SHENZHEN -- The 18th Ballroom Dance Championship concluded on July 16, after attracting more than 5,800 contestants aged between 3 and 72 from 16 countries and regions to show off their dance skills in southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

As one of the three most prestigious dance competitions in the Asia-Pacific region, the Ballroom Dance Championship made a comeback after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The organizing committee invited more than 10 international judges including honorary chairman of World Dance Council -- 81-year-old Robin Short and eight-time Latin dance champion Joanna Leunis, alongside more than 100 Chinese judges, for this year's five-day event.
In the professional category, Stanislav Zelianin and Irina Cherepanova from Singapore secured the modern dance championship title, while Nino Langella and Andra Vaidilaite from Italy claimed the top spot for Latin dance.
As for amateur category, Alex Gunnarsson and Ekaterina Bond from Iceland become the champion for modern dance, whereas Tang Yiming and Huang Xinyi from China took the first place in Latin dance.
Before the outbreak of the pandemic, the dance competition had been held in Shenzhen annually since 2003.