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National Geographic features Belinda's ballroom triumphs

AMONG PHILIPPINES' current crop of world-class performers is Belinda Adora.

The undefeated National Dance Sport champion and first gold medalist of the first Dance Sport Competition of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Along with Japanese ballroom dancer Yuki Ishihara, Belinda are featured in the National Geographic Channel (NGC) documentary —"Show Real Asia: Strictly Asian Ballroom Special."

Delving into the world of Dancesport, the NGC docu explores two distinct persuasions that split the Asian ballroom scene —the sense of tradition that pervades the dance halls of Japan and the passion with which enthusiasts in the Philippines take to the newest sporting craze.

Oh yes, it is a sport. Long confined to perfumed halls inhabited by the upper class, Dancesport has invaded the consciousness of regular folk with its contribution to the Philippine cause in the Manila SEA Games of December 2005, where the country won the overall title. Belinda was the spearhead of the local Dancesport squad, which National Geographic aptly described the region's Dream Team.

But the feature is not all about the Games. It actually traces Belinda's personal growth through the sport. It shows her humble start in the ballroom scene where, as a "young girl from the province," she traded her books and her tuition money for dance classes.