A few days before the start of the tournament, Andrea Naumann-Clément decided to liquidate her trophy collection.

Because the ordered trophies and medals threatened not to arrive in time due to delivery problems, she dug out her own trophies, which she had won over the years dancing in a wheelchair.

"It's better if they are on the shelves of the winners," she said on Sunday, the second day of the Mainhattencup.

Naumann-Clément had to get used to the difficulties that can arise in the course of the organization.

After a two-year Corona break, the Frankfurt Wheelchair Sport Club (RSC) once again invited people to the Saalbau in Frankfurt-Griesheim at the weekend for the international wheelchair dance tournament, which the club had already organized from 2016 to 2019 together with the German Wheelchair Sports Association (DRS). would have.

Dancers came from all over the world.

"The performance level is extremely high"

At the weekend, 16 colorful flags hung from the ceiling of the Griesheim event hall - including Israeli, Turkish and South Korean flags.

You know each other;

only the Czech team is there for the first time.

"It's like a big family," says Naumann-Clément.

There is dancing in all variants that the wheelchair allows: in combination dancing, a non-disabled person competes with a wheelchair user, in duo dancing both partners are in wheelchairs.

Individual performances and formation dancing, in which several couples move across the floor at the same time, are also performed.

For some, ballroom dancing, Latin American dances and Discofox are simply about being there, for others it's about ranking points from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

"The performance level is extremely high," says Corrie van Hugten.

The Dutchwoman ensures that the schedules are adhered to and mediates between the athletes and the organization team if there are any questions.

In Frankfurt she experienced "wonderful days".

She should know, as she is considered the "mother of wheelchair dancing", as she says.

In her homeland she has already organized tournaments with over 300 participating couples.

Van Hugten is not alone in her enthusiasm for the level: the way the Korean couple – she is sitting in a wheelchair with sparkling silver hair accessories, he is standing in a red cape – gliding across the parquet floor is graceful and expressive at the same time.

Finally, he grabs his partner's wheelchair with both hands and spins her through the air several times.

"Is possible for everyone"

"Some people think they'll never be able to dance again once they're in a wheelchair," explains Pippa Roberts, "but it's possible for everyone." Roberts is the Head Instructor for Wheelchair Dancing at the DRS.

Coordination, musicality and enthusiasm for training are particularly important for successful choreographies, she says.

The only 72-year-old athlete to compete in the IPC competition class in Frankfurt is Pamela Heymanns.

She is wearing a white training jacket with black and red sleeves, and the federal eagle is emblazoned on her chest.

On Saturday, Heymanns defended her German championship title in the LWD 2 category.

Dancers in this class have largely unrestricted upper body movement;

Starters in the LWD 1 class, on the other hand, are significantly less mobile.

Dancing in a wheelchair can help physically handicapped people to "better stamina, increased mobility and a more positive attitude," says Heymanns.

It was the same with her: "I would not have achieved the physical activity that I have now without dancing."

Like Heymanns, Andrea Naumann-Clément also reports on young people's problems in wheelchair dancing.

Corona would have slowed down their club, some were looking for a new hobby.

However, if she has her way, the Mainhattencup should also take place next year - despite the high costs incurred, for example, for transport suitable for the disabled.

This year's tournament was dedicated to Naumann-Clément's husband and longtime dance partner Jean-Marc Clément, who passed away last year.

Before the wheelchair dancer was commemorated on Sunday evening, the RSC show dance also invited all other starters, regardless of age, nationality and limitations, to the floor.

An image that confirmed Naumann-Clément's perception: what you could see was the happy togetherness of a large family.