In an unpretentious dance studio on Minsheng East Road a couple of young ballroom dancers from Taichung practice their steps and poses. Veteran instructor and national champion Sammy Liu (劉順益) follows the pair's every move closely, prepping them for the upcoming world professional dance championships to be held at the Taipei Arena on Thursday.
Recognized and overseen by the World Dance Council (WDC) and Asian Dance Council (ADC), the Taipei Open is the first of its kind not only in Taiwan but in six of its seven Asian destinations. It's an unprecedented event that promises to bring international performances to the local competitive ballroom dance scene.
"Up till now, Japan was the only nation in Asia that hosted such world-class competitions. Other countries simply don't have the resources to do it," said Jane Chen (陳媦娟), secretary-general of the Taiwan International Sport Dance Develop Association (TISDDA, 中華民國國際運動舞蹈發展協會), the organizer of the compeition in Taipei. "The Japanese organizers initiated a collaboration with several other organizers, and together posted the US$1 million prize money," she added. "It really can be seen as a groundbreaking event that aims to put ballroom dancing in Asia on a par with that in Europe."
PHOTO: COURTESY OF TISDDA
The prize money for the Taipei competition segment is NT$3.5 million (US$110,000).
Nearly 300 couples from 25 countries will participate in the Taipei Open, with music performed live by Sirens Orchestra (幻響交響樂隊). The world's top five professional Latin dancers, including world champions Michal Malitowski and Joanna Leunis of Poland, Denmark's Peter and Kristina Stokkerbroe and Germany's Franco Formica and Oksana Lebedew, will battle it out in the dancing duel segment. Other luminaries include Americans Arunas Bizokas and Katusha Demidova, Italians Roberto Villa and Morena Colagreco and Slovakia's Domen Krapez and Monica Nigro, some of the top modern dancers in the world.
The international jury panel includes Gaynor Fairweather, the professional Latin world champion for the last 10 years, retired professional champions Marcus Hilton and Luca Barichi as well as Bryan Watson, a professional Latin champion for six years.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF TISDDA
"Those top-notch players will definitely have a great impact on the local scene as they will travel across the island before and after the competition, giving lectures to local dance teachers and performers," said Kao A-chu (高阿珠), an event volunteer and instructor who has nearly 20 years of experience in ballroom dancing.
For fun, the organizer has invited 11 Taiwanese celebrity couples, including Little Pan-pan (小潘潘), Hsiang Li-wen (向麗雯), Wen Tzui-pin (溫翠蘋) and Sung Hsin-ni (宋新妮), to participate. Also, those who purchase tickets worth at least NT$3,000 can join in a complimentary lesson at the Sammy Liu Dance Studio (劉順益舞蹈學苑). Call (02) 2531-2269 to make reservations.
It's hard to imagine how Chen and her dance and life partner Liu put together such a large-scale event only six months after being recommended for the job by WDC Vice President Isao Nakagawa. Certainly, the staff members and volunteers who worked day and night to make the NT$12 million event a reality played a large part.
In Taiwan, there is little infrastructure for competitive dancing, leaving young dancers like Eric Chao (趙群倫) and Kao Chia-lin (高嘉璘) to fend for themselves. Apart from one school team - at National Chi Nan University (國立暨南國際大學) in Nantou County - ballroom dancing has no place in Taiwan's education system, according to Chao, 27. Furthermore, aspiring dancers often face pressure from their families as ballroom dancing is not considered a "real" profession by the typical Taiwanese parent.
"We have to go to school to make our parents happy, paying out of our own pockets to attend competitions abroad and teaching dance classes to cover expenses," said Chao, who is working on his PhD at National Taiwan Normal University's (國立台灣師範大學體育系) department of physical education.
As a sport, ballroom dancing receives little public funding, most of which goes to baseball and softball.
Though professional ballroom dancing in Taiwan is still in its infancy, the sport has become popular as a pastime. Celebrities such as Little S (小S) and Liu Zhen (劉真) are fans and media exposure has made dance more mainstream. As a result, more and more young people are taking it up as a trendy hobby.
Kao Chia-lin, a national amateur modern champion who regularly participates in international dance contests with her partner Chen, has seen benefits accrue from changing attitudes toward dance.
"I remember my dad would yell at me when I brought trophies back home," she says, "… but now they have come to understand what I've been doing from TV and newspapers." Stereotypes, however, remain ingrained. In the eyes of her father's generation, ballroom dancing is still associated with shady dealings between dancing ladies and their male partners at seedy nightclubs.
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