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Dancesport Club Members NAITO Tota and SAZAKI Kotomi Claim Long-Sought-After First Victory at All Japan Student Dance Championships!

December 10, 2021

NAITO Tota (Faculty of Science) and SAZAKI Kotomi (Faculty of Engineering) from the Okayama University Dancesport Club claimed their long-sought-after first national victory in the Tango Division of the 66th All Japan Student Dance Championships, held at Dokkyo University (Soka City, Saitama Prefecture) from December 4 to 5.

Though not initially interested in dance, Mr. Naito joined the club after one of his seniors told him that dancing would make him taller, while Ms. Sazaki joined because she wanted to join a club that would encourage her to be physically active and thought that there were many friendly seniors in the dance club. Both dancers joined the club shortly after enrolling in university and became dance partners almost three years ago. The pair placed third in last year’s national competition before finally claiming victory at this year’s All Japan Championships, their last national competition to dance together.

Tango is a popular and widely recognized form of partner dance that falls under the modern standard dance category. It is known as a passionate dance to powerful songs, characterized by speed and sharp movements. When asked to liken tango to color, most people would probably imagine black and red: tango is dramatic, and dancers are expected to convey their emotions on the dancefloor.
Forty dance couples from across Japan made it to the All Japan Championships after progressing through regional qualifying competitions. At the championships, couples had to compete in two qualifying rounds, with only six couples making it through to the final round. Mr. Naito and Ms. Sazaki came in first place after a brilliant performance and were praised by the judges for having “good music, speed, and a strong axis”, as well as being complimented on “the strength of the female dancer”.

Reflecting on their victory, Mr. Naito said, “I am sincerely pleased. After being congratulated by many people, the realization that we won is finally sinking in. I am so glad that our hard work has paid off.” Ms. SaZaki commented, “We practiced so much that at one point we felt “we will surely win!”. At times it was difficult to stay motivated because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but I am so glad that we were able to push through and win.”


You can watch a video of the couple dancing after they were announced as winners:
https://youtu.be/03ODtGJSVh8

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