ʻAn Audience With Rudi Trautzʼ
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Text by Jack Reavely
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Photo by Ron Self
The familiar figures of Greg Smith and John Kimmins arrive on stage and everyone settles down, in the knowledge that they will invite the great dancer, Rudi Trautz, to give us an insight into his life in dance. We eagerly await because we know for sure that there will be some fantastic moments within the time scale of the ʻAudienceʼ and we were not at all disappointed.
Greg detailed Rudi's magnificent Championship wins and then the cascading information started to reach ears within the audience, and many eyes were glistening with fervour ... everyone being a dancer, or dance lover, could so relate to Rudi's great achievements and could also wish that they too could follow in his footsteps.When Rudi was sixteen years old, he went to a dance studio and, from the very first night, he knew he wanted not only to dance, but also to teach others. His father was an opera singer and so Rudi was brought up with music all around him and it sure rubbed off. Then Rudi was invited to give us a wee song, just to see if he had inherited a voice too ... He said he would sing for half a minute and cleverly invited audience participation ... 1954 and he moved to Switzerland and they were poor and our Rudi worked as a builder and, in that country, he could earn enough money to dance, dance and dance. He had six partners before he teamed up with Metchild ... so perhaps we could call him ʻPaul Jonesʼ by the many changes ... quite right too, until he found ʻThe Oneʼ and so it proved to be. They crashed through the ranks of exponents to reach a pinnacle, not just of performance, but of results as well. Then the large screen, set up on stage, was able to show film of Rudi and Metchild dance within their magnificent career. 1962 a film shows of a Ballroom event and on this, we saw Peter Eggleton and Brenda Winslade and then Latin, Rudi with his then partner, Inga with Walter Laird and Lorraine in opposition.
Rudi and Metchild travelled to Australia and the great teacher Henry Jacques now lived there, having moved from London. His fame was so considerable that his name was spoken in awesome tones. For two or three days, they worked with the great man, and he enabled them to believe in themselves and in their natural talent. He kept telling them it is vital not to be stiff ... you must move your body ... what is sway? ... Lift your shoulder blades ... You must be strong as a horse but also soft too. You simply must dance musically ... the information flowed towards them and was taken into their brains, and used every day afterwards.
Guess where he met Metchild? ... at a Carnival and, when they teamed up they were very quickly able to earn a good living, teaching competitors. Then a film showed them dancing a Samba, including the ʻFlying Angelʼ step which was ultra popular at that time.
One event stood out in Rudiʼs memory and that was when they danced the German Championship as the rated no. 2 couple and won and then they also won the European Championship ... Their trainer was Nina Hunt whose expertise, as a coach of excellence, is legendary.
Eventually they went to Manchester to have a lesson with Major Eric Hancox ... feared, forthright, somewhat pugnacious, but flowing over with dance knowledge and a coach of magnificence too. Eric nearly threw them out of the studio in the first lesson as they rather differed in opinions from him ... but they got it sorted out ... After lessons with Eric they went back to London ... Lo and behold they were being told already that there was a big improvement and the Londoners didnʼt know they had travelled to Eric ... so they were delighted that the improvement was noticeable. Eric became like a father to Rudi and Metchild and guided them with advice and lessons during their career.
Nina Hunt was their main Latin coach ... Rudi fought with Nina verbally, all the time and both himself and also Nina, enjoyed that immensely ... Rudi kept creating new ideas ... Nina then cleverly amplified them, after fighting of course and eventually, compromise was reached, and the new ideas became part of Latin folklore ... So even the great coaches can also learn from pupils says Rudi ... Viennese Waltz was a dance they loved, but they could not make sense of the phrasing when a one bar action changed the entry for example to a reverse turn which started on beat 4 of the 2 bar phrase ... Rudi felt it had to be entered on bar 1 and not 456223 ... so he inserted a bar extra and the great Alex Moore told him it was incorrect to do so ... They discussed it all and then they danced and decided to still use the insert, to adjust the timing, to what they wished to portray ... Alex Moore was judging and to their surprise and delight, he marked them ʻfirstʼ ... So we have an insight into ʻinstinctʼ in dance which assisted in the creation of today from so many past Champions ... after all it was the champions, being studied closely, who enabled the technique to be written. Alex Moore told Rudi that style is like a beautiful rolled umbrella and it was typically English and Rudi
had developed that ... he was delighted ... so look out in London ... if you see a smartly dressed dancer called Rudi walking along The Strand, with his gloves in his hand.
We now were able to see him dance again, on the same floor with Dennis Udell & Joyce Brampton and Karl & Ursula Breuer and also John & Betty Westley ... all names to conjure with and all Champions. Rudi tells us that, within today's events, some girls wear dresses so long, that it is not possible to see how they use their feet and ankles ... no good. When the nylon net dresses were in vogue, most found it somewhat difficult, to obtain a lovely contact to the girl, because of the interference from layers of net ... Our Rudi, without being rude ... merely created a style with the dress being somewhat open fronted so that, when taking stance, the man could be on the girlʼs body
segment ... He tells us that you need two lives to achieve your goals in dance. I feel sure that he feels that he was part of the ʻGoldenʼ days of dance and his reminiscences recreated, through his words and films, so much of days gone by, which made today what it is. I salute Rudi as a fanatic of dance amongst us. His warm conviviality is simply wonderful.
Rudi found his lady for life and her name is Martina, they married and have a son Nicholas and a daughter Nina ... (after Nina Hunt) ... She was desperate to dance and Rudi continually told her ... Fine but NEVER complain about any result ... so she doesnʼt. He has a pilotʼs licence and flew all over the world in the plane ... even to Blackpool ... He always has to learn something new and reckons that golf is just like dancing ... You never get it right and it is a big challenge.
In 2004 and 2005 he judged Blackpool ... the first overseas judge for decades ... Blackpool holds great memories and the first time they came third in the Latin as newcomers ... a great memory ... For three years, every day, they practised for six hours ... read that again ... you must do it for the love of it and the harder you practice, the luckier you get said John Kimmins, so wisely ... Then Rudi took off his jacket ... his daughter Nina appeared on stage, dressed in the very dress worn by Metchild in 1967-8, on went the music and they danced Cha Cha Cha and included the Horse and Cart variation, so in vogue at that time ... It brought the house down ...
John and Greg unobtrusively and expertly drew from Rudi the information attenders were gasping to hear. His name ... is Rudi Trautz and I confer him with the OBE which translates as an ʻObservant and Beautiful Exponent of danceʼ ... Thank you so much for allowing us an insight into your thoughts and career of such merit.
Jun 30, 2010
Following the AGM in Blackpool this year. The accounts for 2009-2010 are now available. Click here... for details. |
Mar 26, 2010
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Audience with Rudi