The Other Column

Peter + Rebecca Beardsley (QLD Professional ballroom champions)

The Easter long weekend coincides with one of the biggest dates on the Australian DanceSport calendar: the Queensland Open, National DanceSport Championship at Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast.

This year, the turnout was fabulous and the competition, fierce, in a beautiful way. Congratulations to organisers, competitors and support crews. I was there in a supporting role. With camera in hand some of the time, I thought I’d try to honour the efforts of others by snapping and sharing. My gear for those who care: Canon EOS 5D Mark2, with 70-200mm 1:2.8L.

If you competed on Sunday and can’t see yourself in the images below, feel free to message me via the sidebar, with your competitor # and age bracket (and event # if possible) and I’ll have a look through what I’ve got. I’m happy to email people privately with their photos, free of charge, copyright free. If you use any of my images, though, please acknowledge me as the creator and refer to this blogsite. Also, if you appear in any of the images displayed, and wish them to be taken down, please send me a private message on the sidebar.

For those who didn’t participate, but would like a glimpse into this very special world, please enjoy. There were plenty of new frocks on the floor and feathers made a comeback. I wasn’t around for the professional events, (bar one floorshow) so, what you see are pictures of amateurs of all ages who love to dance. Their efforts are inspiring. If you’re looking for a social way to get fit, perhaps ballroom dancing will be for you. The great thing about it is that children can do it as well as adults of all ages: there is no limit, only your attitude.

Link to this site through FaceBook / WordPress etc and let other competitors know that images from the comp are available.

UPDATE: Thanks for all the lovely comments through the sidebar. This has been a great opportunity to promote the sport, with about 1500 views already.