We had a pleasure to interview the young winners of Amateur Rising Star Latin of UK Open 2016 - Adam Hathazi and Morgana Lakatos-Hayward. They dance for Canada.
You should concentrate on the day, on your performance, on what you've got in yourself but not on the judging
Congratulations! Are you happy?
[Morgana]: Very happy
[Adam]: We have not expected it
[Morgana]: At all
So it was not your plan for the UK Open this year?
[Adam]: Obviously you always try the best you can but...
[Morgana]: We just wanted to dance our best, as best as we could.
Can you tell me how you started to dance?
[Morgana]: I started when I was 6 with Ballroom dancing. However, I did ballet first. It was in Toronto, where we lived. So I started with that, but then I picked up more styles. I did everything, I did jazz, tap, ballet, modern, everything. Then my Mum put me in Ballroom. So from the age of six I stopped all the other ones as there was no time for everything. Since then I loved it more than any other style. That's why I kept to it.
Why dance anyway, why not some other sport? Were your parents also dancers?
[Morgana]: They did some social dancing. I honestly don't remember why they put me in dancing. I have a brother and he was dancing. So I think my parents put me there as well partly because it was easier and they did not have to drive us to two places (laughing). So maybe it was just a convenience, but I loved it so much and I am so happy they did it. I started out with a younger partner and we did small competitions together in Juvenile. Then I had couple of partners and we moved together through the Medallists systems. After that, with my previous partner Richard Livshitz we won the Junior Blackpool together three years ago. Actually, this is when Adam and I met. We met there and started talking and after few moths he became my partner (laughing).
What about you, Adam?
[Adam]: I also started at the age of 6. My sister danced first. There was a show in my town, and this was the first time when I actually saw her dancing. I am Hungarian, I lived in Derecske in Hungary then. So I saw my sister performing, and it made me want to do the same. I don't know if it was the music, or the performance, but something just stuck with me. After that, my Mum signed me into the classes. So I started in my town in Valcer Dance Studio. They had a smaller studio in my town, but the main dance school was in Debrecen. Later on, when I decided I wanted to do it more seriously, my parents started looking for a partner for me so I could do the competitions.
Did you have many partners?
[Adam]: I had partners who were older than me so I always had to compete in the higher age group category.
[Morgana]: And they were taller than you (laughing).
[Adam]: Yes, they were also taller. Then I had a partner from far away and we had to travel a lot, back and forth. We won the German Open in Juvenile category. After that, with another girl we were in the final of the Junior Blackpool in Juvenile Latin. Few years later, also at Blackpool Junior, I met Morgana. Actually, she won the Junior Latin, and I was in semi (laughing). But when I saw her, I knew I wanted to dance with her.
Why?
[Adam]: There was something special about her. She had an aura around her. She looked really womanly even though she was only 12 years old actually. She looked really elegant and sophisticated.
OK, you were 14 years old, she was 12. You were from Hungary, she was from Canada. How did you convinced your parents even to consider it, even to talk to her parents.
[Adam]: Actually, her father is Hungarian, and I was with my Dad in Blackpool. After the results were announced, they talked together ...
[Morgana]: In McDonalds (laughing)
[Adam]: ... and we started messaging each other. We said, why don't we meet. And we didn't even had a try-out, just immediately started dancing together.
Did you move to Canada?
[Adam]: Yes, to Toronto.
On your own? At the age of 15? How did your parents take it?
[Adam]: Yes. It was hard in the beginning. Emotionally hard.
For them, or for you?
[Adam]: For both of us. But her parents are amazing. They took me in as a part of the family. They made it much easier for me. And of course, Morgana too (laughing).
How was the first competition together?
[Morgana]: "Le Chic..."
[Adam]: Yes, I think it was "Le Chic De La Danse" in Montreal and we won. It was actually a very beautiful competition, they had live orchestra. It was a small competition, but amazing. It was the usual as well, you know, you try to remember the routine, try to do the best you can. Obviously, there was a little bit of a pressure. She was a Blackpool champion, with new partner, so everybody was kind of looking at us.
[Morgana]: I remember, after we came off, everybody said that we fit together. Like our styles just matched. So, even though we had a lot of work ahead of us, it looked like we were a good partnership. We proved it right, we went on to win Junior Blackpool and World Under19 Latin together. In 2015 we won the World Under21 Latin.
Weren't your parents a bit terrified when you wanted to dance with a boy from this far away country?
[Morgana]: Actually, I showed them our messages we were sending to each other and my Mum absolutely loved him. She called him an angel because he was so sweet (laughing). They were nervous about him coming, more concerned if he was a good person, if he would treat me well...
[Adam]: It is really more important. I find that even if you both are good dancers but don't get along in private life, it is really hard to be a partnership. Thank God, we get along pretty well.
[Morgana]: Yes.
What about school?
[Adam]: I am still finishing my school in Hungary, I am 18 years old. I do it online. Every six months I go home and write my exams.
Very interesting. So you don't go to school in Canada.
[Adam]: No, I don't. It is easier for me to finish what I was doing in Hungary. In order for me to go to school in Canada, I would have to pass the English course first and that means I'd lose a year.
Adam's English is very good, how is your Hungarian Morgana?
[Morgana]: I know one word (laughing).
But I guess your father speaks Hungarian?
[Morgana]: Yes.
[Adam]: Yes he is fluent. And we can talk in Hungarian when we don't want others to understand when we are saying (laughing).
OK, I've already heard that he is an angel. But there must be things you don't like about each other. Be brave!
[Adam]: I know it sounds weird but, right now, there is nothing which comes to my mind (laughing).
[Morgana]: I can say something. Sometimes, when we get off the plane, having danced six rounds at some major competition, and we are exhausted, he wants to go practice. And I say, no. I need my night to recharge. So I'd say, his problem is, that he is a little bit crazy, little obsessed.
[Adam]: Actually, this is what I would say about you. I wouldn't say it is a bad thing.
So she is a bit crazy as well?
[Adam]: Yes. This is the main thing I love about her. It is hard to find a partner who is equally committed and hard working. Many like the glamour, the nice side of dancing, but few like the everyday practice and hard work and process of getting the result.
Who is in charge of your dancing, your choreography?
[Morgana]: Now, we try to find a balance. In the beginning, I was ... maybe not in charge, but certainly dominant (laughing).
[Adam]: You were! It was about me missing my family and I was a bit withdrawn. It took me about a year to get to open up.
[Morgana]: Yes, and since then, we've got balance. I decided to take a more womanly approach (laughing).
Do you drive?
[Morgana]: Not yet, I am 16 years old. I am in the middle of taking my test.
OK, what do you like to eat?
[Adam]: I like typical Hungarian food. I love schnitzel. I like fruit soup.
[Morgana]: You like chocolate
[Adam]: Yes, chocolate and sweets, unfortunately.
[Morgana]: I like anything sweet but I am trying to be better. If I was to choose a favourite, I'd say pasta. I love a good Italian pasta.
[Adam]: I used to think I wouldn't be able to live without soup because in Hungary you eat soup every day. But in Canada, and in most parts of the world, they don't. They just eat main course.
How much do you practise?
[Adam]: As much as we can. Usually, right after she comes back from school. And we practise for as long as it takes. We don't have a set amount of time.
[Morgana]: We have specific goals, we decide what we want to accomplish and what we want to work on.
[Adam]: And until we get it, we keep going.
[Morgana]: So whether it takes an hour or three or four hours we will stay until we've done.
How much school do you have left?
[Morgana]: In Canada, you are in school till the 12th grade and then you can go to the university. I am in sports school and they let me travel and take the work with me. After school, I plan to go to the online university to do Business. Adam also wants to do that.
Online University?
[Morgana]: Yes, we have that in Canada.
[Adam]: We going to try to do that.
[Morgana]: So, yes, we will try the program like that together and continue dancing while we are doing the online university.
Where are your teachers based?
[Adam]: Some are in USA and some in UK.
So you are travelling to US for lessons?
[Morgana]: Yes. We also come to England before major competitions and sometimes in a summer as well.
So you come for lessons in summer, not to the beach?
[Morgana]: No, we come for lessons. And I feel I have enough tan on me now (laughing).
What do you do apart from dancing?
[Adam]: In the morning when she is in school, I have my own studying to do. Apart from that, I used to do ballet and gymnastics. In my free time, I like to watch dance videos (laughing).
[Morgana]: We also go to the gym
So it is all about dancing. By the way, how does the online school work for you, there is a time difference between Canada and Europe?
[Adam]: It is a little bit different that online school. It is not real time. I get all the papers and I have to study myself. Every six months I go back to do my exams. I do have contact with the school during the year, for instance I do Maths through Skype. I have to adjust to the time difference, as there is six hours difference. Hungary is six hours ahead. When the school finishes there, I just wake up in Canada. So when the teachers finish their work at school, they can do work with me.
How do you manage financially?
[Morgana]: My parents help us out a lot. They are pretty much the sole suppliers. However, we are trying to become more independent in this aspect.
[Adam]: For instance, we created a box and we put a label there describing a cause like "Money for Blackpool", and whenever we do a show, we put all the money into it towards this cause.
[Morgana]: We try to pay for at least two or three trips a year. We just paid for the World Championships trip and we were so proud of ourselves (laughing).
[Adam]: So we try our best to help as much as we can. We know it costs a lot.
What was the reaction of your parents when you called to tell them UK Open results?
[Morgana]: Actually, my Dad was watching it live on DSI TV, so he knew. But my Mum was working and she was just keeping up through dancesportinfo.net, so when you listed the couples in the finals it looked like we were at number six. She thought we were sixth.
I made a mistake actually when recording the results. I put you in the position number one and number six instead of the Chinese couple. It was like that for a short time.
[Morgana]: Oh, I see. My Mum called me and said, you did not win!
[Adam]: And we were like, what??? We did! We were called out, we had the flowers (laughing).
Immediately I got an email from Canada from Laszlo to correct it. Was it your Dad?
[Morgana]: Yes, it was (laughing).
I was really embarrassed because it rarely happens, and not at such important events!
[Adam]: My family were also watching on DSI TV. They did not realise that the first couple which was called out was winners, so they also thought we were sixth. And they were wondering why we were so happy like we won (laughing). It was really funny.
I guess you will be coming to Blackpool as well?
[Morgana]: Yes, and we will be dancing Rising Stars and Under 21.
Hoping to....?
[Morgana]: Nothing. We don't want to jinx anything.
[Adam]: They competition will be very hard. We cannot take anything for granted.
Remind me what were your previous Blackpool results.
[Adam]: For two years we were in the finals of the Under 21.
[Morgana]: We were 5th two years ago, and 3rd the last year.
So now, it is time to be ...?
[Morgana]: I like the pattern (laughing). We will see.
[Adam]: You know generally who is going to be there. But it depends on the day, depends what you put on the table at that moment.
What is a situation with the dance organisations in Canada at the moment?
[Morgana]: Honestly, we don't follow too much. We attend as many competitions as possible. Recently we were not able to attend our Canadian championships because it was at the same time as Dutch Open. But they are going to move it to April. So they told us. Hopefully, we will be able to properly represent Canada.
Do you like Dutch Open?
[Morgana]: Yes, we love it. It is one of our favourites. Also Blackpool.
What kind of music do you like to dance to?
[Morgana]: Paris music [WDC Disney – Ed.]
[Adam]: Assen and Paris kind of music. That's one of our favourite.
[Morgana]: Like Jose Feliciano, Pedro Vargas...
[Adam]: We like certain artists.
[Morgana]: We enjoy very rhythmical music and a lot of changes.
Do you like vocal music?
[Adam]: Yes, and we like soulful music.
[Morgana]: Anything really (laughing).
How would you describe each of the Latin dances using only few words?
[Adam]: Cha Cha is rhythm, cheekiness.
[Morgana]: Also it is flirtatious. Samba brings carnival to my mind.
[Adam]: Rumba is love and drama.
[Morgana]: And it is very feminine for me.
[Adam]: Paso Doble ... bull fight in general.
[Morgana]: Jive is relaxed.
[Adam]: For me, it is energy. It is one of my favourite dances, I wish it was danced in every round but at the UK Open you do it from the semi finals.
Do you have friends outside dancing?
[Adam]: Most are from the dance studio ...
[Morgana]: Our friends are actually spread out around the world. My best friend lives in Russia, of course a dancer (laughing). Some are in England, in the United States ...
Do you friends in school know of your dancing?
[Morgana]: I actually, sort of, keep my head down in school. They know me, they know I am dancing but I just do my work so I have more time to practice after. In my free time at school, I go to Starbucks and that's about it (laughing). I have couple of friends who are really supportive but, since I am not there that much, we are not that close. When I am in Canada, I don't have much time anyway. Either I am doing my homework or I practise.
Do you use Internet a lot? What kind of application on your phone, or laptop do you use on everyday basis?
[Morgana]: Facebook, Instagram... I love Instagram, Snapchat.
[Adam]: We generally use social media, mostly Facebook and Instagram.
[Morgana]: On IPhone mostly. I have a computer at home but use it for school work.
[Adam]: I use laptop for Skype-ing with my parents, for school work and for watching YouTube.
[Morgana]: For dance videos on a bigger screen
Do you use IPhone as a telephone?
[Morgana]: Not much. We mostly use Facebook messenger or text.
[Adam]: We don't really call (laughing).
What websites do you visit?
[Adam]: Mostly Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. We watch a lot on DSI.
[Morgana]: We love to watch DSI. My Mum likes to shop on danceshopper for me. That's her thing (laughing). We go check dancesportinfo.net after competitons.
[Adam]: Sometimes we visit scrutelle or easycomp, generally wherever we can check results. But we don't like to know too much.
Why?
[Morgana]: It is not nice to learn you won by one mark only (laughing).
[Adam]: We like to look at the result generally and look what we can improve. We don't like to analyse what we got from this and that judge.
[Morgana]: We used to be like that. But we realised that we don't need to look at the judging panel as we can't control it.
[Adam]: There is nothing we can do about it. You should concentrate on the day, on your performance, on what you've got in yourself but not on the judging.
How can we improve dancesportinfo.net for you, as dancers, to be more useful?
[Adam]: I like dancesportinfo.net a lot. It is really fast with publishing results. As you come off the floor, the results are already there.
Is it difficult to use it on the phone?
[Morgana]: No, actually it is very easy. This is how we check results.
[Adam]: It is easy to handle.
OK, nice to hear. But your critics could help us to learn and improve it.
[Morgana]: Yes, I understand of course.
Do you like different teachers for different aspects of dancing or one for all?
[Morgana]: I think if you have different teachers for different things, there are too many ideas and it is hard to see what you want. If you have one sole person who is in charge of everything you get a one consistent product.
[Adam]: At the end, we are on our own on the floor and we need to make the final decisions what we do.
Yes, good point. Thank you very much for talking to us. Good luck in Blackpool!
