Six years ago, when Rajeswari Vaidyanathan started her dancesport academy in Mumbai, she would get calls enquiring if she taught Bollywood dance. Today, the callers are armed with a battery of questions about taking bachata or jive lessons under competitive Latin ballroom dancing. This, in a nutshell, is the validation of the journey of the banker-turned-dancesport professional, who shifted her focus from teaching social dancing to competitive Latin dance forms when her interaction with Asia Pacific champions, and international travel revealed a yawning gap between the standards in India and those worldwide.

This Monday, 220 participants from Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Bengaluru, Belgaum and Goa will participate in The 3rd India Open Latin Ballroom DanceSport Championship 2019 — organised by the Indian DanceSport Council under Vaidyanathan's leadership — where they will showcase their skills in cha-cha, rumba, samba, bachata, salsa, Viennese waltz and Argentine tango.