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| Sunday, 30 March 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Dance champs hit the floor The cream of both international and local dancers will get onto the floor of the grand ballroom of the Colombo Hilton on April 6 at the first Footwork International Dancesport Championship, giving Sri Lankan audiences an opportunity of having a truly awe-inspiring experience.
Footwork, which is credited with the experience of organising eight local Dancesport Championships, has organised the first International Championship with a view to rendering Lankan dancers the right kind of exposure and giving Sri Lankan audiences an unforgettable experience by witnessing a championship of this calibre. Dharshan Wijesooriya, whose brainchild it was, says that although the idea of organising an international championship has been on the cards for the past five years it could not get off the ground due to lack of funds and contacts in dance circles abroad.However, things have begun falling into place when Dharshan got an opportunity to affiliate with international organisations in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong with their pledge to support in getting reputed adjudicators, trainers and foreign couples to compete here. At the moment 57 couples, 25 from overseas and 32 from Sri Lanka have registered themselves. The foreign couples include, 2 couples each from Singapore and Malaysia, 5 each from Thailand and China, 8 from Hong Kong and 1 each from Taiwan, Indonesia and Australia. The Championship will commence in the afternoon with the quarter finals and semi finals and the finals held in the evening. The glamour of the show will be enhanced with a spectacular backdrop through which the competitors will come onto the dance floor, the special attires of the ushers to blend with the theme and really amazing lighting. A brand new set of strict tempo music has been brought down from Europe for the Championship. These and the demonstrators, Michael and Sabine from Germany who are great show dancers, are expected to present a very animated performance.
Dharshan plans to organise an event of this kind annually so that it will enable local dancers to compete at an international level continuously thereby putting themselves in a better position to compete abroad. Therefore, as an encouragement the entry fee for all Sri Lankan couples has been waived. Moreover, a series of workshops to train Lankan dancers and trainers by world renowned professionals has been organised by Footwork. The first of the series will be conducted by Jason Beaman, adjudicator from Australia from April 3-5. Meanwhile, the National Association of Teachers of Dancing will hold medal exams from mid of this year with a view to setting a standard for the dancers and also to make them develop their technique. Accommodation and airfares of all international adjudicators coming here will be free and complimentary for the amateur-level competitors. Trans Asia Hotel has assisted in providing accommodation at a very special rate and Connaissance de Ceylan will support the airport transfers for all competitors and their supporters. There will be a farewell dinner after the Championship for all competitors, adjudicators and sponsors at Trans Asia Hotel. A three-day tour to Kandalama and Dambulla with accommodation at the Le Kandyan resort and Culture Club resort has also been arranged. Carlsberg, Mobitel, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd, Dynavision, ABC Radio Network, SriLankan Airlines, Softwave, Connaissance de Ceylan and Trans Asia Hotel are the sponsors who made my dream a reality, says Dharshan. ************************* What the dance teachers say Antonio Fernandez of Antonio's Dance Circle will enter a lot of newcomers ranging from youngsters to adults this time to enable them to get exposure to the international arena from the lower grades and to gain from the experience to develop their technique. Langston Comester of Strict Tempo Dance School could enter only one couple from his school as regular training could not be achieved due to the professional and academic restraints faced by the students. He feels that the concept of dancing in Sri Lanka needs to change and more attention should be paid to technique which he believes to be encouraged by the international championship. Kevin Nugara of El Latino is entering his dancers who have been having hard training including regular sessions at the gym, jogging and a lot of stretching. He considers dancing a sort of athletic sport and looks into the right routine to suit the particular couples, and the right costumes especially for the female dancers. |
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Footwork has developed a special software for the scrutineering process
to be used at the championship since manual scrutineering is impossible
with a panel of 15 adjudicators. A qualified scrutineer, Lester Gomez will
oversee the scrutineering.
