional status issue. There were many couplesand dance community individuals that tried to bar us from competing and many
demanded for us to wait a full year before competing.
Not wanting to just sit there and take this, Julie and I decided to fight the outcry.Searching for aid in this matter, we went to our dance association in Holland to seek
guidance. Unlike the UK or other European countries, we were happy to discover thatour dance association had no rule regarding professionals returning to amateur status. We
were able to bypass the stipulation because we represented the Netherlands and so Dutch
rules superceded English law even though Julie was British. In order to appease ever
growing complaints from international dance associations, the Dutch dance associationcreated a less stringent rule about status transition calling for only a three month
probationary period. No one could say anything because there wasn’t any other law
currently in existence in regards to that matter. During our three month “probationary period” we were allowed to compete in smaller competitions.
Interestingly enough, the association passed the motion just a little over three months before the Dutch national championships, therefore allowing us to compete in the major
competition just in the nick of time. It was a curious coincidence but one that worked in
our favor. I guess in the end the Dutch dance association was happy that we were able toget back together.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
During this entire time, we competed in a series of competitions that would slowly begin
changing people’s perceptions once again.
Some people were skeptical, some were happy. Most of the judges didn’t really look at
our dancing objectively because they looked down on Julie returning to amateur and my
hiatus from dancing. They tried to send a message through their judging marks that wecouldn’t just waltz in here (pun intended) and get everything back that we once had. To
add fuel to the fire, the judges also disliked the new look that I was sporting; a ponytail.
Back then, no competitor wore their hair in a ponytail and I certainly didn’t do it to be
rebellious. Nevertheless, it was frowned upon as was most everything else we did.
When we came out onto the floor of our first minor competition there was more
excitement from the audience than we expected. I guess the audience was more forgivingof what happened in the past than I had anticipated. The judges were less forgiving. In
rapid succession we received 51 second places and 4 firsts. That basically meant that all
judges except one put us in second. This also meant that we had now been beaten by aDutch couple that 2 years prior wouldn’t have been able to touch us. This Dutch couple
was now the current champions and had taken our spot at the top. Even though we were
disappointed, it actually made us stronger and more inspired to continue fighting for our way of dancing.
After the New Year, we prepared for the UK Championships. It was our first
International competition since we reunited and the flak over Julie’s amateur return andmy new “look” did not cease. I had since added an additional aspect to my new “look”;
rolled up sleeves. None of these choices mind you were meant to purposely defy the
“system”, but it was more for functionality. The judges unfortunately viewed my choice
more as defiance than anything else.
To make matters worse our choreography at the time was quite different from the typicalroutines of the day. I had included many flexible and dynamic elements within our
routine, but none of what we produced was completely appreciated. We did not make the
final and even received comments suggesting that maybe we should consider toning
down our choreography as a way towards improving our results.
We were disappointed, but again our resolve would not be swayed and only made us want
to go further with what we were doing. We in a sense became rebels within the ballroomcommunity. The criticism never stopped regarding Julie’s professional status, our
choreography or my choices in grooming/fashion. But together with Ruud and Julie, we
just didn’t care. Our mission was to deliberately force the judges to look at our dancingrather than anything else.
Slowly but surely the results came. Competition by competition we became stronger andstronger and eroded the wall of criticism that had greeted us at the start of our journey. A
month after the UK Championships, the Dutch National Championships was upon us.
The other Dutch couple who had beaten us prior in the smaller competition was inattendance and had made the final along with us. We were determined to overcome them
and it was almost as if it was like some western movie showdown. Half the audience
was for them, the other half was for us. Both families even handed out balloons to theaudience in the colors of our respective costumes to garner additional support. The
competition was fierce and though our Dutch competitors fell during their Rumba, they
ended up winning the competition, having won three dances to our two. It was alreadyvery promising because the gap was narrowing and we were happy about the result going
into the French, European and World Championships that were coming up.
Three weeks later we had the French Open in Paris with some major international couples
and our main Dutch rivals. It was still kind of weird being beaten by many of these
couples who we had easily bested in years past, but we did ultimately manage to securethird place behind our Dutch rivals in second place and a German couple who were slated
to become the next world champions in first. This result was even closer than our
previous competition. We had both ended up winning two dances and shared one. Our rivals won narrowly by securing more second places than we did but the result was very
encouraging.
Things were going well and Julie and I seemed to be making a lot of progress. Finally
we were on the path back to our glory days. When I returned from Paris, I was ready to
take on the remaining competitions and prove that we were in top form. But before I
could continue this journey, I received some devastating news that would affect megreatly.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
Right after the Dutch National Championships, I went on a skiing vacation with students
and friends from Marcella’s studio. It was a trip I insisted upon and it was part of mynew plan to keep my social life intact. I figured having occasional breaks would make
me hunger more for excellence when I returned. During the trip, my good friend
Marcella had fallen ill. She did not know what was wrong exactly, but she knew deep
down it wasn’t good. It turns out for a year and a half she had a cancerous growthinternally. She was told to give up dancing for her health, but she proved everyone
wrong but maintaining her dancing. For a time, the cancerous growth even seemed to be
in remission.
Her illness during the ski trip renewed her fear in the worst and she decided to undergo
tests upon her return which took several weeks to process. I felt uneasy the entire car ride back from the trip and couldn’t shake the feeling that something about the situation felt
more grave than it let on.
Unfortunately my worries proved well founded as it was discovered that Marcella had an
aggressive terminal liver cancer in a progressed stage. Marcella was told she had at most
three months to live.
I cried as I was devastated. This woman was an icon of healthy living. Marcella never
drank, never smoked, ate right and in general lived a healthy lifestyle. At the tender age
of 34, it was too early for her to go.
Since the age of 10 Marcella had been my great supporter and one of the most important
people in my life. Now we were at a point of no return and I needed to find a way to physically say goodbye within three months to the woman who had meant so much to
Though she faced her own fate, Marcella remained upbeat and strong. She wanted as few
people to know as possible. For those that did know, Marcella wanted everyone to be
happy and not to be worried about her condition. She would rather enjoy her time leftand wanted to be as active as possible. She even judged the largest National Competition
that was organized by Ruud. She went shopping for a very expensive dress for the event
and looked absolutely stunning in her “last dress”. It was both happy and sad to seeMarcella judging that competition. On one hand I was happy she was so strong and
looking so stunning. On the other hand, I knew that it was a façade and that Marcella
was dying inside.
Each passing day things became more emotional. Marcella’s liver cancer had spread
throughout her body. My thoughts were always with her no matter what I was doing,
competing, or otherwise. It didn’t help that I was one of the few people who kept her tragic secret hidden from the world. At times I just wanted to scream out and let the
world know my anger and sadness. It just wasn’t fair that the good ones always seemed
like the first to go.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
All this emotion in an odd way gave Julie and I an edge. When we danced the German
Master Gala, we surprisingly came in second behind the world champion German couple,
ahead of our Dutch rivals.
Although we were happy with the result, my mind was really on Marcella’s condition
back home. It had been two months since her fatal diagnosis and it was clear that she
was deteriorating quickly. Blackpool was on the horizon and we were worried thatMarcella might pass on while we were competing in England. Marcella knew of our
concern and urged us to continue onto Blackpool even though she knew we were worried.
It was the way she always wanted things to be and so we did end up deciding to competein Blackpool.
I remember my last conversation with Marcella. It was three days prior to her passingand by now Marcella looked almost unrecognizable due to her condition. Her stomach
had protruded out to gross proportions due to the cancerous growth, looking as if she was
pregnant. I collapsed in her arms and told her how she could not leave and I guess my
flood of emotion caused Marcella to well up as well. We spent quite a time in each othersarms just appreciating each other’s company. It was a bittersweet moment, so painful but
happy that Marcella seemed ready to face her fate. Many close friends dropped by during
this time to spend what little quality time they had left with her. It was uncertain whenshe would pass but we knew it was coming soon.
It was on a Sunday night around 8 PM that I received the call from Marcella’s brother.He told me that Marcella had passed on.
I can’t remember ever crying so hard. I just could not fathom a world without my best
friend. The idea of not seeing her or to hear her voice gently offering kind words or sage
advice was unbearable. We all knew this moment would come but it’s just not something
anyone is ever prepared for. All the people that knew of Marcella’s condition showed up
immediately at Marcella’s house to pay their respects.
It was going to be hard to break the news to all of Marcella’s students and employees of
the dance studio she ran. After spending sometime discussing how the matter should best be handled, we decided that a group should go to the studio to collectively offer the sad
news.
The students and employees knew something was wrong, but didn’t know things were
this serious. There had been inklings on and off that something was going on such as
when Marcella’s husband Oos suddenly left mid-lesson to attend to Marcella during her
final minutes of life. Everyone at the studio was visibly concerned with the suddendeparture but no one really knew what was going on.
We brought everyone into the studio office and I was the one to break the news officially.
I found it hard to summon the strength to relay such a sad development but managed toget through it. Once I delivered the news, a torrent of emotion swept through the room.
On one hand I felt bad that the members of the studio had to hear about the news this wayand were denied the opportunity to personally say their goodbyes. On the other hand,
this was Marcella’s wish and so I had to respect that. Marcella died two weeks prior to
Blackpool and funeral services were held a week prior.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
I was an emotional wreck and was considering not dancing Blackpool. Julie and I had been closer than we ever were to regaining our former glory, but Marcella’s passing
weighed heavily on our decision. Julie knew what Marcella meant to me and even to her.
Marcella was the bedrock when our foundations were shaky and we spent so much timewith her sometimes even staying at her home when things were rough on the home front.
Marcella was a guide, a friend, and a colleague of the highest form. Even with all this
going on, in the end we knew that we had to do Blackpool. Marcella would have wantedit that way.
During our preparations for Blackpool, I was also involved in the funeral services. It was
very cathartic to grieve but also to heal at the same time. Marcella was to be buried in thefinal blue dress that she had bought for herself when she learned of her diagnosis. The
music selected, “Without You” by Mariah Carey, was very emotional because it was one
of Marcella’s favorite songs. We were asked to dance a Rumba at the funeral to the songwhich we willingly obliged. The funeral played host to hundreds of people that came to
pay their respects. So many people that attended that the room could not contain
everyone; a first for the funeral home. This was visual proof of the kind of effectMarcella had on people.
This was the last time that we would ever see Marcella. It was a beautiful ceremony and
Marcella’s father gave a moving speech. Julie and I were in the first row and were
moved to tears. When the song started playing in quiet salute, Julie and I stood up and
approached the coffin. Once we arrived at Marcella’s side, we let the music flow into our
bodies and began to dance our Rumba. It felt like an out of body experience because wewere really just listening and sensing, as if Marcella was taking us on a ride. There was
no choreography just pure inspiration and we danced like we’ve never danced before.
After we concluded our performance, we sat back down and the well of emotion returned.Julie and I had offered up our special way of saying goodbye to Marcella.
1500 people marched in procession as Marcella was carried to her final resting place.Everyone offered green and yellow flowers (her favorite colors) at her burial site. It was
a painful yet beautiful site.
After all services had concluded, we gathered along with some close friends at Marcella’shouse to socialize and remember the lady that had so touched our hearts. In a way it was
sort of a good therapy session for everyone in attendance. Everyone was sad but
comforted by the fact that they all had the privilege of knowing such a remarkable
woman.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
2 days later, Julie and I were off to Blackpool. During our performance, we kept
Marcella in our hearts. We decided to dedicate our performance to Marcella. Julie hadselected a dress that was yellow; Marcella’s favorite color. Sometimes the emotion
would almost get the better of the both of us and it was clear we were here on a different
plane versus every other couple there, a more spiritual one. What we were competing for was so much greater than any trophy. We never had any thoughts set on making the final
yet somehow, we ended up doing so.
We were elated at making the finals once more but somber from the very recent and very
real loss of someone so close. The audience couldn’t really tell what was going on with
us but they appreciated the performance. Though there were times I felt guilty aboutenjoying this moment, I know this is exactly what Marcella would have wanted. I knew
deep inside Marcella was watching from above and I looked up to acknowledge her gaze.
I wanted her to know that this performance was completely for her. In this one
performance for Marcella, we had secured our best result ever, 3 rd in all dances.
I guess that is one of the beauties of dance is that you can convey any emotion without
limitation.
Coming back home from Blackpool, Julie and I collectively agreed to take it easier for a
little while so that we could take time for ourselves and also to grieve. I spent lots of time with friend and Marcella’s husband Oos. We talked about Marcella and reminisced
I’ve never been spiritual and generally have been skeptical to all things religious. I did
however, allow myself to consider the possibility of life beyond this one. My curiosity
grew especially after I received a book from a friend of mine entitled, “The Earth is just aLearning School”. My friend recommended that I read it to hopefully help me get
through this difficult time. She believed that the book explained a bit about the Afterlife
and it could help answer some of my burning questions. Though I entered very doubtfulof the whole situation, the book was fascinating and I devoured it in two days.
Even though I was still skeptical, the book did paint a pretty vision of what heaven could be like and it was great to picture Marcella there. I started looking into other books on
spirituality as a means of dealing with tough issues in life such as Marcella’s passing and
even the conflicts that I had with my parents. Another book James Redfield’s, “Celestine
Prophecy” had a profound impact on me. It made me feel good about my past decisionsand that perhaps everything had its place in life. The greatest thing I took away from this
literature was that I should always follow my instincts. You can be smart and intellectual
but it’s your intuition that advances you in life and helps you find your true self and
happiness. I shared my thoughts and impressions with my friends and it was a good wayfor me to deal with my problems. I used Marcella’s passing as inspiration to live life to
the fullest.
I felt like a different person. Though I was competitive in my dancing, I started to see a
shift in my priority more towards achieving quality of life. This would have a profound
impact of my dancing even if it was to come later on.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
You only regret things you didn’t do and not things you did. I never really appreciated
the depth of this idea until I started making goals for accomplishment in my life. I did
not want to be on my death bed wondering about things that I did not get a chance to doin life or was too scared to move on.
I had in times past, I had expressed my wish to move to New York City to study danceand theater in the greatest city in the world. I still wanted to go after all this time though
Julie was a bit hesitant and took some convincing. After a bit of discussion, Ruud
thought it would be an excellent idea as long as we maintained our practicing and took
authentic Latin dance classes in New York. Julie agreed to go for the summer (whichended up being only two months).
During the end of June beginning of July we flew to New York and stayed in a downtownloft which was an amazing experience. We took so many classes in Swing, Hustle, Salsa,
Jazz, Dance Theatre and the list went on and on. When we were not in class, we
practiced at my friend’s dance studio. We had a lot of fun that summer and I fell in lovewith New York City. During the summer we even had visitors including Marcella’s
husband and a girl friend of mine that came into New York City for vacation.
New York City was so much fun that we became a bit lax in our practicing despite Ruud’s
warnings. I seriously didn’t have practice on my mind and really was in vacation mode
more than anything. Time went by so fast that before you knew it was already the beginning of September.
Little did I know that we would be in for some bit of trouble when we got back toworking on our routines again. But that was later on and Julie and were enjoying
ourselves and on the same page.
At the beginning of September, we competed in a world competition in Miami but we
were totally unprepared. We figured no top couples would be there and that we would
easily blow past any competition that was there. We were wrong. I guess the lesson in
life would be to always be prepared.
There was a couple there that came in fourth behind us in Blackpool. It was quite a
shock and blow to our ego when we lost four out of five dances to them and ended up in
second place behind them. We had assumed that we would easily overcome them givenour skill and status from previous performances, but we were wrong.
It was a humbling experience to go through but we knew deep down that it was our own
fault and that we had no one to blame but ourselves.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
On the plane ride back to home, Julie and I didn’t speak a word because we were both
upset at the result of the Miami competition. We made a silent vow that we would never allow this to happen again. And so in the coming days leading up to the 2nd Master Gala
in Germany, we committed to working hard. No one needed to push us because we
wanted it and we were hungry.
New York had given us a summer to relax and enjoy, but we felt the edge of
competitiveness creeping up. At the Master Gala in Germany we were so determined to put on our best performance ever. The couple that had trounced us in Miami was there
along with the top German couple that earned 2nd place at the UK Championships. From
the moment we stepped out onto the floor we knew that we were going to give it our all.
So, as it turns out, not only did we beat the couple that defeated us in Miami, but we alsodefeated the German couple as well!
It was a tremendous result, but we knew not to rest on our laurels again. The EuropeanChampionships were just two weeks away and we had to focus in order to ensure a good
performance there. We found ourselves excited, even more so than when we prepared for
our first national competition ever. I saw this turn of events as a form of a one timespiritual gift (maybe from Marcella) designed to set our course straight after veering off
Although we came in second behind the German couple at the European Championships,
we were very close to them taking two of the three dances from them. Julie and I were
very content with our results and performance. On top of that the audience was the mostreceptive it had ever been and that was very gratifying.
We had another British championship that followed shortly after but it was not verysignificant. Though we danced well, the placements were the same: Australian couple in
1st, German couple in 2nd and us in 3rd.
But we were fine with 3rd place. It had been a good year for us and we had fought our
way back into world champion contention and back into people’s hearts. Our industry
made no more comments about Julie’s return to Amateur status and I was allowed to do
whatever I wanted in terms of my grooming and fashion sense. Whether we would endup being world champions would be anyone’s guess.
With the World Championships in Germany looming on the horizon, we were ready to
make our presence felt.
<NEW CHAPTER BREAK>
At the championships in Stuttgart, Germany, the German couple that we had competed
against all year was the clear favorite to win due to home-field advantage. The top
Australian couple hardly ever competed on the European continent, but was present for this major championship. There was also a second German couple that was working their
way up the ranks that was worth watching.
Germany goes by a visual marking system in which marks are displayed after every
dance so in effect everyone can follow the marking developments as they are judged.
We had worked very hard for the two weeks leading up to this competition with Ruud.
We really focused our attention on the dancing itself. Ruud was very much keen on
getting us as far away from the pressure of competition as possible. He believed if wedid not have competition on our minds but rather just on giving our best to the dance, we
would be unstoppable.
You can probably imagine how lonely it felt to be competing against the German couplethat had home-field advantage. To add to that, we were coming into this competition as
the 2nd overall placed national couple from Holland. We were somewhat worried that this
fact would be a detriment on our overall perception. The rival Dutch couple that we hadcompeted against so fiercely had recently just gone professional so they were not there to
represent.
At the competition we did not really have any supporters with us, ten in all to be exact.
Mostly it was just our family members, but they were all part of our team. Each person
With that, we were set to begin our run for the top in the finals competition.
The Cha-Cha was first up and we danced well though the German couple received the
majority of firsts, followed by the Australian couple and us rounding out the top three.
Samba was next and we secured 2nd place on this dance with the German couple coming
in 1st and the Australian couple coming in 3rd.
The Rumba was up next and that is where the tide began to turn in our favor. The
German couple received 3rd while the Australian couple received no first place markings.
We had taken the Rumba and the audience arose in thunderous applause which was
surprising considering that this was Germany.
I tried not to get excited but I couldn’t help but feel exuberant. We had never ever beatenthe German or Australian couples in anything…did we actually have a chance here at the
Worlds? Only two dances to go.
The Paso Doble was next and it was also my favorite dance. The audience was
progressively swinging more in our favor and I started gaining some confidence which
was good for the Paso. The performance went smoothly and once again the Germansonly got a handful of top ranking marks. This meant that the Germans had once again
had failed to take the dance. The Australians and the second German couple were poised
to possibly overtake them.
When the results were revealed for our marks, we discovered we had received the
majority of the top ranking marks. Whatever ended up happening, based off of the waythe marks came, we had secured a minimum of second place going into the final dance,
the Jive.
By this point Ruud was getting very animated and we could not figure out why. We had
figured that since we took 3rd in the Cha-Cha there would be no way we could bounce
back from it all. But we weren’t counting, Ruud was.
When all marks were revealed for the Paso Doble, Ruud ran over to us and literally
screamed at the top of his lungs, “How can you be so calm!? If you fucking win this Jive
you will be the new World Champions!”
Julie and I were both a bit bewildered by it all and didn’t know whether to believe Ruud
or not. To go back now and do the calculations ourselves, would take too much time andwe still had a Jive to do. Hearing Ruud’s final comment to us before we went onto the
floor, I was nervous, confused, excited and determined.
The Jive went by so fast. It really was a blur because I danced that Jive like my life
depended on it and I couldn’t even tell you what happened exactly. It was over before it
began would probably be the best way to put it.
Waiting for those final Jive scores was probably one of the most nerve-racking
experiences of my life. Minutes ago we were already elated to be second in thiscompetition. Now, the possibility of winning the entire thing was just too much to take in
all at once.
The German couple was the first to receive their marks and they received more second
place markings than first. This meant that if any couple would get the top mark from any
single judge, they would be the next world champions. The Australians were next and
they received no top marks, mainly thirds and even some fourths. The other Germancouple got some second place and third place marks but once again no top marks.
Our marks went up. The audience shook the floor with their screams.
We did not even know yet what actually just happened. But when the cards turned to
face us and Julie and me both saw four top marks we realized that we had won.
I thought it was a dream but it wasn’t.
We both made it to the center of the floor to take in the adulation from the audience. BothJulie and I broke out in tears. It was such an amazing moment for us. It was made even
sweeter because we had managed to win over the German audience. The German couple
came over to congratulate us and I felt a little guilty that we had just bested them in frontof their fans.
It was almost surreal and people were coming up to us to congratulate us from all parts of the dance floor. Julie and I barely registered what was actually happening because we
were still in a bit of a shocked state. I still thought that maybe the count was wrong and
at any moment they would make the announcement. The official scoreboard lit up places1-6 starting with 6th place.
As the scoreboard climbed to third place and revealed Australia in the placement, I got a
bit nervous. It wasn’t until Germany appeared in 2nd place that I finally let go of myworry and let all the positive energy come in. We had won and there was no doubt
remaining.
When the announcement was made that Julie and I were the new World Champions I
thought of all the times people had told me that I couldn’t do it and that my career as a
competitive dancer was over. What I learned was that it isn’t over until YOU decide it’sover. It was such a long tough fight but we did it and overcame all odds doing it our way;
I reflected back over the past 11 months and confirmed my beliefs that if you really
wanted something and committed your mind to it, you could achieve it. Life may take
you on a ride but you stay true to your goal and true to yourself, you will get it; probablywhen you least expect it. Before I had wanted to push so much and was controlled by
outside forces impressing their version of what they envisioned success to be. When I
didn’t force the situation, I really started getting somewhere.
We were ourselves and stuck to one game plan with one coach and mentor, Ruud. As the
national anthem played in the background, I felt as if the spirit of Marcella was watchingfrom above and I knew she had not missed this moment. This result was a gift from
heaven in a lot of ways and Julie and I looked at each other still with a mixture of
happiness and disbelief in our eyes as we stood on the podium.
Believe in what you do and see it through.
Stay true to yourself and your goals.
Persistence is what gives your career the stamina to go on.
At that moment I felt that the year had brought about a sense of balance; complete with
equal parts tragedy and achievement.
For our honor dance, we performed the Rumba and I swear I was in another world again.
I had just experienced a once in a lifetime moment that ended with the thunderousapplause of an endlessly appreciative audience.
Julie and I hugged each other as we exited the floor.
The last thing I remember prior to leaving the floor was looking up to the ceiling and