When dance and sport come together to create magic

It was a sight to behold when local talent put up performances in Cha-Cha, Jive, Rumba, Samba, Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Salsa, Bachata and Argentine Tango at the 7th Maharashtra Latin & Ballroom DanceSport Championship 2015.

Formed in 2009 with the sole aim of bringing multiple dance forms to the forefront, the 7th Maharashtra Latin & Ballroom DanceSport Championship 2015 was organised by The DanceSport Association of Maharashtra (DSAM), which strongly believes that dance is a sport activity.

Popularising dance forms
While speaking about the essence of the competition, founder of DanceSport India, Shannon Benjamin, said, “This competition is a platform for hundreds of aspiring dancers to showcase their talent and hone their skills. Moreover, it provides the rare opportunity to these dancers to take forward Latin and ballroom dancing on a larger scale, thereby encouraging the art form.”

With close to 180 participants, Benjamin continues, “We decided to focus on Latin and ballroom dances, since they are more elite forms, but are still not that popular and widely seen in India.” Stating that even though the said dances are technical, structured and sophisticated, anyone can master them over a period of time, which was evident looking at the participants with ages ranging from five to 70 years. “Latin and ballroom dances are the only dance forms having a global presence. They are a growing concept in India and we aim to create maximum awareness,” added Benjamin.

A transparent process
With the presence of renowned judges, this dance competition was truly professional. The judges included Rocky Poonawala, who is trained and certified in Salsa; Tanushree Rakshit, who is heading Flame School of Performing Arts; Watcharakorn Suasuebpun, the Asian Dancesport Champion, to name a few. And like genuine competitions, the judging process was transparent. “It was done as per the international norms on parameters like technicality, musicality, presentation and partner coordination,” explained Benjamin.

Despite being around for only seven years, future plans for DanceSport are already under way. While speaking about the prospects for the next year, Benjamin said, “Next year, we are upscaling the event by holding a national-level championship starting in June 2016.”