Western Cape reigns supreme at national DanceSport championships

Hosted by Fedansa, this highlight of the ballroom dance calendar saw "the largest entry we've seen in 16 years, with 288 of the 630 couples competing for the Western Cape", said Lily Ford, secretary general for Fedansa, the official governing body of DanceSport (competitive ballroom dancing) in South Africa. "Our dancers won 14 of the 16 prestigious championship titles."

The results were determined by Sharon Daniels (Western Cape), Cookie Chengleroyan (KwaZulu-Natal), chairperson Kathy Gibbons (Gauteng), Mode Quntu (Eastern Cape), Isaac Mofokeng (Northern Cape), Petr Horajec (Slovenia), Maria Pedrazo (Spain) and International DanceSport Federation judges Kevin Juul (Western Cape) and Chris Bulpitt (Gauteng).

High standards in all sections

"The international judges agreed that the standard was quite high in all sections and they were very impressed by the event organisation," said Juul. "The hall was packed from the first round of the championship ballroom, and it stayed that way until late. People were glued to their seats - until the announcement of the professional ballroom and Latin-American result, when the entire audience went ballistic!"

That's the kind of response outstanding dancers attract from avid fans. The professional Latin section produced the only unanimous judges' result of the competition. Grant Mandon and Anita Sales won with straight firsts in all five dances. Sales appeared more confident and on balance, while Mandon's experience as an international competitor shone through - his achievements with former partner Tracy Howard include a 2008 International Professional DanceSport Council (IPDSC) French Open win and a fifth-place finish in the 2007 IPDSC World Championship in Spain.

Ronak Spammer and Lana Isaacs earned a full set of second placings, with Cheslyn Paris and Annaelle Moothoo mirroring that achievement in third.

Fierce battle

In the professional ballroom, Spammer and Isaacs beat Clinton Soules and Megan Kleinhans into second place, while Eastern Cape dancers Konde Santi and Nomathandazo Nene were third.

The adult championship ballroom was a fierce battle. Five-time national champions Rouvan Williams and Nikki Losper managed to bag a sixth title - but only just. Runners-up Dominique Hardzenberg and Stephanie van der Poll won two dances, as did Mark-Dean Adams and Nadine Adams who finished third. Williams and Losper held onto victory with the majority of second placings, but their Latin-American performance was a different story. "They were superb from the word go and secured a comfortable win," said Juul.

Gauteng grabbed second and third place with Given Mabena and Kenedi Thlaga as runners-up, followed by Thabang Sekele and Lena Rakoma.

A star in the making

Daniel Jacobs and Nadine Kriel scooped both youth championship titles, a feat repeated by Cameron Lombard and Natasha Jacobs in the juvenile II championship. "Nine-year-old Cameron's ability is very impressive; he's a star in the making," said Juul.

Marc Cerff did well in the junior I championship, winning ballroom with Carlin Ford and Latin with Tamsin Goliath. The junior II championship ballroom title went to Sherwin Laws and Cassidy Gumat, while Herschelle Slee and Kirsten Moore secured the Latin victory.

Owen Kayster and Crystal Lucas produced a polished performance to win the senior I ballroom, while Shaun Hunter and Nomakaya Mevana secured the Latin title for the Eastern Cape. John Tudhope and Cheryl Tudhope took the senior II ballroom home to Gauteng.

Keeping judges on their toes

International adjudicators Horajec and Pedrazo also facilitated a National Adjudicating Congress, which was compulsory for qualified judges who wished to secure their adjudicating licence for 2011. "That's how Fedansa keeps its judges on their toes," said Juul.

Go to www.fedansa.org for all the results.
Originally published in the Cape Times