Sri Lankan dance pair Tarja de Silva and Gihan Umesh Madanpitiya have swept all five ProAm Latin titles at the centenary edition of the Blackpool Dance Festival, the world’s oldest and most prestigious ballroom and Latin American dance competition.
At the 100th Anniversary Blackpool Dance Festival, held at the historic Winter Gardens Blackpool, the duo emerged as ProAm Winners in all five Latin styles — Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive. The centenary edition drew thousands of professional and amateur dancers from more than 50 countries, The Island reported.
The Festival win followed an equally strong showing at The Open Worlds Latin Dance Championship, held earlier in the week at the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom. There Tarja and Gihan finished second in all five ProAm Single Dance categories — Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive — placing on the podium across the full Latin slate against elite international competition.
The pair’s back-to-back performances at the two championships marked one of the most consistent results posted by a Sri Lankan ProAm dance pair at Blackpool, putting Sri Lanka on the medal table at the sport’s most-watched annual venue — a week after Rumesh Tharanga claimed silver at the Rabat Diamond League in javelin. The Festival’s centenary made the timing particularly significant: the event has been the global benchmark for competitive ballroom and Latin dance since 1920.
Source: The Island.
