World Para Dance Sport reveals Online Competition winners

Para dancers from five countries were among the winners of the first ever Freestyle & Showdance Online Competition.

Nearly 100 participants from 19 nations joined the virtual event organised by World Para Dance Sport. 

The Online Competition was conceived as a great celebration of Para dance sport and as a unique opportunity for athletes to stay active and motivated during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Athletes had until the end of March to submit their performances in video to be judged by a panel of international adjudicators in seven different categories.

After a thorough evaluation of each performance, the results were released by the judges. Find below the top three places by category:

•    Men's Single Freestyle Class 1 
1.    Cleyton dos Santos Bentes (Brazil)
2.    Amir Aliibabic (Slovenia)
3.    Laszlo Mester Csiki (Hungary)

•    Men's Single Freestyle Class 2
1.     Maksim Sedakov (Russia)
2.    Jesus Yermain Fernadez Angeles (Mexico)
3.    David Concepcion Yerves Ku (Mexico)

•    Women’s Single Freestyle Class 1
1.    Iuliia Davydova (Russia)
2.    Elena Zamyslova (Russia)
3.    Julia Sadkowska (Poland)

•    Women’s Single Freestyle Class 2 
1.    Galina Ryzhkova (Russia)
2.    Haydee Guadalupe Reynosa Guerrero (Mexico)
3.    Nursina Galieva (Russia)

•    Men’s Single Freestyle New
1.    Diego Armando Sanchez Garcia (Mexico)
2.    Ilia Gladkii (Russia)
3.    Jesus Antonio Badillo Garcia (Mexico)

•    Women's Single Freestyle New
1.    Anne Charlaine Santos (Philippines) 
2.    Antya Guadalupe Estrada Muñoz (Mexico)
3.    Itzia Sarahi Escamilla Hernandez (Mexico)

•    Women’s Single Freestyle Power Wheelchair
1.    Pirjo Pappila (Finland)
2.    Janette Isomaki (Finland)
3.    Ines Golobic (Slovenia)

To read the full list of results and watch the videos submitted by the participants, click here.

New dancers, new countries

The winners in each category will be awarded one month free access to DSI TV by World Para Dance Sport partner DSI London. DSI TV offers a wide catalogue of competitions, lectures, congress, and instructional videos. Second and third places in each category will receive a 20 per cent discount voucher. 

“Athletes reinvented what we knew as a stage, taking advantage of the digital platforms to showcase their best skills,” Camila Rodrigues, World Para Dance Sport Manager, said. “We acknowledge the time, art, effort, and dedication they put in this Freestyle & Showdance Online Competition. We could not have been more pleased with the results.”

The Online Competition reached a total of 51 new athletes from 12 countries, from which Australia and Spain took part for the first time. Among World Para Dance Sport active athletes, 46 dancers from 14 countries competed. 

“The Online Competition marks a new paradigm for our sport, where travel restrictions were no longer a hindrance for participation. Instead, it offered an open door for new nationalities to join Para Dance Sport virtually,” Rodrigues added. 

“I would like to give a special thanks to athletes and their coaches, National Federations and National Paralympic Committees, adjudicators, DSI London and our Sport Technical Committee who made this competition possible.”

World Para Dance Sport will contact the Freestyle & Showdance Online Competition medallists about the prizes.