‘STOMPtastic’ success: Brantford, Ont. line dancers win big at international competition

A line dancing team from Brantford has two-stepped their way to an international title. CTV’s Karis Mapp has the story.

A line dancing team based in Brantford, Ont. has two-stepped their way to success on an international stage.

STOMPtastic recently won nine gold medals, one silver medal and the grand championship title at the World Dance Showdown in Indiana.

“I told them in the very beginning, ‘We’re going to do two or three routines,’” recalled Joan Minnery, STOMPtastic’s director, choreographer and lead singer. “We ended up doing 16 routines with costume changes.”

The squad, which formed last year, was made up of 17 dancers ranging in age from 19 to more than 70.

Many of the dancers said they weren’t nervous about performing the routines because by the time they reached Indiana, they were just muscle memory.

“We practiced four nights a week for the last year and we were confident,” explained Pilar Vanegas of Cambridge, Ont.

Even if, for some, it was a brand-new experience.

“That’s the first time I’ve participated in one of these dance events,” Vanagas said. “It was such an honour to be able to represent our community.”

“We knew our stuff, we had our outfits, we were ready,” Janice Schweder, another dancer on the team, said.

Winning was an acknowledgment of STOMPtastic’s hard work.

“A group from Brantford, Ontario. Canadians, the only Canadians in the entire contest? Did we think we were going to win? Absolutely not,” Minnery said.

The team is looking forward to participating in other competitions. But first, they want to host a line dancing workshop and invite dancers from all over the world to experience how they do it in Brantford.