This year, 2009, the fifth annual Lombok International (Ballroom Dancing) Championships will be held.  Couples around the world are buffing their dancing shoes, shaking out their tulles, straightening their neckties and jumping on planes to get to Lombok in Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara province.

The event is sanctioned by the World Dance Council Competition, the Indonesian Ballroom Dance Council and the Indonesian sports ministry. According to event organizer Marcel De Rijk, champion dancers from 15 countries have registered for the event, which will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Santosa Resort in Senggigi, on Sunday, June 21.

De Rijk is vice president of the World Dance Council and a world champion ballroom dancer.  "The event started out 10 years ago as an annual dance party for students of my Lombok dance studio, Lombok International Dance Studio. Each year we would invite an international level dance couple from Europe to perform," De Rijk said.

Competitors include the current amateur world champions, Eldar and Anna Dzhafarov from Azerbaijan, Russia's beautiful couple Evgeny Ryupin and Yana Prokovskaysa, and runners-up at the Mecca of ballroom dance, the Blackpool Dance Festival in England, Aleksander and Irina Zhiratkov, Hong Kong's professional champions.

"Ballroom is growing rapidly, particularly in Asia. In Britain and Europe it is a long tradition to learn ballroom dance - that goes back to the 1030's. In Asia, ballroom dance started much later. Asians love ballroom and Latin music and to dance," said De Rijk of the surging popularity of ballroom and Latin dance seen across Asia over the past decade.

That popularity is expected to help boost Lombok's burgeoning tourist industry with greater numbers of tourists, including from dance tourism, traveling to Lombok, there could be a spillover effect on Sumbawa, bringing much-needed tourists dollar to the remote island. The formerly contentious Lombok international airport was nearing completion and would open in 2010, further improving the province's access to the tourism industry. Book directly to Villa Ombak for your accommodation and attend this world class event during your holiday in Lombok.