Joshua Malone And Kimberly Jones Win Inaugural Baby Ballroom Championship Title

Baby Ballroom: The Championship is a dance reality show produced by ITV, UK and premiered there on July 28 2007. Twelve pairs of juvenile dancers aged between six and eleven competed for the title of Baby Ballroom Champions. The panel of judges comprised of Raymond Quinn of X Factor, "Dancing On Ice" star Bonnie Langford and renowned dance teacher Pierre Dulaine. Dulaine, hailed as a "dancer and teacher extraordinaire" by the New York Times was the inspiration for the movie Take The Lead starring Antonio Banderas as Dulaine. Take The Lead is a real story of a dance teacher (Dulaine) who believed in the talents of a group of problem kids.

Seven couples competed in the first heat of Baby Ballroom: The Championship, from which three couples were chosen by the judges for the finals. The remaining four couples were then required to dance a paso doble to win public votes for one more place in the finals. At the second heat, seven more couples took part, and three couples were similarly chosen by the judges. The remaining four couples likewise had to dance a paso doble to garner public votes for one more slot in the finals. In the finals held on August 11 2007, in which 12 couples competed, Joshua Malone and Kimberly Jones put on a smashing performance to win the title of Baby Ballroom Champions.

All the Ballroom and Latin American dances were showcased in this competition. The dancers were really talented and showed great promise. It was such a pleasure to see them dancing so well and really enjoying themselves. Even for those competitors who had to perform the so called "difficult" ballroom dance - the foxtrot; their timing and footwork were excellent. I won't be surprised to see future Blackpool and World dance champions coming from this bunch of adorable tots. The judges were simply bowled over by their charm and dancing skills. Dulaine gave a good critique of their performances, highlighting their strengths as well as pointing out their weaknesses.


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