KUCHING: Five Sarawakian dancers set ablaze an impressive debut at the World DanceSport Federation French Open in Lyon, France, from Feb 15 to 16 with a remarkable showcase of talent on an international stage.
Helming the banner of Sarawak DanceSport Association (SDA), Wee Li Xin, Amy Kho Yien Xing, Eunice Ling Chen Xin, Erin Ung Ting Yee and Arabelle Leah Pei Yu Qian competed for the first time in the European circuit.
Cordelia and Amy performed admirably in the Adult Female Solo Latin event, securing fourth and sixth places respectively from a competitive field of 28 dancers from across Europe. Eunice also excelled, finishing fourth in the Youth Female Solo Latin event, which saw over 32 participants.
Junior dancers Erin and Arabelle showed strong performances, placing seventh and tenth in the Junior Solo Latin event. Erin narrowly missed the final by a single point.
Cindy Chung, manager and coach from Russell, Randell & Cindy Dance Company, praised the dancers’ efforts.
“The results yielded were significantly encouraging. The home-trained Sarawak dancers have proven they can hold their candle on the international stage,” she said.
SDA president Chester Lim expressed pride in the team’s performance, stating, “This achievement came as a lovely surprise and showed Sarawak has much untapped potential to uncover and polish.”
He also thanked the Ministry for Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development for its strong support and also revealed SDA has planned to conduct various training for both athletes and officials to further enhance their skills.
He also announced upcoming events, including the Bailando Open Championships 2025 slated from April 4-6 in Johor Bahru and the Sarawak Open International DanceSport Championship later this year.
