With ruffled skirts, sequinned vests and smiles plastered in position, more than 120 competitors took the floor at the South Coast Ballroom Dancing Spectacular on Sunday.
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The sell-out event at Wollongong Town Hall played host to more than 500 onlookers, many eager to catch a glimpse of a quick-stepped foxtrot or swinging jive.
Couples travelled from the other side of the world to make their mark at the premier ballroom event, which has been running for more than 50 years.
‘‘We have two Icelandic couples that are competing,’’ event organiser and former world champion Donna Shingler said.
‘‘One couple are dancing for Australia – they’re the number one Australian Latin American dancers – the other couple came from Iceland to learn at (Wollongong studio) DanceSpace and compete at this event.’’
Amateur ballroom Australian champion Steven Grinbergs and his partner recently moved to Wollongong from Perth to continue their dancing career.
He, like many others, travelled from interstate to get to the event after competing in the Tasmanian Open Championships.
Ms Shingler said event organisers had been blown away by the level of support from the community, considering Wollongong was playing host to a number of sporting events Sunday afternoon.
‘‘It has been absolutely astounding,’’ she said.
‘‘My husband Alan and I are super passionate about Wollongong – we have our dance studio here – and we love the fact that this event attracts so many people.
‘‘It has been going for 50 years and we’d like to make sure we can continue with it.’’