A Night of Rhythm

Click here for video by SuperShag

Rhythm was the feature last night at American Star Ball.  Not only was the Pro Rhythm the biggest event of the night (2 rounds), but it was also the feature of the finale show, entitled the Havana Ballroom and choreographed by Brent Mills.

Emmanuel Pierre Antoine & Liana Churilova, current US Champions, easily won the Open Rhythm winning all dances and losing a total of only 4 first places over all 5 dances.  Equally sure were the runners-up, Nazar Norov & Irina Kudryashova who picked up those 4 first places and received all the remaining 2nd place scores from all judges.  Perhaps the match between these two couples was a little closer in real life than it appeared on paper.

From there on the scores were a little more mixed, particularly in the lower half of the final.  Shane & Shannon Jensen were relatively secure in their 3rd place.  They were 3rd in all dances and had the majority of 3rd places in 4 of the 5 dances. With 4,4,4,4,5, Andrei Abrashin & Mariia Gavrylova were 4th but had scores ranging from 3rd to 7th in all dances.  Matt Hauer & Lauren Schelfhaudt were 5th 5,6,5,6,4.  For us their best dances are cha and mambo.  Shandor Shtefil & Aleksandra Barsukov were 6th 6,5,6,5,6 and new to the final, Jonathan Green & Rachel Neilson took all the 7’s.

There were 3 live percussionists for this final.  Tom Larson (who had played throughout the weekend), Brent Mills and Eddie Melendez.

Only 4 couples participated in the Open Pro Ballroom and it was easily won by Andrey Begunov & Anna Demidova.  They won all dances.  The only significant challenge came in the Viennese Waltz where the runners-up, Emanuele & Francesca Pappacena took 4 of the 13 first places.  They were 2nd in all dances.  Anatoli Repliuk & Ruslana were 3rd in all and Nenad Pavolic & Anastasia Barhatova were 4th in all.

Both open amateur scholarships also took place tonight and both were straight finals.  Sam Hacke & Katarina Hermanova won the Ballroom, winning all dances 4 with the majority of 1st places.  They certainly had the most energy of all the finalists.  2nd in all dances went to Stanislav Pavlov & Sandra Spernacka.  They had a more traditional approach than the winners.  3rd in all dances were Daniel Vesnovskiy & Emily Thorpe.  6,4,5,4,4 gave Alec Zhiwei Zhang & Ersi Nie a 4th place finish overall, Brandon Buchthai & Natasha Barrera were 5th, 4,5,4,6,6 and Sam Brandt & Sabrina Yakubovish were 6th 5,6,6,5,5.

The Amateur Latin Scholarship was a close fought affair with the first places being mostly spread between 2 couples, Artur Tarnavskyy & Anastasiya Danilova and Nikita Malakov & Nadezda Vlasova.  The overall event went to Artur & Anastasiya by 3 dances to 2 – 2,2,1,1,1.  Nikita & Nadezda won the first 2 dances.  All dances wre won with a majority of first places except the cha cha.  3rd in all dances were Allen Rusman & Svetlana Lisnaya, 4th in all Stanislav Engelhardt & Tatiana Vasilyeva and 5th Raphael Matis & Jamie Dorotov.

The two remaining professional rising star divisions were also held.  The Smooth had a semifinal and was won by Adrian & Hannah Dydynsky 1,1,1,1.  Stanislav Savich & Nicole Prosser won the RS Latin 1,1,1,1,1.

We also saw the scholarship divisions in the pro-am Smooth and Latin.  The winners in the Open Scholarships were Lynn Shanahan w/ Darius Mosteika (C Smooth), Kathy Howell w/ Martin Cawston (B Smooth), Bethanie Picerno w/ Thomas Vasicek (B Latin), Sabrina Strasser w/ Stanislav Kochergin (A Latin) and Lorraine Peoples w/ Andrei Gavriline (C Latin).

Today s filled with Junior and Youth Divisions.

Smooth but Hard!
Last night at the American Star Ball the professional events were quite tough to judge, in particular the Smooth, but all three of the main featured events were fabulous.

Mazen Hamza & Izabella were the easy winners with a huge majority of firsts in all dances, only one, two or three judges awarded them second or less in different dances. Their worst mark a third in the Viennese Waltz came from Marianne Nicole. Second overall went to Travis & Jaimee Tuft and they got the majority of seconds and only a few firsts and thirds.  Their worst marks came from Mireille Veilleux who awarded them 5,6,4,4. Third in every dance went to Michael Choi & Erin Marie and they took the majority of thirds with the exception of some high and low marks, their works marks came from Keith Todd who awarded them 6,5,6,5. Fourth were Vladimir & Vera Kosarev, fifth went to Adrian & Hannah Dydynski and sixth was awarded to Jean Paul & Lana Rossi. The smooth competition was excellent with great talent and quite a number of couples, with some very talented couples being left out of the final.

The Open Professional Latin was also a terrific competition.  Here the easy winners for the majority of the judges were Roman Italyankin & Alexandra Bokova and they placed first in every dance.  Their worst marks came from Joe Howard who awarded them all fourth place marks. Second overall was awarded to Stanishlav Savich & Nicole Prosser 2,2,3,2,2, for us it could have been a toss up between them and the third place couple Hayk Balasanyan & Emilia Poghosyan 3,3,2,3,3.  These two couples stood out from the moment the competition got under way and either of them stood a chance for this position. Fourth was awarded to Dmytro & Nina Kovalenko and they took fourth in every dance, leaving all fifths to Nikita Tsernov & Annie He Xiao. Sixth in all dances went to Jungie Zamora & Sheena Daminar.

The Professional Open Showdance started the evening professional competitions and here there were four excellent couples, all showcasing unique numbers with great lift work and choreography. The winners overall were Shane & Shannon Jensen who won with a huge majority of firsts, only two of the 2 of the nine judges awarded them less, Didio Barrera who placed them third and Mirelle Veillleux who gave them a second. Second overall was Travis & Jaimee Tuft who took Mirelle’s first place mark with the rest of the judges awarding them second.  3rd were Canada’s Carlos Zapata & Dora Yaneva dancing their new “battle” number.  Only Didio Barrera awarded them a 1st.  4th were Jungie Zamora & Sheena Danimar.

There were 2 rounds in the Pro RS Rhythm, a strong division.  Shandor Shtefil & Aleksandra Barsukov won all dances.  Jonathan Green & Rachel Neilson were 2nd in all and Kosta Trifunic & Domante Padleckaite were 3rd, 4,3,3,3,3.

The pro-ams danced 2 styles – Rhythm and Ballroom.  Winners of the open scholarships were: Chastity w/ Eddie Ares (Rhythm A);  Sophia D’Angelo w/ Martin Cawston (Rhythm C);  Gretchen Fenston w/ Michael Choi (Ballroom B);  Elena Lee w/ Emanuele Pappacena (Ballroom C). 

The end of the Thursday night "Nighclub" session turned into a baby shower for organizer, Amanda Reyzin, whose baby is due in just a few weeks.

Windy City Open Professional Rhythm

Report by Maja Servé
Photos by Alliance Consulting

The Windy City Open Rhythm was on Saturday night. It was a very exciting evening with all the open professional styles being on that same night. 

You are not a member. Please subscribe Here and Now!

The 2015 Eastern United States DanceSport Championships
February 20-22, 2015

Report by Dan Calloway
Photos by Ryan Kenner Photography

Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel:  Organizers: Mark and Dawna Nocera and Bill Morganti

The Eighth Annual Eastern US DanceSport Championships was a resounding success with all the quality, highlights and surprises you would expect from such an experienced, skilled and thoughtful group of organizers.

You are not a member. Please subscribe Here and Now!

Rising to the Top!
Philadelphia Festival 2015

Report by Keith Todd
Photos by Charles Ryder Photography

This was the third Philadelphia Festival under the direction of Chuck Danza and my second visit in those three years. 

You are not a member. Please subscribe Here and Now!

The Judges Are Wild!

The judges last night at the Atlanta Open were in rare form when it came to laying down the marks, most notably in the Professional Rhythm category.

To us and the majority of the judges, Mikhail Vlasov & Vanda Polakova were the obvious winners by placing first in all dances, with a majority in each dance. However, as usual there is always a judge that would not budge and this time it was Ms. Pat Traymore who could only offer them as their higher marks third in the swing and bolero, but in the rest of the dances she award fifth and fourth place marks. From then on the judges went wild, there were excellent finalist like Riccardo Papi & Sabrina Moretti who did not even make the final cut!

Second overall in the Rhythm went to Shane & Shannon Jensen who  placed second in every dance, however, we must point out that their marks were more varied than those of Mikhail & Vanda.  They got some fifth and fourth, our very own representative Mr. Didio Barrera awarded them 4,4,4,4 and 5th.  Lucky for all as we pointed out yesterday, the system works and the majority ruled and Shane & Shannon were second overall. Third in this excellent heat of Rhythm dancing went to Ivan Dishliev & Marieta Nedyalkova who placed 3,4,4,3,3, last night they sported very simple outfits but their dancing as usual was very consistent and possibly worthy of a higher placement in a few dances.

Fourth was Andrei Abrashin & Maria Gavrylova 4,3,3,4,4, who we were quite surprised to see in the final, not that their dancing was not up to snuff but because there was so many other couples that could easily tempt the judges to go in another direction.  As we mentioned before, there were at least three other couples that we could easily see in this final. Fifth were Donovan Dominguez & Rose Dimov who placed 5,5,5,6,5.  This couple also have been placed higher at least in the mambo. And completing this final in sixth place were Shandor Shtefil & Alessandra who were perhaps one of our favorite couples in this final and who we could have also see higher up the ladder, they took 6,6,6,5,6.

The Professional International Latin was also a good heat and one that shook up things a little. It was a seven couple final and here the obvious winners by far were Dmitriy Nikishkin & Olena Shvets who placed first in every dance. From the moment this couple stepped on to the floor they were the audience’s favorite and the judges’ too.  This is really rare at a competition of this stature but Dmitri & Olena won every dance with perfect scores, not one single second or otherwise was awarded by any of the members of this panel. Second overall also without a surprise for us went to Jake Davis & Alona Kalinina placing second in every dance, we have to say that we feel this couple has made some excellent progress in the last couple of months and it is wonderful to see it being rewarded.

Third was Dmytro & Nina Kovalenko 3,3,4,3,3, fourth went to the Rising Star winners form the night before Felipe Gonzales & Darinka Divljak 5,4,5,4,4, fifth was Andre Strinadko & Ching Kao 4,6,3,5,7, as you can see the judges here were more than split! We also were a little, though here we thought Andre to be the best man on the floor but as a couple we are sure it would be hard to see where to put them in the scheme of things. Sixth were Aleksei Alekseev & Ekaterina Derevieva 6,5,7,7,5, and seventh was awarded to Kharyton & Anastasia Khomenko 7,7,6,6,6.

The Professional Ballroom was almost a repeat of the night before in the Rising Stars, except the easy winners were Igor Coloc & Roxanne Milotti placing first in every dance with perfect scores in four dances.  However, when it came to the foxtrot two judges were not convinced.  Linda Dean and Dennis Rogers awarded them second in this dance. Linda & Dennis’ first place marks went to the runners up Yuriy Nartov & Sarika Hudson who placed second in every dance with a majority of second placed marks as well. Third was Khryton & Anastasia Khomenko 4,3,3,3,3. Fourth were Dumitru & Cristina Turcan 3,4,4,5,4, fifth went to Aleksandr & Aida Skripsova 5,5,5,4,5, and sixth was Sergey Izyumov & Ellen Porter plaicn sixth in all dances.

The Professional Smooth was also an excellent heat.  Here Michael Choi & Erin Marie took first in every dance also with a huge majority of firsts from the judges, but as always there is a dissenting judge, in this case there were 2, Eulia Baranovsky who awarded them 3rd in every dance, but their worst marks came from Maria Hansen who awarded them 4,5,4,5, quite low compared to the other minds in the room.  Second place in every dance went to the Rising Star winners from the night before Adrian & Hannah Dydynski and their worst marks came from Pat Traymore who awarded them 6,4,5,6. Third were Mark Short & Alyssa Kark, here we thought they could have easily placed second in a number of dances, their look is a little mature and did not help their cause but their dancing for us was as good or sometimes better than the second place winners.

Fourth was awarded to Mykyta Serdyuk & Anna Krasnoshapka 4,5,4,4, fifth went to Christopher Germain & Mila Popovich 5,4,5T,5, and sixth was Maksym Lototskyy & Sara Haworth 6,6,5T,5.

The Professional Showdance was the last heat to go on at the Atlanta Open and it sure was worth waiting for.  Shane & Shannon Jensen stole the show and took the prize home.  Igor Colac & Roxane Milotti were second. Third was Alfie Perratta & Sloan Cobb, fourth went to Tim Polaschek & Katherine Hutchinson, and fifth were Aaron Stowell & Rebecca Berryhill.

My congratulations to the organizers for putting such a clean cut non-rushed competition.  The hotel is brilliant with plenty of room and accommodations for everyone’s needs. The tower I requested is very private and allowed for total relaxation.  The bar and restaurants were excellent with great service, giving everyone a choice. The city of Atlanta has been known for their southern hospitality and this was a perfect example.           

Rising Stars at Atlanta Open

Last night at the Atlanta Open was a night of Rising Stars, all events had a minimum of four couples and both the American style Rhythm and Smooth had healthy semifinals.

The weakest link in entries and in quality was the Professional Rising Star Ballroom this five couple final should we say was a “one man” and a “walk in the park” for Yuriy Nartov & Sarika Hudson who won all dances with the majority of firsts from the judges.  Second went to Kharyton & Anastasia Khomenko who had the most innovative choreography especially in the tango where perhaps some of their moves cost them their second place finish in that dance. Third overall went to Dumitru & Cristina Turcan and they took the second away from Khariton & Anastasia.

The Rising Star Rhythm was also a walk in the park for Shandor Shtefil & Alessandra who won all dances with the majority of firsts.  However, for us it was not as clear as the Ballroom.  We though that runners up Eddie Rivera & Meghan McNash could have taken a few dances specially the C,R,Sw. When you look on paper Shandor & Alessandra were the clear winners in the Mambo with perfect scores not one single second place awarded and the bolero were they only got one third place mark, and that was form Melanie LaPatin. Third overall was Jonathan Green & Rachel Neilson.

The smallest heat was the professional Latin and here the clear winners for us but not for the judges were Felipe Gonzalez & Darinka Divijak who won three dances to two 1,2,2,1,1. Overall we found Felipe & Darinka to be not only correct in their field but quite unique and interesting.  However, we were also quite surprised when the announced the runners up as Aleksei Alekseev & Ekaterina Derevleva who won the samba and rumba and placed second in the other three dances. We say surprised because for us they could have been third, but like Mr. Sodano says, this proves that the skating system works.  Judges mark where they see it and in the end the system works it out. Third were Kahryton & Anastasia Khomenko.

For us the Smooth was the best competition of the night and here we had a seven couple final from a very healthy semifinal. This competition went clearly to Adrian & Hannah Dydynski and they won all dances. Second was awarded to Mykyta Serdyuk & Anna Krasnoshapka 2,2,3,2 and third went to Christopher German & Mila Popovich 3,3,2,3.

This was a perfect ending to a terrific day of competition at the Atlanta Open.