Whenever ballroom competitors think about which is the premier competition in Vancouver, the Snowball Classic is always at the top of the list. Hosted in a cavernous downtown hotel ballroom with all the glitz and glam, the competition continually impresses year after year attracting an international delegation of competitors from as far as Denmark and Italy. For local dancers like myself, we have grown up with this one weekend a year in mind where we get to compete on the world’s stage against some of the best talent around.
This year’s competition did not disappoint with its full slate events over the span of two days. From the newest dancers taking their first steps on the competition floor, to the open championships in the evenings there’s always action to be had. For those new to the world of competition, there are two main types that you can enter in. Either amateur events, or Pro-Am events, but don’t let the titles fool you. The competitors in the Amateur events are capable of every high quality dance to where the difference between amateur and professional get blurred.
The latter category, Pro-Am, is more commonly known as Teacher-Student. This is where a partnership consists of one amateur dancer and one professional dancer. These events are excellent for students who would like to compete with an instructor as they enjoy dancing with a higher level dancer, or have trouble finding an amateur partner. One of my students, Michele, has worked very hard this past year and entered into 20 Pro-Am events! I could not be more proud of her achievements on the floor and seeing the progress she has made this past year alone.
Highlight Images
Being also a professional photographer, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to snap a few photos during the competition. It was ballroom photography which first inspired me to pick up a camera, and it was the side of the floor where I honed my skills. For commercial inquiries, please contact david@bydm.ca
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