Ready to light up dance floor
A group of young Latin dancers from Palmerston North is ready to light up the dance floor in Australia.
Twins Charlotte and Charmaine Buccahan, 16, and RV Quijano, 17, will represent New Zealand at the World Salsa Solos in Brisbane, Australia.
The trio from Palmerston North qualified for the competition at the New Zealand Latin Dance Championships, early last month.
At the championships, they took home the team trophy for Latin and salsa, and other accolades, meaning they were endorsed and encouraged to enter the World Salsa Solos.
The dancers will performsolo, duets and team routines at the competition, performing different Latin dance styles, including salsa, chacha and samba.
The trio is trained by Raine Symons, dance director of Raine’s Suavesitas, a Latin dancing group. The Buccahans started dancing in 2016 and Quijano started at the end of last year.
If they place in their categories, the three young dancers will have the chance to qualify for the World Salsa Summit in Miami next month.
Symons said she wasn’t expecting her dancers to be ready for an international competition so early in their careers, but was excited to see what they could accomplish against international competition.
The team usually trains three times a week, but has been dancing extra hours in the leadup to the competition.
‘‘These kids have worked hard to learn how to learn effectively ... We’re looking at a really good future ahead of us.’’
Charlotte Buccahan said the prospect of the competition was daunting, but they were excited to go to an international competition. She said the team was hopeful of placing in at least one of its categories. ‘‘Just being selected to represent New Zealand is huge.’’
The dancers have a Gofundme page to fundraise for their travel expenses and accommodation. They travel to Brisbane tomorrow and the competition starts on Thursday.