DanceSport Sri Lanka, the national governing body for DanceSport in Sri Lanka which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as an Olympic Sport, celebrated their second-year anniversary and launched its website on the 27th of March at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo.
The formal proceedings commenced at 4.30 p.m. with dignitaries representing DanceSport Sri Lanka, the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka and Mr. Zang Hong of Fortune Entertainment, the Sole Sponsor for the event and Mr. Kamal Munasinghe, the Area Vice President of Cinnamon Grand Hotel.
The welcome address was delivered by Mr. Malinga Fernando, the President of DanceSport Sri Lanka (DSSL), followed by the first dance routine on Cha Cha and Jive by the El Latino Dance Academy.
Dancesportlanka.com the official website of DSSL was launched in the presence of dignitaries of the DSSL, including Mr. Maxwell De Silva, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka and Mr. Amal Edirisooriya, Director General of the Department of Sport Development of Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.
Mr. Gobinath Sivarajah the Secretary of DSSL delivered his speech on “DanceSport in Globe and its growth in Sri Lanka”. The key points mentioned were that DanceSport was recognized as a sport since May 1957 when World Dance Sport Federation was established in Lausanne, Switzerland as its first governing body, followed by several name changes.
By definition, DanceSport is competitive ballroom dancing and other disciplines such as breakdancing is included, with rules and regulations in place to safeguard the sport. A reason to promote dance as a sport is that it is healthy, inexpensive, genderblind, and ageless, making it a sport for all.
DanceSport received its recognition as an Olympic Sport by the International Olympic Committee in 1997 and the discipline of ‘Breaking’ made its first appearance in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. For the first time, Breaking will be introduced in the Olympic Games as it makes its Olympic debut next year at the Paris 2024 Games, along with Sport Climbing, Skateboarding and Surfing as new sports.
Several other addresses were made by Mr. Maxwell De Silva and Mr. Amal Edirisooriya who graced the occasion as special guests while Mr. Kamal Munasinghe made his thoughts on making this event a special one as the event patron. Another special address was made by veteran ballroom dancer Mr. Kevin Nugara, the Director of Development of DSSL.
Dancing comes in many forms and take part by many age groups saw other dance performances by CJ’s Dance Lab, Cypher of Culture, Island Stompers and the final dance performance by El Latino Dance Academy. The former three performed Break Dancing and Hip Hop routines, consisting of children, youth and other nationalities.
The event was concluded by an appreciation to the performers and sponsors, followed by a vote of thanks by Mr. Gamini Jayasinghe, Vice President of DSSL.
Press Release – Dancesport Sri Lanka
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