However, there are a few events that with a varied and strong-minded panel of judges could make that happen and these are the moments we look forward to in our ballroom dancing life. Last night here at the Manhattan Dance Championships, we had one of those special moments.

• Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova
• Open Pro Ballroom Open Pro Ballroom
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Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova current World Professional Ballroom Champions as expected won every dance with perfect scores from every judge, this was an easy judgment since any experienced panel of adjudicators know they have the expertize, their work is clear, has impact and they make this very difficult task of two bodies moving so close together at the same time with almost the same speed appear easy. I said the same speed because if done right the lady or the man have to move when they are allowed to move, sometimes the lady most just get out of the way to allow the man to pass and then take off and be there as if she had not slighty waited. All this makes this particular style a perfect body conversation between two people, where one listens to the other and each waits politely for their turn to speak. Now comes our favorite part of this couple’s performance, all this conversations have to be done with perfect posture. For us Arunas has the perfect posture, all the work is done by allowing his legs to do the work and giving Katusha the freedom to be as perfect as him when responding to his lead, making it all look like magic and that is why they got perfect scores in all dances.

• Marat Gimaev & Alina Basyuk Marat Gimaev & Alina Basyuk
• Alexander Voskalchuk & Veronica Egorova Alexander Voskalchuk & Veronica Egorova
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Once again as expected second in every dance was awarded to Marat Gimaev & Alina Basyuk, but here the judges quivered just slightly in the tango and quickstep. Paul Holmes and Steven Dougherty, were the only ones to award them less than a second place mark. Paul awarded them 3rd place in both the quickstep and tango and Steven a fourth in the tango.

The unexpected change of positions in the Ballroom came between third and fourth place where Alexander Voskalchuk & Veronika Egora placed over Artem Plakhotnyi & Inna Berlizyeva. When looking at the marks for Alexander & Veronika who are now third over Artem & Inna, we could say that it was very close between these two couples. Alexander & Veronika placed third with these marks 3,4,3,3,4, and Artem & Inna 4th with these scores 4,3,4,4,3. So as you can see, that decision was by one dance. When looking at the marks we can say once again that it was all over the place and that the dancers gave the judges reason to doubt and that is how last night consistency got disrupted in this case.

Fifth place in all dances was awarded to Iaroslav Bieliei & Lilia Gladiuk and sixth went to Andrey Begunov & Anna Demidova who took all sixths.

• Aaron & Iryna DeSotto Aaron & Iryna DeSotto
• Danas Jaksevicious & Yuki Haraguchi Danas Jaksevicious & Yuki Haraguchi
• Nazar Norov & Irina Kudryashova Nazar Norov & Irina Kudryashova
• Open Pro Rhythm Open Pro Rhythm
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From speaking to many of the attendees the Professional American Rhythm was a little disappointing, with the exception of the final for many we spoke to it was not worth the ticket. The quarter and semifinals were filled with very inexperienced dancers and the final was quite easy to pick we are sure for many of the judges. The easy winners for us and the majority of the judges were Nazar Norov & Irina Kudryashova placing first in all dances and looking way above the league from the start. However, when looking at the marks they got the majority of firsts in all dances but a few judges dissented. Their worst marks came from Michael Stylianos from England who awarded them 6,1,6,4,4. Second in this heat went to Aaron & Iryna DeSoto, who captured second in four dances and third in the cha cha.

The disappointing decision for their fans, but not a surprising one was the third place finish of Danas Jaksevicius & Yuki Haraguchi. The marks said it all - 2,3,4,3,4. When talking to a few of their fans they all wondered what happened? Many of them felt their dancing has degraded and that is hard to read, in other words few can make sense of it! We have to agree with their fans, they did look a bit disheveled at times and they are right, we too had a hard time figuring this one out. Shane & Shannon Jensen placed fourth overall and although the marks do not show it could have easily placed third overall 4,4,3,6,6, and on a DB personal note we loved their bolero.

Fifth place in this Rhythm competition wen to Alberto Cortes & Jessea Mae Briones 5,5,6,4,3, and they were a breath of fresh air in this final for us. Their enthusiasm is great and their energy is very high wanting to make you get up and dance too. Sixth went to Ilya Abdullin & Tara Barakov 6,6,5,5,5, not the best effort we have seen from this couple, however, in their defense they do two styles and this takes lots of work mentally and physically, plus when they do Rising Star and Open at one event that is four times out on the floor.

• Open Pro Cabaret Open Pro Cabaret
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The Professional Theatre Arts/Cabaret was a five-couple final and here Travis & Jaimee Tuft won the competition with the majority of firsts from the judges. Shane & Shannon Jensen placed second overall with a majority of seconds and even with the 3 first place marks that Tufts lost. Third went to Clyde Harris w/Summer Elkin, fourth were Kyle & Allie Spinder and fifth was awarded to Vincent Antonelli & Stephanie Falciano.

• Open Amateur Latin Open Amateur Latin
• Darren Hammond & Milla Lykke Darren Hammond & Milla Lykke
• Pasha Pashkov & Daniella Karagach Pasha Pashkov & Daniella Karagach
• Tal Livshitz & Ilana Keselman Tal Livshitz & Ilana Keselman
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The Amateur Latin was greatly attended with a full first round of competition and this was also a great feature here at the Manhattan Dance Championships. The final was very hard fought and you will see by the marks that it was not a clear run for any of the couples. The winners Pasha Pashkov & Daniella Karagach by placing first in four dances and second in the cha cha. When looking at the marks the only dance they won with the majority of 8 first place marks from the judges was the paso doble. The rest of the dances they got seven or less first place marks. For us they were very correct but perhaps not the excitement we expected from the winners at this world-class event.

Second overall went to South Africa’s Darren Hammond & Milla Lykke and they won the cha cha, placed second in the samba and third in the other three dances. We really enjoyed this couple especially the gentleman, who had an contagious smile and excellent body rhythm. When looking at their marks once again it was all over the place, they took the majority of the firsts Pasha & Daniella lost, but did manage to get at least one mark of everything even 4 sixth place marks in the jive. One of our favorite of the night was Tal Livshitz & Iliana Keselman who placed third overall 3,5,4,2,2, for us they brought a good variety to the floor, great energy, excellent work and fantastic characterization for every dance, making you want to get up and join in. We were a little surprised not to see them place higher. In the past we had not liked the lady’s constant forward head position but that seems to be getting better and we are able to see her vibrant expression but still with some intensity.

Fourth overall was awarded to Austin Joson & Nino Dzneladze 4,4,2,5,5. As we mentioned before, Nino is one of our favorite ladies on the Latin floor today, very steady, great back, and no fear! However, it’s taking a little while for this partnership to gel together as it should. For us on this night they were more together than we have seen in the past, Austin seems to be taking control of this amazing lady and is now placing her and showcasing her as he should. However, “fourth,” you should be a lot higher with the potential you both have, but still work needs to be done and one thing is for sure, “Austin when placing the lady don’t push her off her feet,” this advice might not help, but we expect to see incredible things from this talented young couple in the future.

The casualty of the night was the fifth place finish of Pasha Stepanchuk & Gabriella Sabler 5,3,5,4,4, this we are sure was a sad moment for this couple who at one time almost had it all. Last night they started very strongly and their work seems to continue to get better and clearer, but is this what is needed? Perhaps sometimes less is more, subtlety might get more attention than impact? We don’t know but you must try every road, the talent is there, the tools and the material is all there, it just needs to be out of the box!

Last in but not least in this final was Alexander Chernositov & Arina Grishanina, another fabulous lady in our opinion. The work at times still tends to look a bit green but we are longing to see it bloom very soon. They placed sixth in every dance.

• Open A PA Latin Open A PA Latin
• Open B PA Latin Open B PA Latin
• Sabrine Strasser w/ Stanislav Kochergin Sabrine Strasser w/ Stanislav Kochergin
• Maria Seragou w/ Dmitrios Damalas Maria Seragou w/ Dmitrios Damalas
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It was Latin day at the Manhattan Dance Championships yesterday for the pro-ams and the open scholarships were run in the late afternoon. Sabrina Strasser w/Stanishlav Korchergin easily won the “A” competition in our eyes and on paper with the judges’ scores. Second was awarded to Joanna Wa w/Plamen Danailov and they took second in every dance and third wen to Nicole Pierzchalski w/Vlad Astafiev 4,3,3,4,3.

In the “B” category Maria Seragou w/Dimitrios Damalas placed first but as you will see not in every dance 1,1,2,2,1, she won by a dance and Marina Dzasochova w/Ivan Statsenko from Monaco placed second 2,2,1,1,2, leaving third to Christine Stanko w/Jean Paul 3,5,5,3,4.

• Open Senior PA Latin Open Senior PA Latin
• Open C PA Latin Open C PA Latin
• Lisa Lowery w/ Roman Malkhasyan Lisa Lowery w/ Roman Malkhasyan
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The “C” division was awarded to Lisa Lowery now dancing with Roman Malkhasyan winning every dance. Second was Victoria Gorder w/Andre Strinadko 4,3,3,3,4, and third was awarded to Donna Hung w/Nikolai Voronovich.

The Senior like the Ballroom was also a good event and here Nora Fox w/Plamen Danailov won all dances, second was Fifi Wang w/Delyan Terziev 2,2,2,2,2, and third went to Lisa Wong w/Roman Italyankin.

• Emmanuele Pierre Antoine & Liana Churilova Emmanuele Pierre Antoine & Liana Churilova
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Last night we also had the second retirement presentation by Emmanuel Pierre- Antoine & Liana Churilova who just recently retired from competing at the Millennium Dancesport Championships. It was well received, this being their hometown. Many of their well-wishers stood up and they had to do an encore performance of the mambo. We want to wish Emmanuele & Liana great success in their future ventures and hope to see lots from them in the future. Look out for an interview with them in Dance Beat soon.

• Beatrice Faumuina w/ Wendy Johnson Beatrice Faumuina w/ Wendy Johnson
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Celebrity sighting at last night’s event was Beatrice Faumuina1997 World Discus Champion and 2006 DWTS NZ Runner up. She is currently the NZ Trade Commissioner.

With this the Manhattan Dance Championships came to a conclusion and as always great organization and scheduling by the organizers Gary & Diana McDonald, congratulations to both of them, once again a terrific event on the calendar.

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Unbelievable!

Last night’s competitions, especially the Open Professional Smooth, were “unbelievable” at the Manhattan Dance Championships.

The winners in all dances Mazen Hamza & Izabela were only given the majority of firsts in once dance, the waltz, for the rest of the dances they had to share with others.

• Mazen Hamza & Izabella Jundzill Mazen Hamza & Izabella Jundzill
• Nick Cheremukhin & Viktorija Nick Cheremukhin & Viktorija
• Open Pro Smooth Open Pro Smooth
• Travis & Jaimee Tuft Travis & Jaimee Tuft
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For us the professional Smooth was not about who was more correct technically or otherwise, at least for 5 of the 6 couples it was down to each couple’s interpretation of every dance and every song. Were they convincing enough? Did they make us feel the music playing? Did they catch our attention the majority of the time? Were they more interesting than the rest? Those were all questions running through the judges’ brains every step of the way. We have never seen a group of dancers so prepared and so “on” for a major competition as they were last night. As we mentioned before, everyone was on down to the semifinal round, where plenty of good interesting talent was left behind!

Although for us Mazen & Izabella were not the most exciting couple in the final, they were very easy to spot and see from any part of the ballroom. Their routines were clear, perhaps not very edgy, but their work could not be criticized! They received 9 out of 13 first places in the first dance. We must also point out that Maria Johnston and Steven Dougherty, both former US Smooth finalists, awarded them their worst marks. Maria awarded them 5,5,6,6, and Steven gave them 4,5,5,5. As we mentioned before, this is a case where we could easily see any of the judges awarding any of these fabulous couples any mark and we were not surprised.

From the waltz on it was like an “accordion,” up and down for everyone in this final, and in looking at the marks we all felt the same around the floor with the exception of Kyle & Allie Spinder who took the majority of 6th place marks in every dance. However when the marks were accumulated and the judgment came down second overall went to Nick Cheremukin & Viktorija who placed second in every dance, Travis & Jaimee Tuft placed third overall but not in every dance, they took fifth in the waltz and fourth in the tango. This overall result for the Tufts was a big step up. The new kids on the block Max Sinitsa & Tatiana Seliverstova placed fourth overall 4,3,4,4. We really did not know how it would go for this couple in the end because for us they were hard to find in the final but once it got our eye it was hard to look away, their work is fantastic, but at times tends to be too small and subtle for a group competition of this status. In a very surprising turn of events, Mikhail & Galina Zharinov, a respected couple who have been on the circuit for a long time and have nearly touched the top of the mountain by placing second and third in most major events, were placed fifth overall 3,5,5,5. This must have been a complete let down for this couple, but we could understand as we mentioned before, yesterday’s competition was not about who was better than whom, it was down to interpretation of every song and every dance and last night it was not their night! And to complete this final and this incredible competition Kyle & Allie Spinder were sixth in every dance.

We have been in the business of following dancers for over 27 years and few competitions have had so many who could at any time claim the top spot. This year’s competition for the US Title should be an event that we will never forget and if the judges do their job like they did last night and vote their mind and not what has already been written, it will be an incredible chapter in the history of American Dancing and its creation, the American Smooth.

• Justinas Duknauskas & Anna Kovalova Justinas Duknauskas & Anna Kovalova
• Open Pro Latin Open Pro Latin
• Nikolai Voronovich & Maria Nikolishina Nikolai Voronovich & Maria Nikolishina
• Troels Bager & Ina Jeliazkova Troels Bager & Ina Jeliazkova
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The Professional Latin was also a main feature last night at the Manhattan Dance Championships, but here for this experienced panel of adjudicators it must have been an easier task, the couples were almost in pairs competing for every position. On paper Troels Bager & Ina Jeliazkova (Denmark) were the easy winners gaining the majority of firsts in every dance and almost a perfect score in the samba where Charles Danza awarded them their only 2nd place. For us they were the epitome of perfection in Latin dance, however, for us they keep it very safe, they do nothing that might be too edgy, perhaps they are too the point in their career to take a few more chances?

From second place on the marks in the Latin got a little more varied. Second overall was awarded to Justinas Duknauskas & Anna Kovalova and they placed second in every dance. In looking at the marks they never got the majority of seconds in every dance. Fortunately for them, they had enough thirds to recue their second place in this final. Justinas & Anna’s worst marks came from Mark Weiss and Tony Dovolani, Mark awarded them 6,6,6,4,6, and Tony awarded them 5,5,5,5,5. For us it could have been closer than that, we found Justinas for a man to be quite rhythmical and Anna very flexible and absolutely stunning in her every move. However, some mentioned that perhaps their roles are to similar that perhaps he should hold back a bit of his movement to present the lady more, maybe they have a point but, we think Latin dance is about moving your body, and the more rhythmical you are the better. Here we are once again - this too might be a matter of taste. Third in every dance was awarded to Nikolai Voronovich & Maria Nikolishina 3,3,3,3,3. We are sure this could have been a very disappointing result for them but here again their marks in every dance were as people would say, all over the place. Nikolai & Maria’s worst marks came from Charles Danza and Mark Weiss, Charles awarded them 7,7,7,7,7, and Mark 5,4,6,5,2.

Kamil Studenny & Anna Pelypenko from Canada placed fourth in every dance and Mykhailo Bilopukhov & Anastasiia Shchypilina were fifth overall 5,5,5,6,5, leaving sixth place for Aleksandr Skarlato & Loreta Kriksciukaityte who placed 7,6,6,5,7, and seventh to Artur Tarnavskyy & Anastasia Danilova 6,7,7,7,6, who were thrilled to make this first class final and it showed when their names were called.

• Open Amateur Ballroom Open Amateur Ballroom
• Andres & Veronica End Andres & Veronica End
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The Amateur International Ballroom was a well-attended event with a healthy quarter final round to start, here the US Amateur Champions continue to reign, Andres & Veronika End placed first in every dance. Second in every dance went to Jack Beale & Natalii Siianko from England and third was awarded to James Cutler & Virginie Primeau from Canada. From fourth place on the marks once again got a little murkier, Marek Klepadlo & Zhiting Yang placed fourth 4,4,5,4,6, fifth was Mikhail Vorobiev & Sonya Tsekanovsky 5,5,4,5,4 and sixth in every dance but the Quickstep went to Samuel Hacke & Katerina Hermanova.

• Open A PA Ballroom Open A PA Ballroom
• Open B PA Ballroom Open B PA Ballroom
• Brynda Insley w/ Martin Reinbold Brynda Insley w/ Martin Reinbold
• Natalie Rezai w/ Sergey Kiselev Natalie Rezai w/ Sergey Kiselev
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The Pro/Am Ballroom Open Scholarships took place late in the afternoon and as usual here in Manhattan, they were all well attended with a number of them starting with full quarter final rounds. The “A” was very contested and here an 8 couple final was called, something every judge dreads. In the end the overall winner by placing first in 4 dances and second in the quickstep was Natalie Rezai w/Sergey Kiselev. We found this to be an excellent decision even though the second place winner, Nadezhda Solzhenitsyn w/ Valeri Zakharov (Russia), was not far behind and had some great moments especially in the quickstep where she placed first. Nadezhda's marks were 3,4,2,4,1. Third in this excellent final was awarded to Vinie Miller w/Denis Kutepov 2,2,4,3,5, leaving fourth to Julia Pogrebinskaya w/Denis Tagintsev (Russia) 4,5,3,2,4. Eva Chen w/Stanishlav Portnenko (Hong Kong) were fifth 5,3,5,5,3, Colette Marotto w/Egor Abashkin took sixth 7,6,7,6,6, leaving seventh to Rebecca Kuhn & Andrea Faraci 6,7,6,8,7, and eighth place to Yulia Rudenco with father Andrei Rudenco 8,8,8,7,8.

In the “B” Open Ballroom Scholarship Brynda Insley w/Martin Reinbold placed first overall but not in every dance 1,2,2,1,2. Second went to Grace Wang w/Sergey Kiselev 2,1,5,3,1, leaving third place to Julie Zhao w/ Denis Kutepov 3,3,1,2,3. Fourth was awarded to Audrey Paek w/Ronen Zinstein 6,4,4,4,4, fifth went to Carole Simmons w/Sergei Pogonet 4,5,3,5,5 and sixth place was Lengxi Gao w/Kamil Urbaniak 5,6,6,6,6.

• Jill Bradford w/ Andrea Stefano Jill Bradford w/ Andrea Stefano
• Open C PA Ballroom Open C PA Ballroom
• Linda Ciabatoni w/ Gianni Caliandro Linda Ciabatoni w/ Gianni Caliandro
• Open Senior PA Ballroom Open Senior PA Ballroom
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The “C” category was also excellent and here Jill Bradford w/Andrea Stefano won all dances. Second was Lynn Murrell w/Alexander Voskalchuk 2,2,2,3,2, and third went to Hye-Kyong Park w/Linas Koreiva 3,3,3,2,3. Fourth place was awarded to Alla Neyshtadt w/Basel Issaev 4,4,4,4,5, fifth went to Amy Hardy w/Andrea Zaramella 5,5,5,5,4, and sixth in every dance was Annie Chan w/Cristian Radvan.

We must also mention the Pro-Am Senior that also started with a quarter-final round, and here three Linda’s placed first to third. Linda Ciabatoni w/Gianni Caliandro was first 2,1,1,1, Linda Dillman w/Artura Misurenkovas placed second 1,2,2,6, and Linda Huntress w/Andrea Stefano was third 4,4,3,3.

• Xingmin & Katerina Lu Xingmin & Katerina Lu
• Open Senior Ballroom Open Senior Ballroom
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The Senior I Ballroom also took place last night and the winners were Xingmin Lu & Katerina Lu wining all dances. Second were Thoams & Yuko Naululani Yu 2,3,2,2,2, and third was awarded to Ron Souers & Susan Huang 3,2,3,3,3.

Tonight should be another exciting evening for the Manhattan Dance Championships, the Professional Rhythm as well as the Professional Standard plus a much anticipated Amateur Latin and so it should be a fantastic finale for the Manhattan Dance Championships.

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Rising Stars at Manhattan!

Last night at the Manhattan Dance Championships was a night of Rising Stars, all the Rising Star events took place and the majority had healthy quarter-final rounds. We also saw the under 21 Ballroom and Latin, and a few senior competitions and all daytime was spent in the Pro/Am Smooth categories.

The Professional Rising Star Rhythm was the first to go on right as the doors opened 7:30PM eastern time. In the end although the judges were asked to bring 6 couples back they obviously were quite divided and brought back 7. You can see how split the judges were by there decisions they provided, Ilya Abdullin & Tara Barakov won overall but you can almost say by the skin of their teeth, winning 3 dances and placing second in the cha cha, bolero. The runners up Alberto Cortes & Jessa Mae Briones won these two dances and placed second in the other three dances, close but no cigar.  However, when looking at the marks they were all over the place showing how close these couples were to one another.

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Third place was a lot clearer on paper. Riccardo Papi & Sabrina Moretti placed third in four dances and fourth in the mambo. Taking fourth place in four dances and sixth in the mambo were Ryan Lockhart & Danelle Newman. From here down things got murkier.  Eddie Rivera & Megan McNash were fifth 6,7,7,5,3, Joe Hasson & Natalie Hokonen were sixth 5,6,6,6,5, and Jonathan Green & Rachel Grumblatt placed seventh 7,5,5,7,7.

• Pro RS Latin Pro RS Latin
• Alexey & Vlada Karaulov Alexey & Vlada Karaulov
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The Rising Star Latin also started with a quarter-final round and here in the end it was also very close.  The winners, Alexey & Vlada Karaulov, won only 2 of the five dances (rumba, paso) but what made them s to keep this win safely was the fact that they placed second in the other three dances. Second overall and winning three dances were Alon Gilin & Maria Shalvarova from Canada, and they could have won had it not be for the fact that they were awarded third in the rumba, paso. As you can see it was very close indeed and to add to this interesting result, Nikita Malakhov & Nadya Vlasova placed second in two dances and third in the C,S,J.  

The marks in this Rising Star Latin got more settled when it came to fourth to sixth place.  Richard Lifshitz & Laura Robinson from Canada placed fourth 4,4,4,4,5, Riccardo Pacini & Sonia Spadoni were fifth 5,5,5,5,4, and Francesco Arietta & Rosaria Vivone sixth in every dance.

• Roman Malkhasyan & Kat Wagner Roman Malkhasyan & Kat Wagner
• Pro RS Smooth Pro RS Smooth
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Another quarter was run for the Professional Rising Star Smooth and once again the judges were asked to bring back six and they brought back seven couples, this always shows how challenging judging these events was. Roman Malkhasyan & Kat Wagner had an easy time winning all dances.  Second was awarded to John Campbell & Jaki Brockman, but here they placed second in three dances and third in the tango. Third place went to Andrei & Elena Rudenco who got a very mix bag of marks 5,2,3,4.  Fourth placed got a little more settled but still quite interesting - Shandor Shtefil & Aleksandra Barsukov were fourth in 2 dances tied for fourth in the foxtrot and were third in the VW. Fifth placed overall went to Dave Hannigan & Maggie Toth and they tied for 4th in the foxtrot, placed fifth in the T,VW and sixth in the waltz. If you look back to all the marks so far you will see that 3rd place was very illusive, it was shared by four of the competitors and the sixth couple overall, David Estrada & Maria Zhukovskaya took that illusive third in the waltz but sixth in the other four dances. And there was no contest for seventh position the judges awarded Leo Mora & Christine Garced 7th in all dances.

• Christian Radvan & Kristina Kudelco Christian Radvan & Kristina Kudelco
• Pro RS Ballroom Pro RS Ballroom
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The Professional Rising Star Ballroom was a very good competition but a lot smaller than we expected. Unlike the other three mentioned this competition started with a semifinal round. Here also there was a very obvious winner and runner up by the judges’ marks. Christian Radvan & Kristina Kudelko placed first in all five dances and Yuriy Nartov & Sarika Hudson took all seconds. Lukas Chockuba & Angelina Oh were third overall but had to share their third place mark in the waltz with Leonid Burlo & Liana Bakhtiarova, leaving them in a complete tie with Lukas & Angelina placing fourth in the T,V and third in the F,Q and Leonid & Liana placing third in the T,V, and fourth in the F,Q.  We are sure a rule was used to break that tie but in the end Leonid & Liana were placed fourth overall. Anatolii Repliuk & Ruslana Mamaysur were fifth 5,5,5,5,6, and Radu Sterban & Xenia Cletova were sixth 6,6,6,6,5.

• U/21 Latin U/21 Latin
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The under 21 was another terrific event and this also started with a semifinal round, but in the end six couples were brought back and the overall winners were Ryan Raffloer & Hanna Sverdiov who won all dances and you could see by their expressions they were quite pleased with their result. Second place was not as clear on paper, Sandu Babira & Alisa Dombrovsky placed second in three dances and third in the S,R giving them the runners up place but the overall third placed couple Alex Maslanka & Christine Budniak took two third place marks in the C,J, however they were not able to pass them because they took a fourth in the paso, leaving them with 2 second place marks in the S,R not enough to get them ahead.

In this under 21 Latin event Samuel Hacke & Katerina Hermanova placed fourth overall 4,4,4,3,4, Steven Varshavsky & Karolina Loukhnikov were fifth 5,5,5,6,5, and Gregory Rybakov & Eva Tulchinsky were sixth 6,6,6,5,6.

• Open A PA Smooth Open A PA Smooth
• Yulia Rudenco w/ Andrei Rudenco Yulia Rudenco w/ Andrei Rudenco
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During the day it was all about the pro/am Smooth categories, the scholarships were well attended and exciting, dancing in this NY metropolitan area is always great. The “A” scholarship was won by father daughter team of Yulia Rudenko and Andrei Rudenko who won all dances. Second was awarded to Madison Striblinh w/Mayo Alanen and they placed second in every dance, living third to Melissa Kim w/Anton Domansky 3,3,3,6.

• Open B PA Smooth Open B PA Smooth
• Celia Chou w/ Erminio Stefano Celia Chou w/ Erminio Stefano
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In the “B” division the overall winner was Celia Chou w/Erminio Stefano placing first in all dances, second was a tie between Lorna Creveling w/Greg Fidurski, and Selene Steelman w/Travis Tuft, both ladies placed second in two dances and third in two dances. After using a rule to brake the tie Lorna placed second and Selene took third.

• Open C PA Smooth Open C PA Smooth
• Lynn Shanhan w/ Darius Mosteika Lynn Shanhan w/ Darius Mosteika
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The “C” division was also terrific with some very experience player on the floor, the overall win by placing first in three dances and second in the VW was Lynn Shanahan w/Darius Mosteika, second was awarded to Sophia D’Angelo w/Ilya Reyzin winning the VW and placing second in the other 3 dances, third went to Charlene Proctor w/Viktor Tkachenko with the scores of 3,4,4,3, this might look like a tie but it was not the rest of the group got lower marks than Proctor.  

The amateur Smooth Championship was small with only four couples enter, here Paul Freitas & Kelly Glasheen won all dances, second in all dances went to Steve Torres & Nicole Barron, third was Jerry & Nancy Harrison and fourth in all was awarded to Devin & Lois DePuy.

Two senior Ballroom events were run, the senior II ended up with a sixth couple final and this wen to Brad & Judith Scholz with the marks of 1,1,1,2,1. Second and third place wen to Canada and here Sylvain Laperriere & Chantal Cyr were second 2,3,3,1,2, and third place was awarded to Claude Guimond & Martine Guay and they took 3,4,2,3,3. In the senior III there were only four couples entered and here the winner was Orlando & Aurora Cordero 1,1,1,2, second was awarded to Robert Blank & Martha Estevez 2,2,2,1.

Throughout the day there was a soccer game that many of the attendees and the organizer Mr. McDonald could not keep away from, so TV was connected outside the ballroom and there was as much enthusiasm inside the ballroom as was outside the ballroom. Tonight the Open professional events start and we expected to be a fantastic night of competition.

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City Lights!

We are finally here at the Manhattan Dance Championships and as the song will tell we love those “City Lights blurring my eyes!”

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There are over 100 competitions in the United States today to choose from, but when it comes to NY, everyone wants to come. The city that never sleeps offers something for everyone, whether you want to see a play, a ballet, an opera or just eat! The place is a playground for the young and old. So far we have been here two days and everyone we have talked to has new information to offer about the places to be and see. And when it comes to competitive Ballroom dancing, the Manhattan Dance Championships, like the city itself, is top of the list!

Yesterday the competition began in the morning with the Pro-Am Rhythm events and all heats were packed and it was nonstop dancing till the midnight hour. The Open Rhythm Pro/Am scholarships were terrific with great quality as expected from a city that surrounds itself with so much culture and art!

• Open A PA Rhythm Open A PA Rhythm
• Veronica Maoli w/ Hayk Balasanyan Veronica Maoli w/ Hayk Balasanyan
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In the “A” division for us there were two ladies that could have easily taken this Championship, Lauren Alber dancing with Jose Decamps and Veronica Maoli partnered by Hayk Balasanyan. However, taking a look at the marks Veronica won all dances and took the competition, but only three dances with the majority of firsts the C,SW,M. In the rumba and bolero she only managed to get 4 first places out of nine. Her worst marks came from Steven Dougherty who awarded her all 4th place marks. Lauren’s showing was not as strong as we expected she placed second overall but not second in all dances. Lauren was awarded third in the bolero and in the mambo. It is interesting to point out that Lauren was awarded very few second place marks in the dances she placed second in, she accumulated 4 second place marks in the cha and 4 in the swing, in the rumba she only was awarded 3 2nd place marks out of nine. So as you can see our prediction of this two ladies being close was not a correct one, Veronica won fair and square with the best marks in the group.

Third in this “A” competition went to the only man placing in any of the open scholarships, Stefan Tuomanen w/Michelle Officer, and he placed third overall but managed to capture second place in the bolero and the mambo. Ivy Kaplin w/Francesco Arieta took all fourth places and Kelby Dougherty w/Julius Solano was fifth.

• Open B PA Rhythm Open B PA Rhythm
• Gwen Bourque Gwen Bourque
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The “B” category was also a very contested heat and here even for the overall winner the marks were very divided. Gwen Bourque dancing with Aaron Talbert won the scholarship overall but not all dances. Gwen placed second in the rumba and mambo. She did have the majority of 1st places in the dances she won. Second overall but winning the rumba, mambo, also with the majority of 1st places, was Lana Lusher w/Jose Decamps. Gwen and Lana were the only competitors to take any first places. Third overall was Angela Morrison w/Peter Santiago. We must point out that Angela was third in all dances overall but the cha cha where she placed fourth. Fourth in the “B” category went to Lawson Harris w/Ernesto Palma and they took third in the cha, but fourth in the other four dances. Marcy Garson w/Ilya Reyzin placed fifth in all dances and Diana Larsen partnered by Julius Solano was sixth.

• Open C PA Rhythm Open C PA Rhythm
• Sophia D'Angelo Sophia D'Angelo
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Sophia D’Angelo w/Ilya Reyzin won the “C” division placing first in all dances. Sophia had the majority of 1st places in all dances including 8 out of 9 in mambo. Joan Goddard w/Aaron Talbert was second in every dance and was the only other competitor in the final to pick up any 1st places. Yuriko Shimamoto w/Steve Vasco was third, also in every dance. From here down everyone followed suit and as the others took the same marks in every dance: Deb Muzio w/Evan Wellemeyer was fourth and Gabriella Pannunzio w/Grzegorz Kasprzak was fifth in all dances.

This was an excellent conclusion to an evening that had wonderful dancing with very contested heats yet finished before midnight including the presentation of awards. This was excellent scheduling giving people a chance to socializes with each other or grab a quick bite before going to bed to prepare for today’s Smooth competitions!

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