Graceful dancers face ardent rivals on Hengqin courts

The elegant waltz, ardent tango, brisk cha-cha, and two-stepping pasodobleto will make hotly contested public appearances at the 2017 China-Latin Dance International Championship in Zhuhai from Nov 18 to 21.

This brings a dramatic change of cadence to the Hengqin International Tennis Center where farewell tidings were recently bid to the hard-hitting women of the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

Hengqin Int'l Tennis Center

Huafa Sports Operations & Management says the dancers bring the intimacy of the ballroom to further promote cultural exchanges with Latin American. As a close neighbor to former Portuguese colony Macao, Hengqin New Area has a long history of cooperation with Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, especially in tourism and entertainment, trade and logistics, education and training, scientific and technological services, and cultural exchanges.

Tickets are available at the official WeChat account of Huafa Sports Operations & Management (ID: huafatiyu).

Sino-Latina dance promotion

Background: International ballroom dancing springs from European folk dances. After World War II, the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) classified Latin dances while including them in the scope of ballroom competition.

Blackpool Dance Festival, the world's first and most famous ballroom showdown, has been held in the UK seaside town each May since 1950. After more than half a century, international-style ballroom dancing has developed into an athletic sport with high artistic and technical values.

Backers: The competition is guided by the China International Culture Exchange Centre, Central South Liaison Department of China International Cultural Communication Center, Hengqin New Area Administrative Committee, Guangdong Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and Guangdong Province Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. It is overseen locally by the Guangdong Ballroom Dance Federation, Zhuhai Da Heng Qin Culture & Media, and Huafa Sports Operations & Management.

Organizers include the Guangdong International Culture Exchange Center and China International Cultural Communication Center. Support is given by ISTD; the World Dance Sport Federation; Zhuhai Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau; Zhuhai Federation of Literacy and Art Circles; and Hengqin New Area Social Affairs Bureau.

Intimate dancing [File Photos]