(Seychelles News Agency) - Organisers of this year's edition of the All African Artistic Dance Championship have expressed satisfaction at the large number of Seychellois dancers participating in the event this month.

The World Artistic Dance Federation (WADF) is organising the event in collaboration with the Seychelles National Institute of Culture Heritage and the Arts (SNICHA), the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC), the School of Dance, and the National Arts and Crafts Council (NACC).

In a press conference on Thursday, the organisers revealed that around 200 Seychellois dancers will join 33 of their international counterparts for the All African Artistic Dance Championship scheduled for September 13 to 15 at Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay.

In addition to dancers from Seychelles, there will also be representatives from South Africa, Italy, Russia and Serbia.

WADF ambassador, Mpho Kgatla, told the press, "The mistake last year was that we did not focus as much on the local dancers, but this year we have and we have an impressive turnout as a result."

WADF is a non-profit worldwide dance organisation with over 100 years of experience in dance, which also gives non-professional dancers a platform.

The dance competition will take place on Saturday, September 14 from 11 am until late while on Sunday 14 the dancers will compete from 11 am to 6 pm.

"We will finish a bit earlier on Sunday as the kids have to prepare to go back to school on Monday," said Kgatla.

During the action-packed two days, the dancers have seven categories they will compete in including Ballroom dances, hip-hop and Seychelles' traditional dances.

The principal secretary for culture, Cecile Kalebi, said her department fully supports the event once the local dancers register for the competition as this will open doors for them on the international scene.

In addition to the dance-offs, judges in the event, which will include 10 Seychellois and eight internationals, will attend a seminar on Friday, September 13, to cover the criteria of the competition as well as how to judge the dancers.

Winners in the competition will win trophies, medals and receive certificates as well.

Meanwhile, the organisers will also hold a workshop once the competition is over to determine how well the event went.