Cebuana dance athletes shine in US joust

CEBU, Philippines - Cebuano dance athletes Mae Lozada, Victoria Alix and Renante Saldua shone brightly in their respective classes in the 2012 Manhattan Dancesport Championships over the weekend at Marriott Hotel in Brooklyn, New York.

It was actually a treble for Lozada, who won her third straight event in the US.

Lozada, still paired with Dennis Sy of Dumaguete City, lorded it over in the amateur pre-champ latin division.

During the final heat, Lozada and Sy were rated first in all dances from chachacha, samba, rumba and jive.

Lozada and Sy's final rating was way up against the tandem of Anastasiya Alksne and Andrew Polunin. Annet Blom and Steve Yi took home the bronze medal.

Lozada and Sy earlier bagged gold in the pre-champ latin event of the Philadelphia Festival and Dancesport Championship last April. She came up with another golden finish during the Yankee Classic DanceSport Championship was in Boston last month.

On the other hand, Alix and long-time dance partner Renante Saldua grabbed the gold in the pre-champ ballroom category featuring waltz, tango, foxtrot, and quickstep. They also topped their event during the Philadelphia Festival two months ago.  - THE FREEMAN