Let's boogie down to Shenzhen, for the Group A Standard competition at the latest stop of the China DanceSport Open. While the city and surrounding areas have been cleaning up the damage brought on last week by Typhoon Haima, the participants in this event responded the best way they know how, by whirling and twirling in the ballroom, to lift the spirits of those in attendance.

The China DanceSport Open competition in Shenzhen promised a tantalizing rematch pitting Zhao Peng and Wang Qi against the duo currently considered their rivals of a sort, Wei Liying and Qiu Yuming, who edged them by four-hundreths of a point to win the standard division last month in Zhengzhou. But staying on top is often much harder than getting there, as the pair who have taken big strides forward this year, were reminded in the worst possible way.

"We have been sick for the past five days because of the hot and humid weather here,"

"The physical conditions are unstable. We have to take antibiotics to keep our minds clear," said Wei Liying and Qiu Yuming.

Despite not feeling their best, Wei and Qiu would hustle through several complicated routines, gaining precious experience even while failing to make a return trip to the podium.

"We still have a long way to go. We have many years of our career ahead. This may happen again in the future, but we will handle the problems better," said Qiu Yuming.

Zhao and Wang proved to be the strongest couple again, emerging victorious once the final scores were tallied, but these two combinations will meet again in very short order.

"Our strongest opponent is ourselves. We've trained very hard, and have high standard for ourselves. We hope to make more breakthroughs in the future," said Wei Liying.

The next big test for China's best dancers is the season finale in Wenzhou on Christmas Day.