Dancers from Swansea will represent Wales at the World Dance Championships

An independent dance school in Swansea is celebrating after more than 20 of its pupils won the right to represent Wales at next year’s prestigious Dance World Cup in Portugal. Dancers from the Colasanto Dance Academy in Swansea submitted their audition videos to an expert panel in November, and this week heard that 22 of the talented youngsters scored high enough to be in the top four dances in their category to enter the competition. The Dance World Cup final, represented by Wales.

They will spend the next few months rehearsing every second of their choreographies and working on their technical preparation, ‘dance persona’ and costumes, as well as raising funds for flights and accommodation for the big event in Braga in June-July.

Dance school director Tina Colasanto said she was “very proud” of all her dancers for having the right to represent their country and can’t wait to take the group to Portugal to show off their skills. Your students will represent Wales in the tap, modern and song and dance categories.

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Tina, 58, has been teaching children to dance since she was 16 and opened her own dance school in Hafod, Swansea, two years ago. The Colasanto Dance Academy currently has around 65 students and Tina and her team teach a variety of dance styles including tap, modern, jazz and lyrical.

Over the years, Tina has involved students in local and national festivals and competitions, and this year she decided to give her students a chance to try something even bigger. The youngsters spent weeks rehearsing their routines and perfecting their technique before the dances were filmed and recorded for the judges to hear.

“Of course there was so much suffering in the quarantine, I wanted to do something to give children new opportunities. We participated in many prestigious festivals and won many first places, so that made me think about doing something bigger, like the World Cup”, explained Tina. “Just like in the football World Cup, you have to qualify to compete and then you are representing your country against many other countries. It’s something huge, it’s very prestigious and known in the dance world”.

“We did a video audition of the dances and they got 100 points for dancing, wardrobe, technique, personality. You had to score at least 70% to qualify – and be first, second, third or fourth in your category – “We entered 35 dancers in 26 dances (some were group dances) – and we found out on Monday that 22 qualified for the World Cup in Portugal”, he added.

Tina had never invited students to audition for the World Dance Championships before, so it was a surprise to learn that so many of her students had qualified. “I just couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I just hoped and dreamed that someone would show up and then 22 showed up!

“As a teacher, I am very proud of that. I love giving all the kids confidence, and some of them are so passionate about dancing that they want to pursue a career in the future! It will be a huge opportunity for them and they will look fantastic on their resumes and when they apply to university,” she added. “We are here as a family, we are really family oriented. Everyone welcomes everyone, they are part of the team and we are very proud to represent Wales.”

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