Eighteen couples from the ACT will plaster on their biggest smiles and brightest outfits for the National Capital Dance Sport Championships this weekend.
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The annual event, one of the biggest on the national ballroom dancing calendar, will break out at the Australian Institute of Sport from Saturday for two days of dynamic and diamante-encrusted competition.
Federal Association of Teachers of Dancing (Australia) chief executive and competition organiser Neale Byrnes said all professional couples taking part had been working on their ballroom, Latin and New Vogue routines for months, possibly years, in the lead up to the weekend.
"Ten adult dancers will be selected to go on and take part in the world championships later this year," Mr Byrnes said.
About 370 couples have travelled from as far as China, New Zealand, Western Australia and the Northern Territory to take part.
Some of the styles of dance that will be gracefully showcased will include classics such as the waltz, the slow foxtrot and the cha cha cha.
Nouveau routines such as the tangoette and la bomba, which are regular highlights on popular television shows such as Dancing With The Stars, will also be part of the competition.
The weekend kicked off on Friday with a pre-championship congress.
Former world, British Open, UK and European professional champions hosted a number of seminars on the popular styles of competitive dance, including Latin and ballroom.
Mr Byrnes said he was expecting an enthusiastic crowd to attend both the day and night finals on Saturday and Sunday.
