The sultans of swing

Breathtaking performances enthrall audience during Inter-GCC Filipino dance competition

They shake, twist, move back and forth, fly in mid-air or simply dance to the music. They do it with passion, precise execution and winning choreography.

That is what made dynamic Filipino dancing duo, Jeff Jover and Fely Reamillo, hard-to-beat champs in the inaugural Inter-GCC Ballroom Dance Competition which was held recently at Al Bustan Rotana Hotel, Dubai.

The First Inter-Gulf Cooperation Council (Inter-GCC) Filipino Ballroom Dance Competition and First Batch 2002 Dance Clinic Graduation Ceremony were held recently, attended by Manila-based actress Angela Velez as one of the judges.

More than 400 visitors from the Filipino community and other guests packed the Rashidiya Grand Ballroom in Al Bustan Hotel, Dubai. The event was witnessed by officials of the Philippine diplomatic corps in the Gulf, including Amable R. Aguiluz III, Philippine ambassador to the UAE, and Rodolfo Dumapias, Philippine envoy in Bahrain.

The regional competition was hosted by the Filipino Dance Club-Dubai (FDC-D) under the auspices of the Philippine Embassy Office of the Labour Attache-Dubai and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

Participants included top Filipino ballroom dancers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. A total of five dancing pairs showed their skills in various dance forms: rumba, jive, cha-cha and swing.

Giovani De Guzman and Shalini Alimon Pulido from Abu Dhabi, bagged the second place while Maria Marife Cabaluna and Aeron Pilola, from Kuwait landed the third.

Other participants were Mariceli Hernandez and Roberto Bautista from Bahrain and Imelda Gotico Victoriano and Edwardo Soltes who represented the Filipino community in Qatar.