Dancesport enthusiasts are set to participate in the first Cordillera Dance Festival to be held online on Oct. 23 and 24.
DanceSport Cordillera Inc. president and organizer Charibelle Pingawan said she expects around 300 participants from all over the country and overseas like Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia for the first of its kind event hosted up north.
In the past, the usual organizers of dancesports competitions were from Cebu or the National Capital Region.
Pingawan said the 13 members of the Benguet Dancesport Team, who have been collecting medals in past online competitions, will join the event supported by the Philippine Dancesport Federation.
“The Cordillera Dance Festival will be launched in October as a proud reminder of the Indigenous Peoples Month and in line with the organization’s mission to provide a platform that will give the dancesport athletes the power to nurture their skills and potentials, and build an inclusive dancesport community in the Cordillera,” Pingawan said.
The event categories are Latin and standard discipline.
The solo event features the juvenile, junior, youth, grades D, C, and B.
The duo events are juvenile, junior, youth, and open; while the couple events are grades C and B.
There will be 23 adjudicators during the two-day event, with 19 coming from the Philippines and one each coming from Spain, Korea, Indonesia, and Italy.
“There have been plans to stage this kind of event even before the pandemic but it’s challenging to have one. I think this is the perfect time since I have the right people and network around me,” Pingawan said.
The right time came when dancesport TV host Anthony Plamio of Dance Results Philippines has challenged her to organize an event, which she immediately accepted.
Mounting the event would take resources so Pingawan, who has been into dancesports since 2010 and started coaching in 2018, is seeking partnerships with the local government unit of La Trinidad, Benguet and various institutions to realize the success of the event.
Pingawan has also been coaching dancesports athletes from Baguio, Apayao, and Mountain Province.
The event will be through Zoom and broadcast live on Dance Results Philippines Facebook account and Dancesport TV on YouTube.
For details, interested participants or teams can email the organizers at [email protected] or message Pingawan at 0912-884-8084. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 25, 2024
