Cebu dancers bag 34 gold medals in NY competition

By Edison A. delos Angeles
Inquirer Visayas

 4share79 74

CEBU City, Philippines—Another Filipino team made its country proud.

Cebu City’s Dancesport team bagged 34 gold medals at the recent Empire State Dancesport competition at the Crowne Plaza, Manhattan Hotel in New York.

The team also got 33 gold medals during the Nevada Star Ball Dancesport championship at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.

At least 6,000 dancers from all over the world participated in the two events.

Cebu City Sports Commission Chairman Edward Hayco and Dancesport Team Cebu co-founder said what the team has achieved was far beyond expectation.

He said the dance team was asked by the organizers to perform at the professional level.

“Because of the sterling performance our team, they wanted us to perform before the professional level [so they can] see how we do it,” Hayco said.

“It feels like an amateur boxer being asked to fight in a Mike Tyson boxing main event. It’s truly an honor,” he added.

The CCSC sent the 10-couple team to the United States early this month to compete in the two events and was expected to come home in first week of September.

“We never asked the city to bring us there but because they trusted us, they sent us there and as our way of reciprocating that trust, we kept on bagging … some gold medals for Cebu’s pride and legacy,” Hayco said.

Since it was formed in 1999, Dancesport Team Cebu has brought home some 750 gold medals.

“And as our way of saying thank you to the city’s unwavering support to the team, we continue to train at least 30,000 young dancers around the Cebu City barangays (villages) keeping them away from other ill-activities and opened their doors to a wide opportunity in the field of dancing,” Hayco said.