KUCHING: The floor lit up with Latin, Standard, and breaking disciplines as Sarawak hosted its first-ever Sarawak International Open DanceSport Championship 2025 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here, last night (Sept 20).
Organised by the Sarawak DanceSport Association (SDA), the championship welcomed dancers from Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, China, and India.
SDA president Chester Lim said the event’s success exceeded the association’s initial expectations.
“When we first started, we were only thinking about how many countries would take part. At the end of the day, we managed to bring in teams from across Asia, making this truly international,” he said when speaking at the event.
He said the inclusion of breaking alongside Latin and Standard disciplines reflected DanceSport’s evolving diversity, building on its global recognition since breaking made its Olympic debut in 2024.
Lim also noted that more than 90 per cent of the tournament’s judges and officials were Malaysians.
“When we go for other international tournaments, we might only have one or two officials participating. This time, almost the entire panel was made up of Sarawakians, Sabahans, and West Malaysians. That’s something we can be proud of,” Lim said.
He added organising the event had been a demanding journey, requiring weeks of meticulous planning to ensure smooth execution. However, feedback from regional counterparts, including experienced organisers from Sabah and the Philippines, proved the effort worthwhile.
Beyond competition, he said SDA sees the championship as part of a broader mission to nurture young talent while raising Sarawak’s profile as a destination for sports tourism.
“What we are trying to project here is not just building an event. We are creating something sustainable that promotes sports tourism and provides opportunities for our dancers and officials on the international stage,” he explained.
For the record, the championship was organised by SDA, sanctioned by the Malaysia DanceSport Federation (MYDF), and supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) and the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts (MTCP).
Around 300 spectators attended to witness thrilling performances in the Latin, Standard, and Breaking divisions, contested across Open, Adult, Youth, Junior, and Juvenile categories.
