Asian Competitive Season - OPEN!!!!

It's the official start of the Asian competitive season now that the Chinese New Year is over. Lots of incredibly talented dancers from around the world will now be flocking to Asia to claim the titles and prizes (very often cash). Even more so now since most airlines are not charging fuel surcharges. Great news for competitive dancers who are always cash strapped.

I've been offered the great opportunity to participate in some of the biggest and most prestigious competitions in the region this year as Master of Ceremonies & Compere. Check out my side bar on the competition schedule.

My first stop this year will be in Tokyo, Japan this weekend for the first leg of the Asian Open Dance Championship which carries a purse of US$100,000 for winners in the Amateur and Professional levels. This is the biggest purse that's ever been offered in the Asian dance circle. The Japanese Dance Council (JDC) first mooted this last year in order to raise the awareness of our talented dancers and to educate the public on how dancers participating, specifically in Dancesport events, are equal to professional athletes around the world. We train as hard, spend as much on training (time & money) and are as dedicated as any other sports person but seem to be the least appreciated or acknowledge for our efforts. Well, the JDC is out make this perception change. Last year 7 countries took part in the Asian Tour with each country raising a purse of US$100,000 each, some managing to raise a little more then that too and adding it to the prize money to the winners.

This year, the JDC has decided to divide the tour into 2 seasons in order to pace the dancers that follow the tour from country to country. In this first season four countries will take part in the tour - Japan, Malaysia, Korea and Macau. I've received the honor of accompanying the tour to each of the stops as the English speaking MC/compere. I'm terribly excited and I look forward to bringing back lots of news to you all.