2019 FESTIVAL GUESTS
ADRIAN CHURM (UK)
Adrian started dancing at the age of 6 in ballroom and latin. He started to compete when he was 7. Member of the ten dance british team. Won many international and national competitions in ballroom and latin. Also competed on the original British television program Come Dancing in the early 90s. He started teaching line dance in 1992. After a knee injury forced me to cut my competitive ballroom and latin career short. He was also a dancer and dance advisor for the British tv drama The Forsyth Saga. He worked as dance editor and advisor for UpCountry. He is a regular of our festival since 2012.
DEBBIE ELLIS (UK)
Debbie started line dancing at 13 when she went with her mum twice a week to a local class and was 'hooked' from the first grapevine! When she turned 15 she started her own class at a dance centre in Torquay. She continued to teach and at age 20 she took a year off college and with her then to be husband Paul, they sailed around the Algarve in Portugal, before settling in Torrevieja, Spain, where they still live today. Debbie now has 6 classes a week at all levels, from beginner to advanced.
Debbie started choreographing when she was 15. Her first big break was in 2006 with Solo Humano - it was number 1 for 2 weeks and was quickly followed by her biggest hit to date - Amor De Hielo, number 1 for 10 weeks throughout the summer of 2007 and over 8 million views on youtu be! During her choreography career she's had the pleasure of working with some of the best in the business such as Rob Fowler & Dee Musk.
Paul and Debbie first attended the festival in 2002 and they have not missed a single one since.. They have seen the festival grow from strength to strength, with more choreographers being added each year. They say: "We consider Rafel, Ariadna and all the Catalan dancers not just friends, but family. We look forward to joining you all for yet another awesome festival, and long may it continue".
ANDREW & SHEILA PALMER (UK)
From an early age Andrew and Sheila have enjoyed and been involved in Music and Dance. For many years Andrew played both saxophone and clarinet in a UK dance band, recreating the music of Glenn Miller.
With over 21 years experience in line, and western partner dancing they feel very lucky to have been able to share our passion for dance, in many parts of the world. Andrew & Sheila came to our festival last year for the first time but we all fell in love with them and asked them to come back this year immediately. They said yes and we are so looking forward to welcome them again.
JEFFKE CAMPS (BELGIUM)
Jeffke is a 22 year old Belgian dancer, instructor, choreographer and event-manager. He started line dancing in 2008 and started teaching in 2009 after some national and international instructor/teacher training programs. At the end of 2009 he started his own dance association, where he teaches all levels in line, partner & couples. He also got technique trainings from several international stars in line dance, and so started dance championships at WCDF & UCWDC. He won multiple awards in classics and couples, but most of them he won in choreography division. Jeffke finished competing and started to focus more on the fun aspect, social dancing and teaching instructor- and danceworkshops for several dance associations in Belgium and its neighbour countries.
MIQUEL MENÉNDEZ (CATALONIA)
Miquel Menéndez started Linedance when he was 15 years old. Competing since he was 17, he achieved the top division in the WCDF which is the MegaStar division. He started teaching when he was 20 and he coaches several dancers around Europe. He is currently dancing with students from Austria, Latvia, Sweden, Spain, France, Italy, etc. He is an active International Judge for the WCDF and he received knowledge by some of the great names in the Linedance world such Roy Verdonk, Roy Hadisubroto, Barry Durand, and more. One of his biggest achievements as choreographer when he was invited by the KoLDA (Korean Line Dance Association) for their annual festival in 2010 together with the world recognised Jo Thompson.
WILLIE BROWN (SCOTLAND)
Willie, from Scotland, has been line dancing since 1989 - almost 30 years! Having competed during his teenage years, winning several Scottish and British titles in UCWDC and Masters In Line, he began teaching in 2001. Now teaching full time 4 days a week he also organises monthly socials, workshops and weekend event through the UK, writes a column for a Country music & dance magazine in Scotland (CWDS) and has recently become the Scottish representative for United Kingdom Dance Council (UKDC) organising instructor training and exams.
There has also been success in choreography too - his crowning moment being when "Heart Of An Angel" was voted the "2007 Improver Level Dance Of The Year" at that years Crystal Boot Awards. Choreographing for all levels of dancers some recent dances include Cecilia (a CBA-nominated dance), The Real Deal, My Middle Name, I Am Me and Falling Deeper.
Willie says: "Thank you to Rafel and Ariadna for this amazing opportunity. I'm really looking forward to my first visit to the Costa Brava Line Dance Festival and can't wait to make new friends and to have some FUN!"
HEATHER BARTON (SCOTLAND)