FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
Dedicated to everything he does, Eamonn Knights is a 56-year-old International Latin DanceSport champion and 32-year Defense Logistics Agency Energy employee.
He started taking dance classes in 1999 at age 34 as a hobby.
“Stepping on the dance competition floor builds confidence in self-expression and what you can physically do,” Knights said. “We can all dance at any age and any level. It’s incredible to learn what our bodies are capable of.”
Knights and his partner, Ida Jones, have been dancing together for the past nine years and are currently ranked first in the United States by the World DanceSport Federation in the 35 and older age division.
Competitive Ballroom Dancing became DanceSport around 1990 to identify it as an athletic activity and to earn Olympic recognition. In 1997, the sport was accepted by the International Olympic Committee. Although not yet an Olympic Game, the World DanceSport Federation represents the sport in the Olympic Movement and is its governing body establishing rules for competitions and championships internationally.
Knights and Jones have consistently ranked among the best in 20 competitions since 2016. Their dance card includes the 2018 WDSF World Championship in Miami, Florida, and being a part of the USA team at the 2019 Blackpool Dance Festival in Blackpool, England. Mostly recently, in November 2022, they took first place in the age 35 and older category at the Gumbo Dancesport Championships in New Orleans, Louisiana.
They dance the samba, rumba, cha-cha-cha, paso doble and jive. Each has distinguishing traits and are unique in expressiveness, intensity and energy. They all require stamina, training and physical conditioning similar to many athletic sports.
Knights said he and Jones practice twice a week together and one other day with the trainer. Each session is about 90 minutes.
“I also practice two days on my own,” Knights said. “Some weekends, I also teach.”
He said they work hard to improve even the smallest things.
“It’s not only about perfecting our choreography and creating exciting performances but also designing expressive, dramatic costumes,” he said. “For competition you have no choice in the music, but you still have to create the illusion.”
The pair’s dedication, dancing chemistry and success may have something to do with how they met. A random twist of fate led him to Jones when he was looking for ballroom dancing partner in 2014.
Ironically, the pair originally met as children in 1975 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, when their Guyanese and Trinidadian parents were friends. Over the years, they lost touch until they were randomly connected in an online dance partner search.
“She wanted to compete, and she saw my name in a database,” Knights said. “She asked her parents if they recognized my name, and that’s how she realized I was the same boy from her childhood.”
Knights and Jones reunited during a salsa event at the Hollywood Ballroom in Silver Spring, Virginia, and have been showcase dancing and competing together ever since as friends.
Next on their dance card is USA Dance Nationals in St. Louis, Missouri, March 17-19. They hope to place in the top three. While the number of couples entered in each competition can vary from 10 to more than 50, Knights said there is a core group of about six couples that always tend to place similarly in each competition.
“I’d like to say we will place first,” he said. “But our competitors are very good. They travel and compete more internationally than we do and have historically done well.”
They are planning some changes to their routine, styling and presentation lines to see if they can “shake things up.”
Knights said he’d like to see more people getting involved in dance.
“The socialization, health and mental benefits are all there,” he said. “I really wish we could get our youth more involved in dance as it would be a great distraction to the common problems in our society. For adults and seniors, the benefits of dancing are immense.”
The DanceSport discipline Breaking was added to the Youth Olympic Games in 2018. Breaking, or breakdancing, is an athletic style of street dance set to hip-hop, funk, soul and breakbeat music. Because of its success in the youth games, Breaking will be part of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France.
Knights said he hopes the Latin DanceSport discipline becomes an Olympic event. He said he believes it will heighten public awareness of the sport and showcase its athletically skilled talent.
For now, Knights and Jones will continue to tear up the dance floor jiving and cha-cha’ing their way around their competitors.