BDFI Dance Festival ends on high note

The second Ballroom Dancers Federation International (BDI) Dance Festival turned out to be a spectacular event at the Ballroom of Water's Edge recently. The Wheel Chair Dancers dressed in traditional attire made the entry for the Curtain Raiser, which encompassed Hip Hop, Rock'n Roll, Line and Belly Dancers to complete a brilliant introduction to the multistyle Dance Festival. The underlying theme of this unique dance festival as based on the slogan 'Dancing is a co-ordination of mind, body, soul and the Audience Eyes - Do not separate them' Twenty two children ranging from the age of four kept the audience spell bound with their Line Dance, Hip Hop, Latin and Rock' Roll segments.

The Thai Latin Champions Alonggod Nutsati and Wanchaya Kumsook, showcased the Thai Show Dance in an improvised version of the Rumba which had mixture of tradition. More Line Dance Competitions in newcomer, Novice and Crystal Divisions followed by dancing by the guests to Friends in Harmony and then a dramatic Hip Hop Competitions were all a part of the evening's dance festival.

Then cane the Wheel Chair Competition which was introduced by the Asian Wheel Chair Champions - Frances Teo and Chung Hong Tsin performing thrills and spins in Jive, Cha and/Rumba. This was followed by the inaugural National Wheel Chair Dance Competition where our soldiers and children from the Sevana Lama Nivasa vied for the Standard Title. The highlight was the Samba performed by the Wheel Chair Dancers, which received a standing ovation.

Then there were Beginners, Novices and Juvenile Latin Competitions and the Grand Finale by the World Showcase Dance Champions - Alla Profatilova and Mentor Sejdiu, which definitely was an out of this world act.

The Dance Festival was presented by the Ballroom Dancers Federation International, Sri Lanka and Wheel Chair Dancesport Association. This event was co-sponsored by Dialog, Rollo, Mihin Lanka, Real Radio, Singapore Airlines, Cream Soda, Sogo, Ferro Lanka Pvt Ltd, Derana, ABC Travels, ABC Insurance and ABC Credit Card. The official hotel was Hilton Colombo.