Sunday, December 11, 2011

Sequins fly in Australia!

(Note: The World Dancesport Federation or WDF mentioned in this article was formerly known as the International DanceSport Federation or IDSF and is the world governing council for Amateur dancers. The United States is represented on this Federation by USADance.)

TWO ballroom dancing champions were ejected from a national competition last night for wearing a yellow sash.
Matthew Rooke and Anna Longmore wore the sash in support of their peers during a victory dance at the Australian Dancesport Championships at Hisense Arena.
This year, the World Dancesport Federation suspended six couples, including several Australian champions, for dancing in competitions not registered with the WDF.
Some of those dancers were not allowed to compete or defend their titles in Melbourne last night. Mr Rooke and Ms Longmore wore the yellow sash in support of the suspended dancers.
The Victorian couple are ranked 12th in the world.
But in scenes straight out of Strictly Ballroom, incensed organisers ejected Mr Rooke and Ms Longmire for their stand.
Organisers could not be reached for comment last night.
A stunned Mr Rooke said: "This is my 20th year dancing in the Australian championships, I've just won my 11th title in a row and they throw me out of the building. It's a disgrace.
"I've given 20 years of my life to dancing. I decided to make a silent protest in support of my peers who weren't allowed to dance.
"There was no riot. We just wore a yellow sash."
But Mr Rooke claimed Australian Dancesport Championship organisers said they "were inciting trouble" by wearing the yellow sash.
"We won, we did our honour dance, then security told us we would be ejected from the building," Mr Rooke said.
"I can't believe it. It is upsetting. We made a silent protest in honour of our fellow dancers and we get ejected by security for it.
"We travel the world dancing and I've never seen anything like this."
The couple said tensions in the dance world had simmered for the past six months over the right to compete in events of the dancers' choice.
"We all want to see couples allowed to dance whenever and wherever they want," Ms Longmore said. Despite being ousted from the building, Mr Rooke and Ms Longmore retained their titles and prize money.
(From http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/)

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