Among the guests of honour at the GrandSlam Latin final in Stuttgart was Mr Harri Syväsalmi, the Secretary General of the Finnish Centre for Integrity in Sports who has agreed to join the Presidential Task Force to combat competition manipulation in DanceSport.
Occupying a front row seat at the Beethovenhall on a special night, taking in the action on the floor by the world's best dancers and the particular atmosphere created by an exceptionally savvy audience in the stands, can be very revealing about the essence of DanceSport. Mr Syväsalmi was impressed by the sport and its charismatic athletes.
On Sunday 14 August, after the Boris Myagkov Big Band has stopped playing and the lighting has been turned off at the Beethoven Hall, Mr Syväsalmi will sit down with WDSF President Hinder and a few others to look at another, a less flattering side of DanceSport.