Singaporeans Break Line Dance World Record
Bill Bader, left in red, leads over 12,000 dancers performing his dance "Singapore Swing".
SINGAPORE -- Singapore on Wednesday mustered nearly 12,000 cowboys and
cowgirls to break a world record for line dancing established by Australia two
years ago, officials said.
An audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that
11,967 people packed the dance floor at an indoor exhibition centre to set the
record for the most number of participants in a line dance.
The old
record was 6,275 people set by Australia in 2000. The results will be presented
to officials of the Guinness Book of World Records for inclusion in the book,
organisers said.
Young and elderly Singaporeans, many of them garbed
in jeans, cowboy hats, handkerchiefs and leather boots, danced for seven
minutes to the music of 'Singapore Swing', choreographed by a popular British
[Columbian] line dance instructor, Bill Bader.
Organisers said they
had worked for eight months to perfect the feat.
'For a small country with
only 3.2 million people, this is indeed an accomplishment,' said an elderly
ethnic-Chinese man who joined the record-breaking dance.
Line dancing
has gained wide popularity in the wealthy city-state, where the National Trades
Union Congress (NTUC) is promoting it as a health activity. Weekend line dances
are held in parks and in shopping malls and the dance is taught at community
centres.
'It is a great way for people of all ages to exercise and
have fun. We want to promote this healthy lifestyle and give our local line
dance scene a further boost,' NTUC said in a statement. -- AFP
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Other world media covered the event with articles which appeared on 2 May 2002. However, the web links are no longer available at ABC News Online and Channel News Asia.
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