IDSF(WDF) vs. WDC

I always get mails asking me about the politics in the Dancesport world, and especially in Malaysia. People will write to me and say that we are nothing but a bunch of megalomaniacs (power crazy) people who have nothing better to do in life playing politics and messing around with the dance career of our Malaysian athletes.

Let me in my capacity as Sports Director of MPDC state my take on this great divide of Dancesport in Malaysia. It is true that Dancesport in Malaysia is very political and like many other things, it is a matter of your choice , as to which group you wish to associate yourself with. Generally there are 2 bodies in Malaysia, we are with the Malaysian Professional Dancesport Council (MPDC) and the Malaysian Dancesport Berhad (MDSB). MPDC & MDSB are like a pea in a pod, and on the international level IDSF & IPDSC works together like siblings.

The other Dance body in Malaysia is the Malaysian Dancers Association (MDA) that annually holds their Championship in Penang. On the international level they are members of World Dance Council (WDC) headed by a popular Dancer Donnie Burns MBE.

Way before I came into the picture as Sports Director of then MDSB and MPDC, there were irreconcilable differences between MDSB and MDA. Each of them have their own agenda and they pursue their path separately. Like they say the twain will never meet and this is the same internationally between IDSF & WDC. In Malaysia we live and let live, you do your things and we do ours.

Things changed when Dancesport as we understand it to be was included in the Olympic Family Games like the 23rd SEA Games and the 1st Asian Indoor Games in 2005. It just did not happen suddenly, IDSF previous president Rudi Bauman managed to get IDSF to join the International Olympic Council (IOC). That Ballroom Dancing that you use to call, now is call Dancesport (one word). It is a sport and the IOC has accepted and saw that the IDSF has proper rules and regulations to include it as a sport. That was in the year 2000.

I was asked why can't MDSB and MDA join and do a Malaysian ranking so that dancers on both bodies can take part in the National ranking? To answer this is neither tricky nor is there any sinister design behind it. Let me make it clear to all that THE MALAYSIAN RANKING IS OPEN TO ALL MALAYSIAN Citizens with absolutely no exceptions to colour creed race or religion.

In all sports be it football, badminton or wushu we have regulations governing the sport. That regulation have to be adhered to. Wushu cannot have a a non member who says that it is alright to stab the opponent or in Karate in the kumite ( combat), it is alright to kick your opponent between his or her legs.

In IDSF Dancesport, we also have regulations and they can be found in the IDSF website. For instance in Latin the ladies cannot wear skin colour under garment , and the distance between the two cups of the bra have to adhere to certain distance. In IDSF dress regulations, the men are not allowed to expose their bodies right to the navel and they cannot wear kimono like costumes. Such rules and protocols are meant to regulate a sporting event, you cannot have a free for all, where you have Latin dancers appearing with almost nothing left to the imagination. You will then be ogling at something else instead of the dancers techniques.

The point I am making is we are not restricting any Malaysian who wants to join the ranking or the IDSF open competition, all we ask of you is to comply with our Rules and Statues of IDSF. Is that too much to ask? The last 2 SEA Games in Cebu and Korat, please understand that Olympic Council of Asia and SEA Games Federation uses only IDSF adjudicators and all the IDSF rules and all the regulations and protocols from dressings to sequences of the dance. It is Dancesport and it is run like a sport.

You cannot come from another dance organisation and tell IDSF or in our case MDSB or MPDC that we want our adjudicators, we want our rules to be included and we want our format of the dances to be adopted. How can we give in to this. Let me give you an example. To all MPDC/MDSB dance athletes you know that we classify our athletes as Grade A - 5 dances, B - 4 dances, C - 3 dances, D - 2 Dances and E-1 Dance.

Internationally at the Blackpool Dance Festival, that is running in its 84th year now, classify the Dancers under Amature Raising Stars, Professional Raising Stars, the Amateurs Championships and Professional Championships and many other events. In essence, the Amateur classification above means 5 dances in Blackpool. To put it in IDSF language they are all Grade A events.

Look at the coming 15th Penang International Ballroom Dancing Championship that will be held on the 22nd of November 2008. I now invite you to look at one event that they call the Asia Amateur Closed. Can you guess how many dances a dancer have to do for that event? 4 only minus Paso Doble and in Standard minus Viennese Waltz.

You cannot compare an IDSF Grade A to the Asia Amateur Close. The proper comparison in Grade B. This is neither a criticism nor am I suggesting something negative. I am stating a fact, meaning if you are an Asian Amateur Champion, you cannot as a matter of right claim a berth in Team Dancesport Malaysia to represent Malaysia for the SEA Games or Asian Indoor Games.The reason is quite obvious.

However what I am saying is, if you have your 5 dances and you want to join the Malaysian ranking, by all means come, be our member, familiarise yourself with sporting rules, go to the floor and show your stuff.

I hope not to touch this point anymore and I subscribe to the view that this is a free country and each can pursue their own dreams so long that your dreams do not invade my dreams. Let's live and let live!

This view is mine alone as Sports Director and does not in any way reflect the views of MPDC or MDSB.

Oh! the rose is my hope that one day we can iron whatever differences and work together for the betterment of Dancesport in Malaysia.