TAIWAN: Asian belly dancing competition shakes Taipei

Record ID: 186877

  • Title: TAIWAN: Asian belly dancing competition shakes Taipei
  • Date: 7th November 2009
  • Summary: CH'IU I-LUNG DANCING
  • Embargoed: 22nd November 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVA63GWFN90AQVX34MGPK148LNBT
  • Story Text: Belly dancers young and old, male and female, shimmy across the dance floor in a pan-Asian open competition held in Taiwan.
    Belly dancing enthusiasts from across Asia pitted their skills against each other in a competition in Taiwan on Sunday (November 15).
    Children from Taiwan and South Korea shimmied across the dance floor as the judges gave marks for fluidity, creativity, choreography and appearance.
    Dancers travelled from ten countries including Japan, South Korea, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia to compete in the the adult categories of the Asia Pacific Oriental Competition.
    The competition is held in a different Asian country annually. It took a break last year due to funding problems, but has returned to Taipei this year to the delight of belly dancing fans across the region.
    Thirteen-year-old Taiwanese Ch'iu Yun-p'ing won second place in her category after studying belly dancing for two years.
    Like any sport, it takes time and dedication to master, she said.
    "My little sister danced so I wanted to learn too. It's not very difficult. You have to practice and then it's easy," she said.
    Ch'iu I-lung was among the few boys who donned a costume and took to the floor. He studied belly dancing after his mother and sister attended classes.
    His mother, Mrs. He, took up belly dancing four years ago, but was disappointed that Asia seemed to be lagging behind other regions.
    "I think belly dancing is not very developed in Taiwan. Actually there are a lot of male belly dancers in other countries and I think they dance very well, so sometimes I let him watch videos of male belly dancers." she said.
    The judges in the children's category picked 'Dream Girls' as the winner and awarded the team with 700 U.S. dollars worth of prizes.
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