Without any doubt, dancing was the mainstay of last night's Opening Ceremony for The World Games 2013 Cali. It was reported here earlier just how many dancers were involved in the different elements that made for an impressive - and sometimes very loud - show at the Pascual Guerrero Stadium. Now we add a few pictures to give you an idea of what it looked like when 300 inspired Salsa dancers put on their moves ...
WDSF President Carlos Freitag has a very tight agenda these days in Cali. Between frequent checks on progress in the ongoing dance floor installation at the bullring, Carlos meets with other VIPs at different social functions. Next on the programme is a luncheon held by the International World Games Association in honour of the outgoing IOC President Jacques Rogge.
WDSF Communications team member Helmut Roland tries to keep up with Carlos, taking pictures every now and then. Below: one of Carlos with the IOC President, and another with the IOC Vice President Thomas Bach and Tony Tilenni.
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By WDSF Communications on
26 July 2013 17:47
Hello, we are Sergio Costa (21 years old) and Rita Almeida (20) from Portugal. We will represent Portugal in Standard. We are the national champions and dance since 2002 - always together.
They are dancers and university students. Rita studies marketing, Sergio studies sport.
The couple is present on facebook and posts regularly from Cali. Going by their photos and comments there, the two seem to be happy with their stay at the Radisson hotel. And at last night's opening ceremony they had a ball!
The Portugese Latin couple is made up of Costa Martins Joao David - Geadas Meireles Sara Patricia. Below is a photograph showing them together with Sergio and Rita at the Cali airport.
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By WDSF Communications on
26 July 2013 17:06
We have been falling behind on this ... Mostly due to other - and very urgent - matters that took up all our time over the past two days. Wil Orrock had forwarded a short write-up on himself and Paulina Navarro a while back.
Representado Chile - Paulina Navarro y William Orrock es una de las parejas más destacadas en la historia de Baile Deportivo en Chile. Paulina ha bailado ritmos Latinos tales como Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, entre otros por más de 10 años. William es bailarín profesional con una trayectoria de más de 12 años que incluye Ballet, Tap, Salsa, Ballroom estilo americano. Ambos comenzaron a bailar en el año 2008, y desde ese entonces Paulina y Wiliam han desarrollado el Ballroom modalidad latino, asesorados por uno de los entrenadores más destacado de Europa Joan Cayuela. Han viajado por Sudamérica logrando participaciones destacadas y adquiriendo experiencia y perfeccionamiento en su técnica. En el 2012 lograron primer lugar nacional y por eso fueron los elegido para representar Chile en los World Games, Cali 2013.
Wil followed up with a reminder and a translation.
Please post! This country has an opportunity to show the people that were here and we exist. Thanks for your time!
Representing Chile, Paulina Navarro and William Orrock have stood out and changed the history of DanceSport in Chile. Paulina has danced Latin rhythms such as: salsa, bachata, merengue and various other styles for more than 10 years. William Orrock is a professional dancer who has a trajectory of more than 12 years of dancing which includes ballet, tap, salsa, bachata, American style ballroom and many more. They both started to dance together in 2008 and since then William and Paulina have developed their own style and trained by one of European finest Joan Cayuela. They have traveled throughout South America participating in major dance competitions and gaining experience and perfecting their technique. En 2012 they worked hard to become the national champions and because of this they will be representing Chile in The World Games, Cali 2013.
Fuentes Vergara Leonardo Andrés & Díaz Muñoz Viviana Paola in Latin plus Ramírez Grajales Javier Alejandro & Navarrete Riderelli Valeria Almendra in Salsa are the other members of Chile's DanceSport team here in Cali. Some of them came out to the arena yesterday to train on the floor!
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By WDSF Communications on
26 July 2013 15:44
The Opening Ceremony should be remembered most by those who took an active part in it. Among them were athletes as well as officials getting ready for the DanceSport competitions on 27 and 28 July.
Many were seen parading with their respective national delegation on the track of the Pascual Guerrero Stadium. To the tumultuous applause of 35,000 spectators.
A recording of the Opening Ceremony is available from the CLOC streaming site.
The live webcast of the Opening Ceremony that starts at 01:00 UTC/GMT is also offered by the Cali Local Organising Committee (CLOC) through its streaming site. We are not 100% certain but believe that the signal there will be available with an English commentary.
In any case, we recommend that you try both, the site of Señal Colombia and the site of CLOC, to see which offers the best quality stream.
In just over two hours, at exactly 20:00 h Cali time (UTC/GMT - 5 hours), the Opening Ceremony of The World Games 2013 will start at the Pascual Guerrero Stadium. The tickets have long been sold out and a 35,000 capacity crowd will have a chance to take it all in from the stands.
You, too, regardless of where in the world you are, will also have the chance to take a front row seat and watch the opening through a live stream offered by Señal Colombia, the official channel of The World Games 2013.
To get to the LIVE PLAYER with the Señal Colombia webcast use the link below!
Well, that's not entirely true. Many more tickets were sold for the two days of DanceSport at the Cañaveralejo bullring on 27 and 28 July. But what the ticket holders will get to see in just over 48 hours from now, we're not 100% sure yet.
The photograph to the left depicts what the arena looked like today, 25 July, at 16:00 Cali time. Yes, there was work done over the night: the flawed floor was removed. And there is further development: a truck departed Bogota earlier this afternoon loaded with a new floor. It is expected to arrive here during the night. It takes 13 hours from Bogota to Cali! And tomorrow, 26 July, at 07:00 the Orgsanising Committee staff, or a company contracted by CLOC, should start to set it up. Completion is scheduled for late afternoon tomorrow.
The picture below shows a man in the center of the ring who looks even more worried than a torero waiting for the bull to come out at him. Reminder: WDSF does not endorse bullfighting in any way, but it is still optimistic that a Plaza de Toros could turn out to be one of the best venues ever for DanceSport.
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By WDSF Communications on
25 July 2013 23:37
There are usually two ways of looking at things ... This applies to DanceSport at The World Games 2013 here in Cali too. A brief look back at yesterday's inspection visit at the venue, the Cali bullring, and two short statements by the foremost DanceSport authority ... One expressing MAJOR CONCERN, the other TOTAL ELATION ... What will prevail!
Follow the developments right here ...
L1owC4-L1ZQ|Good News | Bad News | DanceSport at The World Games 2013
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By WDSF Communications on
25 July 2013 23:28
Checking the local and national press this morning over breakfast, one gets confirmation that it is a very special day for the host city and all of Colombia today. It's the day that Cali turns more international than ever before - at least in sporting terms ... Not bad considering that Cali has already hosted the Pan American Games in 1971 and the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2011. 108 nations will be represented in The World Games 2013. That is a new record for Cali and the International World Games Association!
The World Games Opening Ceremony is tonight at 20:00 Cali time (UTC/GMT - 5 hours). We will let you know where you cant watch!
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By WDSF Communications on
25 July 2013 17:09
We must thank all of you for reminding us that to get good readings with an iHandy Level you must first remove the cover. That was actually done by the Sports Director before he was urged to take another and informal reading as a photo opportunity. "Men at work" was to be the theme for a few photographs documenting the two hour inspection stint last night.
In about an hour WDSF staff will go to the Plaza de Toros once more to assess the progress achieved in a night's work ... And to take another reading if the parquet has already been put on the foundation!
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By WDSF Communications on
25 July 2013 16:55
