娱乐英语新闻:Dancers to compete for WDC

BEIJING, July 11 -- If you are a fan of ballroom dance, you don't want to miss the carnival next week. The world's best dancers will gather in Shenzhen July 18 and 19 to compete for WDC (World Dance Council) World Cup titles.

    Top seeds in standard and Latin dance, including the duos Mirko Gozzoli/Alessia Betti and Michael Malitowski/Joanna Leunis, will attend the competition at the Shenzhen Stadium, said Wang Yonggang, secretary to the organizing committee, at a press conference Wednesday.

    More than 2,000 couples from nearly 30 countries and regions have registered for the competition, with some contestants from Australia and Nigeria attending the event for the first time.

    Since 2003, Shenzhen has been home to the Shenzhen Star Championships -- China's most pestigious international competition in ballroom dance.

    With authorization from dance council, the Star Championships this year will also include the WDC World Cup for Professional Latin and Standard.

    "There are no college-level dance programs in Shenzhen," Wang said, "but in both professional and amateur groups, Shenzhen contestants represent the highest standards in China."

    Zhang Shaojie and Dai Li of the Latin dance group and Zhang Hao and Song Xiaorong of the standard group, all contestants from the Ganglong Dance Culture Company, are top dancers and real contenders for the championship.

    A event will a panel of 45 judges, 16 of whom are former world champions and jurors at the Blackpool Dance Festival in Great Britain. Among the panel will be WDC chairman Donnie Burns and Marcus Hilton, the chairman of judges in the Blackpool festival.

    Training workshops conducted by former champions in dancing will be given between July 14 and 17.