Salt Rock dance quartet win world championship golds in Spain
The group competed at the World Country Dance Federation event in Benidorm last month.
Local dancers waltzed into top finishes at the recent World Country Dance Federation World Championships, bringing home an impressive haul of medals.
Dance Café in Salt Rock sent four dancers, along with one competitor from Stars in Boots studio in Ballito, to compete at the championships held in Benidorm, Spain, from 19 to 21 June.
The team showcased a wide range of styles including samba, cha cha, waltz, two step, triple two, polka, nightclub, east coast swing, west coast swing, funk and novelty.
“To become a World Champion, you need to compete in at least six of these. Most of us did more than that,” said Dance Café’s Colin Mandell.
The team trained six times a week in preparation for the event and their dedication paid off.
Mandell led the group with three gold medals, winning the amber intermediate line dance classic in both the male and open divisions, as well as the pattern partner gold category with Claudia Hardt. Alongside her partners win, Hardt also placed in modern ace and ladies novice.
Martin Reed claimed gold in the novice classic division, also finishing in the top-five in the basic modern and crystal pattern partner dances. Madelaine Duvenage rounded out the local gold medallists with victory in the pattern partner silver section.
“It was fantastic to represent South Africa against so many different countries and perform so well,” said Mandell.
Having fallen short of their goals last year, the team returned better prepared and more focused.
Dance Café operates studios in Salt Rock and Hillcrest, offering lessons in 23 dance genres as well as wedding choreography. The group also runs an outreach programme in Groutville and Mandeni, where local young men teach partner dance as part of a gender cohesion initiative called In Touch.
“This has been very successful and is now in its third year and continuing to grow,” said Mandell.
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