back to news The World Latin Formation Championships through the eyes of a parent I have been a parent supporter of the Encore Latin Formation team since they were real babies. My son started dancing with them at the age of 6, and has been with them ever since. The team went on to win the British Juvenile Championships, and then the British Junior Championships in April this year quickly followed by the Adult Championships some 7 months later, not bad going considering that most of the dancers are only 16 or 17 years of age! Competing in the World Championships was by far the biggest experience they have had so far. We arrived in Bremerhaven full of enthusiasm in anticipation of an exciting day, and were met by our host and shown to our changing rooms. After their practice it was time for everyone to get ready; hair and make up completed and costumes on, it was down to the serious business of calming down and concentrating on the dancing. The venue was huge; by far the biggest place that they have ever danced in, with over 1000 spectators, but this didn't seem to faze the kids at all. They danced excellently (although there were a few slips as the floor was so slippery, but then all teams suffered the same) the atmosphere was electric and XS Latin team were to be heard cheering us on loudly. Unfortunately, but not really unexpectedly, they were not recalled to the next round. After a short break every team participated in the televised Opening Ceremony which to me was quite surreal. Only 2 weeks earlier a lot of the Encore team had taken part in the World Professional Ballroom Championship opening ceremony in Blackpool, and then they had carried out the flags for the Professionals, this week they were themselves taking part in World Championships and being led out behind the England Placards. Then on to the final. Well, words cannot really describe what the dancing was like; Precision, Strength, Power, Spectacular, Perfection. The whole of the Encore team stood transfixed watching the best teams in the world performing their fabulously choreographed routines, and every one of them took inspiration from this experience and went away with ideas of how they can move forward. Then finally on to the party put on for the teams, a chance for the kids to let their hair down and mingle with the other performers until the early hours of the morning. Thank you Bremerhaven for such a wonderful experience. See other report Submitted by Cathy Ellis