There will be sparkly heels, sequins and plenty of pizzazz when Australia’s best ballroom dancers head to Logan to compete at the Crystal Classic Championship this month.
About 400 dancers are expected to showcase their talent at the event, which is run by the Queensland Branch of the Australian Dancing Society.
Organiser Linette McFarlane said the event would be held at the Logan Entertainment for the first time this year, after being held at Logan Metro Sports Centre for the past four years.
“We hold competitions throughout the year, but this championship is bigger and better,” Ms McFarlane said.
“People travel from all over Australia to come and compete in this ballroom dancing championship.
“I have a studio based in Ipswich, so my students will be there and, of course, they’re from all over too.”
Last year, Ms McFarlane’s son Ryan Zimmerman and his partner Evita Vasiliauskaite placed sixth in the world at the Blackpool Dance Festival, which is an internationally acclaimed annual ballroom dancing competition.
For the Crystal Classic, dancers will compete in one of the championship’s age divisions, which will see performances from kids aged nine and under in the sub-juvenile category all the way to adults aged 60 and over in the masters three category.
“We have people competing in sub-juvenile, juvenile, juniors, under 20s, adult, masters one, masters two and masters three, so quite a range of divisions,” Ms McFarlane said.
“We have a couples ballroom section, which is the actual partnership dancers, and we have solo events as well.”
Ms McFarlane said judges would be looking for craft and presentation when scoring a dancer’s performance.
“We’re looking at footwork, we’re looking at grooming, we’re looking at posture, we’re looking at how they hold themselves, their top lines, their rhythmical value, and whether they can hear the music,” she said.
“We’re also looking at them from the minute they walk on.
“It’s all prestigious and very glamorous.”
Not every dancer competing is seasoned, Ms McFarlane said.
For some, it will be their first time taking the stage.
“We have a couple of entrants who have never competed before,” she said.
“It caters to all different standards of dancing, from elite to very beginner.”
Tickets will be sold at the door, and people are welcome to attend anytime from 8am to 10pm.
“We’re just trying to give back to our local area and give Logan something really exciting to come, watch, and sit back and enjoy,” Ms McFarlane said.
“It is a truly beautiful sport.”
The Crystal Classic Championship will be held at the Logan Entertainment Centre from 8am on Saturday, 7 March. Tickets will be sold at the door.
