Nearly 70 athletes from 13 countries are getting ready for the second World Para Dance Sport competition of the World Championships year in Amstelveen, The Netherlands. 

Dancers will groove their way through the weekend between 18-20 April at a competition which will act as a preview for the Worlds which take place in Kosice, Slovakia, from 21-23 November. 

Amongst the headliners is Türkiye’s Baris Bayraktar in the men’s singles events. 

Bayraktar is the reigning European champion in the singles conventional class 1, claiming gold at the last edition at the end of 2024. Bayraktar is also a Genoa 2023 World Championships silver medallist from both the singles conventional and singles freestyle. 

One of his main competitors in Amstelveen will be Slovenia’s Amir Alibabic, the current regional bronze medallist in the singles conventional.  

Whilst Bayraktar is competing in his first competition of the year, Alibabic has already reached the podium. He took bronze in the singles at the International Competition in Hong Kong, China, in March. 

In the women’s, Israel’s Margalit Tomer is expected to turn heads as the singles conventional class 1 European champion and serial medallist at all levels. 

Tomer will renew her successful partnership with Halaf Oriel in the combi Latin and freestyle class 1 events, hoping to follow on from their European gold in both events.  

In addition to the established field, Mexico and Slovenia are sending young teams to The Netherlands where their potential will be tested in the juniors competition.  

Amstelveen 2025 will also feature the first glimpse of a powerchair category, before it’s official launch on 1 May 2025.  

Action gets underway in Amstelveen on Friday with a day of freestyle featuring the men’s and women’s freestyle class 1 and 2 as well as the duo freestyle and combi freestyle class 1 and 2 in the couples. 

The International Competition is the second event to take place this year. From there dancers will head to Oristano, Sardinia, Italy from 5-7 September for a Para Dance Sport World Cup. Then Stevenage, Great Britain, will host an International Competition from 24-26 October before the main event of the year – the 2025 Para Dance Sport World Championships – land in Kosice, Slovakia, from 21-23 November.