The siblings Pitt-Alexander and Tiara-Sophia Wibawa from TDC Frauenfeld announce their retirement from ballroom dancing. A good two weeks before the Swiss Latin Championships in Baden, this message from the defending champions comes as something of a surprise, but it is well-considered. "It was simply no longer possible to reconcile everything," is how they sum up their decision. "We have to accept with a heavy heart that we can no longer sensibly combine dance sport as we understand it with our jobs, studies and private lives.
This process had taken a long time, but had matured more and more in the last few weeks, and now it hurt. For both of them, dancing was "half their life". Whether they want to or can be spectators in Baden is something they would have to think about carefully - the emotions are palpable... perhaps it will take a little more time to be able to accept this closeness.
The two Rheintal siblings had their sporting best time last year, when they won the gold medal at the Swiss Championships for the first time after four places of honour. That late November evening in Wallisellen will remain forever in their minds and hearts because they were very well prepared there, were therefore allowed to dance completely unencumbered and felt carried by the audience. Already one week later they benefited from this momentum and this new energy, reached the second round for the first time at their fourth World Championships participation and finally left Pforzheim with a 40th final rank (see video).
The desire for more international competitions and higher goals grew, even a focus on dance sport was in the minds, if a big sponsor could be found. But unfortunately things turned out differently. The preparation for the World Games Qualifying Tournament at the end of January 2022 went extremely well. "We had a super phase," Pitt looks back, who added an extra session to his fitness training one evening. Because he was late for the next appointment because of it, he had to run to the bus terminal... and fell. Two ligaments in his left ankle were torn and two tendons split. The World Games were no longer an issue; only after four months did Pitt return to training with motivation.
But then he and Tiara noticed together that it was almost impossible to plan a satisfactory year - frustrating if you have high sporting goals but can't make a living from them. Tiara is a law student at the University of Zurich, Pitt works for an internationally active Swiss hearing aid manufacturer, where he is often "assigned" abroad at very short notice. Combining training, camps and tournaments with a responsible job and studies was like trying to square the circle. In addition, the Wibawa siblings also wanted to visit their father in Bali this summer. "Family is important to us," they say. And so these days - due to their resignation - they are on holiday with their father for the first time in two and a half years and are letting him show them his home country.
Pitt-Alexander Wibawa
Tiara-Sophia Wibawa
The siblings want to continue dancing with each other every day, the joy of dancing will always remain. However, they rule out competitions as well as a change of partners. Before their joint career, which they started in April 2015, they were both on the road with two foreign partners each. Pitt with a Kazakh and a Slovakian, the young Tiara with two Danes. "No - we will only dance together in the future," they look ahead, "and would like to live out our passion selectively in shows in the future."
With Wibawa/Wibawa, Swiss dance sport is losing an extremely popular and competitive Latin couple. They will continue to be a role model for younger dance couples.
