Dancing queens: Xin Yee (left) and Jia Xuan (right) posing with Teo after their first European outing at the World Dancesport Federation’s world championship in Spain.
JOHOR BARU: Two teenage girls from Johor have danced their way onto the international stage, where one of them currently ranks 10th in the world.
Ee Jia Xuan, 17, and Tay Xin Yee, 15, were both selected to represent Malaysia at the World Dancesport Federation’s (WDSF) world championships in the solo Latin youth and junior II categories, respectively, in Spain recently.
After going against 63 solo female athletes from 18 different countries, Jia Xuan qualified for the semi-finals and finished 10th in her category.
“This also means I am currently ranked 10th in the world among female youth solo athletes for Latin dance.
“Although this was our first time competing in Europe, I felt that I represented Malaysia and Johor well.
“I believe I exuded a different aura when I started dancing. There was also no pressure from my parents or the dance academy, so I felt that I could dance freely at the time,” she said when interviewed.
Jia Xuan, who started dancing at the age of nine, said her parents were both supportive and encouraged her to pursue her passion for competitive dancing.
Her teammate Xin Yee, who competed in the junior II category in the same competition, was glad that she managed to reach the quarterfinals in her first European outing.
After the competition, she ranked 17th in the world among female junior II solo athletes for Latin dance.
“I tried not to let the other competitors intimidate me. While some of them, especially the European contenders, were taller than me, I tried to keep my cool and focus on my own movements.
“I was confident and satisfied with my performance. I will work harder for the upcoming competitions,” said Xin Yee, who went against 83 solo female athletes from 26 countries in her category.
She added that every competition was a chance for them both to learn more and improve themselves.
“When we were younger, Jia Xuan and I often cried when our results did not match our expectations. As time passed, we learnt to manage our emotions and learnt from the process,” Xin Yee added.
Their dance academy principal, Vivian Chen, said both of them went through a selection process under the Malaysia Dancesport Federation in Selangor in August last year before getting the chance to represent the country in the world championships.
Chen said she was proud of their achievements, having trained and practised hard for at least 20 hours weekly under coaches Edwin Teo and Kimberly Tan.
“This was also their first time competing in Europe as they had previously only participated in tournaments locally, in Singapore and Vietnam,” she said.
Besides the world championships, both girls also did well in the Mallorca Dance Festival Open held in November last year, where Xin Yee bagged a silver medal and Jia Xuan won the bronze medal in the solo standard youth category, she added.
Meanwhile, at the Johor State Ranking event for 2024, which was organised by the Johor Dancesport Association last month, Xin Yee and Jia Xuan finished first and second, respectively, in the youth solo female Latin category and standard category.
“This shows that there are young and talented competitive dancers in Johor and Malaysia. They are both fresh and still trying to gain as much competitive experience as possible.
“The girls are currently training hard as they will be heading to the WDSF international open championship in April next,” added Chen.
“As their instructors, we try our best to encourage and nurture their talents in hopes that one day, when they are no longer actively competing in dancesport, they can still get involved in training the next generation of dancers.”
