When WDSF President Carlos Freitag and General Secretary Shawn Tay sat down with Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu to discuss the specifics of the World DanceSport Games from 23 to 29 September 2013, the multi-sport games that the city hosted in 2009 served as the perfect point of reference.
DanceSport lived through stellar moments in The World Games 2009, when back-to-back sell-out crowds on 24 and 25 July shattered all attendance records and created an atmosphere of magic.
Here are some comments by athletes!
“Everything seemed to be totally different here. The way the public cheered all of us on: they were giving couples standing ovations in the first round, they shouted their names, they whistled … I have never felt something like this before. We have never danced in front of that many people. It was just … overwhelmingly fantastic!”
Anna Firstova, RUS
"That people enjoy DanceSport in Asia, well, we have seen that before. That they react differently here, somewhat crazier, sure! Maybe it is the way we look or behave, who knows? Audiences in Asia just seem to appreciate us more than elsewhere in the world. But then: a hall as big as this, thousands of people, cheering, supporting … Just beautiful!”
Benedetto Ferruggia, GER
"An arena like this, packed with I don’t know how many thousands of people – these games here are truly extraordinary. And the public: wow, warm, enthusiastic, I don’t know whether they actually are – but they seemed to be real Rock ‘n’ Roll connoisseurs too. In any case, we’ve just met the most admiring audience ever!"
Christophe Payan, FRA
A more extensive article on the 2009 experience is to follow soon!
