Phl to stage dance World Cup

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines will host the World Cup Professional Latin competition by the World DanceSport Federation Professional Division (WDSF-PD) on Dec. 15 featuring the top-ranked pro dancesport athletes from Ukraine, Italy, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Denmark, Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam at The Harbour Garden of the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila.

This marks the first time that the WDSF-PD is staging the event in the Asian region, according to the organizing Professional DanceSport Association of the Philippines (PDSAP) and the DanceSport Council of the Philippines (DSCP).

“It is a historic moment for the Philippines that the World Cup Professional Latin competition is held in the country. This event recognizes the athleticism and skill of our Filipino dancesport athletes and the potential of the Philippines to be a world contender in this sport. With enough support from our government, Filipinos have all the potential to become world-class dancesport athletes,” said PDSAP chairman Cynthia Carrion.

The leading Filipino dancesport athletes are expected to pit their talent and skills against the best dancesport competitors around the world.

“This is the chance for the Philippines to show the world that we have international-caliber dancesport athletes who can stand with their peers in the global arena,” Carrion said.

DanceSport is making great strides in international effort to make it a full-fledged sporting event in the Olympic Games. In 1997, the International Olympic Committee recognized the International DanceSport Federation as the governing body that sets the standards, policies and rules of dance sport throughout the world.

At present, DanceSport is recognized as an Olympic sport, although it is yet to be raised to the level of a medal sport, where participants are awarded gold, silver or bronze medals for their achievements.

DanceSport is already a recognized athletic competition by other international multi-sports games, including the World Games and the Asian Games.

Panelists at the WDSF World Cup Professional Latin competition 2011 include Carrion, DSCP chief Becky Garcia and PDSAP president Belinda Adora.

Gracing the event are Undersecretary Danny Corpuz, Department of Tourism; Stephen Hontiveros, secretary general, Philippine Olympic Committee; Alek Goran, general manager, Sofitel Philippine Plaza; and Robert Hukom, country manager, Etihad Airlines.

The event will have morning and afternoon sessions during which all the lower grade events and the elimination rounds will be held.

There will also be an evening dinner event, where the final round of all major events will be held. Major events in the competition are the WDSF Amateur Standard and Latin; Open Professional Standard; and World Cup Professional Latin.

For details, visit http://www.worldcuplatinphilippines.com/. Or call landlines +632.9108030; +632.8288732; or mobile numbers +63917.8918998, +63917.8938762; or fax +632.6372073, or email [email protected].