Dancesports, what is it?

Eli Maricuelo and partner

CEBU, Philippines - When talking about sports, there is no denying that one would only think about physical strength and endurance, such as basketball, volleyball, badminton, etc. There may be some that require mental abilities like chess and scrabble. Dancesports, however, stands out from the rest. Aside from the physical, it requires the mind to be conscious of the beat.

Dancesports is a form of competitive ballroom dancing by the ability of a person to dance. It has two categories: Modern Standard and Latin. Modern Standard consists of foxtrot, waltz and quickstep. For the later, it is comprised of chachacha, rhumba and jive. It is judged according to the steps, smoothness of movements and projection.

In our local setting, dancesports has been trending not just in a mere school intramural competition but even in the Cebu City Olympics and bigger competitions out of the area. Eli John Maricuelo, a member of the Dancesports Cebu team, and Louise Maree Velasquez, a dancesporter at heart, believe in the sport so much.

Velasquez during the city olympics unit meet

Some say that dancesports isn't a "sport" per se because of the elements of dance and music which are unusual. However, Eli said, "Of course it is considered a sport because everything in our body is working. It requires self discipline and an attitude to maintain just like any other sport." Louise added, "The amount of practice and hard work is equal to the other forms of sport."

True enough, dance sports requires physical skills such as body coordination, speed and flexibility. It isn't a joke practicing night after night with dancing shoes, they both narrated, not forgetting the use of the mind. There are so many things to consider such as song choice, music timing, steps, costume and make-up.

When asked what pushed them to pursue this sport, Eli answered "My mother was the one who introduced me to dancesport even if dancing was never on my mind. You rarely come across guys who dance in this field." As for Louise, "It was my family from Cebu Normal University - Integrated Laboratory School (CNU-ILS) who pushed me to join. No one was there to represent the unit for the City Olympics so, after much convincing, I did it but I had no regrets afterwards."

By no regrets she meant it was her door to dancing and dancesport. After representing the 5th unit in the Cebu City Olympics last 2007, she continued until her last year in high school and up to the university now. Same goes with Eli who started out the Mandaue School for the Arts (MCSFA) who has now gone a long way from school-based competitions to national ones.

Eli competes for the modern standard category while Louise is more inclined to Latin. Yet, because of their love for dancing and the sport, both are flexible to dance other categories.

One does not only gain trophies and medals in dancesports. "I gained self-discipline and the right attitude during my years of training," says Eli. "It helped me to set my priorities straight," added Louise. Just like any other sport, it has its own benefit not just for oneself. It builds a partnership between the couple who will be performing.

"The amount of practice and hard work is equal to any other sport"

Dancesport isn't like any ordinary sport. It is a combination of a dance and a sport, as the name implies. No, it does not take a ball or a field to define dance as a sport. It is more than recognitions and routines. Just like Yayee and Eli, who believe in the truth that no matter how people would want to deny it, dancesport will always be a sport. (FREEMAN)