If watching the Winter Olympics ice skating competition whetted your appetite for sequins and pirouettes, you’re in luck. More than 90 ballroom and Latin-style dancers from over 25 countries will compete in the 2010 Open Professional Ballroom Dance Championship — Asian Tour Taipei Open (2010職業國標舞世界大賽亞巡賽台北站) tomorrow at the Taipei Arena (台北小巨蛋), the last stop in the competition. At stake is a top prize of NT$3.3 million.
The competition, which is recognized and overseen by the World Dance Council, was launched in 2008 by the Taiwan International Sport Dance Development Association (TISDDA, 中華民國國際運動舞蹈發展協會). TISDA’S goal is to establish a dance contest on par with similar events held in Europe and the US. Before the event was launched, Japan was the only Asian country to host world-class ballroom dance competitions. This year marks the second time the Open Professional Ballroom Dance Championship — Asian Tour Taipei Open has been held. According to TISDDA, the first attracted more than 10,000 spectators in Taipei. This year’s contest traveled to South Korea and Macau and made two stops in Japan.
Competitors hail mainly from Japan and the US, with some couples coming from as far away as Finland, Ukraine — and Azerbaijan. Dancers range in age from under 16 to senior citizens. Couples to keep an eye on include Americans Arunas Bizokas and Katusha Demidova, ballroom dancers who have already triumphed in the Japan, South Korea and Macau stops of the tour, and Victor Fung and Anastasia Murayama, also representing the US, who are currently among the top three Latin dance couples in the competition.
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