Marcos García and Ainara Soto are two dancers from Lanzarote, 18 and 25 years old respectively, who can boast of having made history by being the first athletes from Lanzarote to achieve a third and fourth place in two modalities of the World Dance Sport Championship. Since they were little, the dancers felt that their passion for dance could be their way of life, something that has been fulfilled.
Their high level has allowed them to be part of the Spanish Dance Sport Federation and, in addition to training and competing, both give dance classes in their own dance school Marcos&Ainara Dance Studio located in San Bartolomé, where they teach other people to train in this artistic discipline.
Ainara Soto began her journey in dance when she was only five years old. "At seven I started competing but in ballroom dancing and at 11 I decided to professionalize and started practicing dance sport on my own," she says.
"I had always liked dancing and my parents had signed me up for classes and when I started in ballroom dancing, I liked the competition and a teacher named Luis told me that if I practiced dance sport I was going to get hooked because I was always going to want more and I was going to be able to give more," she continues.
In the case of Marcos García, he has been dancing since he was four years old and at five he started in the world of competition with ballroom dancing. "From there I began to professionalize in different modalities such as ballet, contemporary and some flamenco, I have tried everything," he says.
García has always liked dancing, as if it were in his DNA. "I remember when my grandmother would put music on for me when I wasn't even walking yet and I would grab onto the crib and stand up and dance, it has always been inside me," he says.
Dance sport, a complete modality
In dance sport there are several categories: urban, Caribbean, Latin and standard. Each of them, in turn, is subdivided into several types of dance. "In the first categories you learn basic steps and the clothing is also simple but as you go up in category, the steps become more complicated and in the highest category you can wear more beautiful costumes," explains Soto.
Regarding the good results in the World Dance Sport Championship, the dancer does not hide her happiness. "I am very happy because we were going, above all, to try to reach the final because you have to pass previous rounds but once in the final, you try to get on the podium and we finished third and fourth in the world competing with so many couples, we are very happy because it is very difficult to get there," she declares.
The dancer shares the feeling of her partner. "I am very happy because so far it is the most I have achieved in the world of dance because being third in the world is something that all dancers hope for at some point in their lives and I am still in shock because it has been a few days since the championship and because of how well everything has gone for us because we have put in a huge effort and some tears have come out, it is very satisfying to achieve something like this," he says.
"I thought I would never reach category A but I have already surpassed it, but it seems impossible and when you achieve it you always want more and more. Also, something good about dance sport is that you can dance alone, I started without a partner and you can grow like that on a personal level," says the dancer.
Nutrition but above all, training, are very important in the preparation of two athletes such as Marcos García and Ainara Soto. "We are athletes and, in addition to exercising when we give classes to our students, we rehearse twice a week as a minimum but when we compete we do it every day. As for food, I try to eat as well as possible although I do not follow a diet as such," says the dancer.
"I think nutrition is important, so I take good care of myself in that aspect and eat five meals a day in a healthy way although I have my days off, being aware and responsible for what I eat," explains Marcos García.
Dancing, more than just a sport
Both people from Lanzarote carry dance in their blood, something innate that makes them free when they practice it. "Dance has always been part of my life because I even missed my school friends' birthdays to go to dance classes and I was the misunderstood one, but I had a great time dancing because you meet many people inside and outside of Lanzarote. Dancing helps me to disconnect and feel peace," reveals the athlete.
Marcos García, for his part, follows the line of his partner in terms of the meaning of dance. "For me it is everything, it is my fundamental tool in life to be me because if they took it away from me it would be like tearing something away from me, from my being," he says.
"Dance has helped me to heal in many difficult moments and I cling to it when something bad happens because I know it will help me feel good, it helps me to be stable," he declares.
"Now we want to focus on standard dance to attend the Spanish 10 Dance Championship but first we want to rest from the competitions, even if it's just for a month," says Soto.
"This is the first year that Ainara and I have entered a Caribbean world championship and I have really liked the experience, so a next objective would be to achieve the first position in this world championship," he concludes.
