World's dancers kick back

Trisha Sertori ,  Contributor, ,  Lombok   |  Mon, 06/29/2009 12:41 PM  |  Features

Intensity: Professional ballroom dancers Domen Krapez and Monica Nigro display the control and focus necessary for dancing. Photo by J.B. Djwan

International dance champions are most often found tripping the light fantastic in the world's capitals.

Rarely do you expect to discover them by the dozen dancing in a tropical paradise floating in the azure waters of the Java Sea.

But that magnetic paradise is now drawing these world-class dancers to Lombok in Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara yearly with its charm and its opportunity to compete at the IDI (International Dansa Indonesia) Lombok International (Dance) Championships.

While still a small competition when compared to those staged in Jakarta, Hong Kong, Seoul, China, Europe and the world's dance center, Blackpool in England, the Lombok IDI is rapidly gaining popularity across the dancing world.

A total of 120 people from around the globe and Indonesia competed in the Lombok IDI on Sunday June 21, despite another dance organization's threatened boycott on Indonesian dancers.

Lombok's ability to give the world-class dancers a respite from the hectic schedules that see them circumnavigating the world at breakneck speed, dancing shoes in hand, teaching dance and competing, in tandem with its opportunity for local dancers to compete against the world's finest, is driving the competition's growing popularity.

Russia's 2009 runners-up in the Russian National professional dance championships, Evgeny Ryubin and Yana Poknovskaya, have competed in Lombok for the past three years and say they would not miss the event, which gives them both competition and time to unwind. Lombok's mix, they said, is becoming the talk of the dance world.

"Every year this event is getting bigger. In our travels we see more and more people are talking about the Lombok competition. Almost everyone knows about it - even in England. Many people want to come," said Poknovskaya.

"For one thing Marcel's reputation - everyone in the dance world knows and respects Marcel *De Rijk, vice president of the World Dance Council and event founder* - and on the other hand it does give dancers a respite from competition."

The only problem, she says is that getting to Lombok can be tough, meaning "it's a matter of being able to schedule Lombok into a year of competition".

"But there is no doubt word of mouth about Lombok is out there and dancers want to come. All the dancers that have been here tell their friends and they also want to compete here," said Poknovskaya, adding she and Ryubin will continue to compete in Lombok to support the ever-burgeoning event.

"We will keep coming back to Lombok because of the place - the people - and to support what Marcel is achieving here," said Ryubin. "He's done a great job introducing people in Asia to the world of dance."

Newcomers to the Lombok championships, Slovenians Monica Nigro and Donen Krapez, who were semi-finalists at the professional ballroom world championship and who admit to dancing "with jetlag" at times, have also promised to return to compete.

"Lombok is so different to other international competitions," said Krapez. "Normally we arrive at a hotel, spend hours in workshops ahead of a competition, dance and get back on an airplane. Here we can actually relax." Krapez's Italian born partner Nigro was so taken with Lombok that she swears to put the Lombok championships at the top of their annual dance schedule.

"I love it. Competing here is beautiful and special. I feel like I have arrived in heaven - finally I am in heaven," said Nigro. "Dancers are so very stressed from Christmas right through to June, then it all starts up again in July. You need a break for your body so you can keep going, particularly after Blackpool, which is the peak event of the season."

And little Lombok gives that break. "Lombok gives us the energy, and the tan, to keep going. To relax and compete in Lombok is a gift," said Nigro, who is next off to the Cervia competition in Italy ahead of the China World Cup.

For world champion amateur ballroom dancers, Azerbaijan's Eldgar Dzhafarov and his Siberian-born partner Anna Sazhina, the Lombok competition offers the chance to prepare mentally for the next round of heavy competition.

"Competing in Lombok gives us time to reflect on where we are now and what we need to do to in our dancing career," said Dzhafarov.

The time in Lombok is almost meditative, he explained.

"This is only the second time in seven years we have competed in a place that allowed us to also relax. That last time was in the Philippines. If, in our dancing career, we have a place like this to come to each year, we can go on for along time. Without Lombok you'd give up after a few years - you'd just get so fed up. But this keeps us going," said Dzhafarov.

The couple took out Lombok's People's Choice Most Outstanding Couple Award.

For Indonesian dancers, such as silver medalists Ida Bagus Budjana and Roesmiyati Suherno, Dewa Tantra and Elfin Thoriq, Achan Burhan and Erlinda Cendiawati, and runners-up in the youth section Frans and Nadia from Semarang, to compete against the world's best and see their technique firsthand, offers a rare insight into the nuances of competitive ballroom dance, explained De Rijk.

Dancers at the event are judged by world champions, preparing them for international event standards.

The annual international dance event, conceived and sponsored by former professional world champion Marcel De Rijk and Puri Mas Resort and Spa in Lombok, has drawn central government support from the sports ministry, the Culture and Tourism Office of West Nusa Tenggara and the Lombok Tourism Board for its positive impact on Lombok's growing tourism. The event is also supported by the Indonesian Council of Ballroom Dance and many sponsors, including event ballroom host, The Santosa in Sengiggi, Lombok.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.