Longboard Dance and Freestyle World Championship Organizer Bianca Kersten answered your questions.
Could you briefly introduce yourself to us? Where were you born and what are you doing as a profession?
Bianca: I'm Bianca Gasta, I'm born in Holland and I have a guest house in Spain and organized the World Championship longboard dance and freestyle gold.
What influenced you to start longboard sport?
Bianca: So I started longboarding because to be honest, I had a horse that I could not ride and it was fastest way to get to the lake. So I will put a belt around her belly and she will pull me over the street. So that's actually how I started longboarding. But soon I went without my horse as well, and I was surfing. So that was nice to combine, of course, with both possibilities to interact with skill and training.
How did the "So You Can Longboard Dance" project originally come to life?
Bianca: So Columbia dance was actually overall city. We were like every week coming together. I was working for
an organization that was having space for BMX as well, and whatever, but they have also the clockwal, and the owner there once told me, if you ever want to do something here, just come by, it's possible, and it would be fun. And then I said, oh, can we skate one day in winter? And then basically we invited some people from Holland and then there were people from Belgium coming and we thought, okay,we do a Holland versus Belgium competition. And then the whole world came. That is actually how it started ten years ago.
What is your current opinion on the longboard dancing scene around the globe?
Bianca: Yeah, longboard dancing. I really hope we get a new generation of people who are really into dancing. And yeah, I think it's growing everywhere still, and it's very nice, and especially in Asia, it's amazing what the kids do and yeah, it's like the level the increase in level is insane. Like insane. And I hope it will become more in the direction of art as well. Like dancing and not only what you see that everywhere is a lot of increase in freestyle. It's of course nice to combine everything, but dancing for sure is very nice to at least also watch. So I think it's also very good that people keep focusing on that.
What are your favorite longboard spots to skate?
Bianca: My favorite longboard spot to skate is actually I’m more into surf skating as I live at the Sea and I do a lot of water sports. So here there's not really a nice spot. Just dance or practice anything. It's more about surf skate here. So yeah, that will be a bit biased.
What advice do you have for newcomers to longboarding?
Bianca: My advice is for newcomers is to find friends within the community, and that's more important. I think the community feeling and meeting up is more important than actually your talent. So focus on that and practice hard. And if you want to really improve, consider yourself an athlete and train yourself as such. Like, take it serious or of course, have fun. That's the most important of everything.
What is your favorite Longboard move?
Bianca: My favorite longboard move. There are so many, I cannot really tell. Yeah, I cannot really say one. It's like every year so many new things also appears. Yeah, I don't know. I could tell you my favorite run ever was actually when Abu became world champion. That I think was the most legendary run ever made.
Which Longboard move was the most challenging for you?
Bianca: The longboard move was most challenging. Well, I'm not a good person to ask. Everything is challenging for me as I don't do that much dancing. I don't know. Everything is challenging.
What other sports do you do besides longboarding?
Bianca: I practice like a lot of kite surfing with strapless kite surfing, so with a surfboard and that's what I do almost everyday. I also do surfing when there's waves, I actually prefer surfing, but where I am in Spain, there's more wind than waves. So more days to kite.
What is the biggest longboard project that you have ever dreamed of?
Bianca: The biggest longboard project I ever dreamed of. I think we did it. Every year the event gets bigger and this atmosphere is amazing and I really hope we can bring it around the globe with the same atmosphere and the same community feeling. And I think they're really doing well in Brazil, like creating that as well. And I hope we will go to other continents. We're talking to a few organizers and I hope we can spread this whole feeling around the world. Yeah, this whole community feeling. And that's the most important than size. It's more like we had actually I had this conversation with people in Asia. I want to organize so easier internship.The atmosphere is so much more important than the size. Columbia Dance is actually as nice with100 people than with 1000 people. And that's what makes it always a success and always also that as an organization you don't have to you don't have to push things to make it happen. It just is a thing that can happen by itself. And that's very healthy to organize an event like with that atmosphere and that feeling.
To sum it up, what would you like to say to Turk Longboard members about Longboarding?
Bianca: I would like to say to Turk Longboard members, well, go skate with your friends, get new friends, be welcoming to other people and enjoy. And then if you feel like this is really a passion you want to get really much better in, then train. But most of all, have fun, share it and inspire others. I think always it's most important to give this gift, the passion you actually discover, give it to other people because it's such a blessing when you find something that you can have actually that creates such a good feeling. So spread the word as many people as you can on board and kids and empower them enjoy with others. And that's what I can say.
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