10 Dance 1

Shinya Sugiki and Shinya Suzuki share a first name and one goal: to win the 10-Dance Competition, where a dancer must master both Standard ballroom and Latin. Each is strong in one half of that pairing and short in the other.

Sugiki is a Standard champion, but Latin is his weak side. Suzuki dominates Latin, yet the exacting precision of Standard gives him trouble. Because each holds what the other needs, the two rivals agree to a deal: they will teach each other their specialty.

The arrangement puts two very different styles and temperaments in the same practice room. Each has to face what the other possesses and he himself lacks. This first volume sets up both leads and the terms of their partnership, then follows the early friction between them and the grudging respect that grows as they train.

This is a manga by Satoh Inoue, serialized in Young Magazine the 3rd. It pays close attention to the technique of ballroom and Latin dance. The relationship between the two men builds slowly, and the pace follows that gradual shift from rivalry toward something closer.