Congrats JR Martinez and Karina Smirnoff on winning Dancing with the Stars Season 13!

I don't normally watch Dancing with the Stars, but I couldn't help it this season with one of my favorite dancers, Karina Smirnoff and her partner JR Martinez doing so well this season!

JR went into the show with absolutely no dancing training. He was definitely very talented and had I think the most positive attitude.

The finale night was tense, as the pair received a 7 from Len Goodman last night, and were in the bottom two the week before. I also felt they were somewhat underscored in the first few weeks, but I think his talent was so evident that the judges finally started to give him scores he deserved.

Thankfully, they won and now Karina Smirnoff can enjoy her first victory on the show! However, I think this victory means we probably won't be seeing her in the rumored show dances with Slavik Kryklyvyy any time soon.

Congrats again JR and Karina!

Here is my favorite dance from JR and Karina:

Was Michael Malitowski rude or just tired?

I was on Youtube watching some interviews from the Blackpool champions, Michael Malitowski and Joanna Leunis and in this clip Michael abruptly cuts off the interviewer with "done" at 4 minutes and 12 seconds.

So what you guys think? Rude or was he just tired?
On the other hand, Joanna seems very soft-spoken and sweet.

Stefano Di Filippo is a time-management genius!

Okay for most professional dancers, a stint on Dancing with the Stars means career-suicide.
But for Stefano Di Filippo, currently ranked sixth in the world (with his partner Olga Urumova), he can train for dance competitions AND do the Italian version of DWTS, Ballando con le Stelle.  

Here is the clip from the show with Stefano di Filippo:



I love Stefano even more for remaining in competition even while doing the show! I wish other dancers like Karina Smirnoff could do the same!

New Slavik Kryklyvyy and Anna Melnikova Documentary called Ballroom Dancer! (Although we already know the ending)

I think everyone obsessed with latin dancing will find the new documentary called Ballroom Dancer an interesting examination of why the partnership of Slavik Kryklyvyy and Anna Melnikova failed.

Slavik and Anna were in a private relationship a few years before their partnership, and many speculated that this was the partnership that was going to bring Slavik back onto the top. However, as we all know, Slavik is now dating Daria  Chesnokova and Anna is dancing with her husband, Justinas Duknauskas.

Slavik and Anna are undeniably one of the most popular dancesport dancers and watching the clips, you can see the intensity in their fights and their raw emotions.

Here is the movie trailer:


It looks so good! They were such a promising partnership! I will definitely watch it when it comes out. What do you think?

I feel like no matter, what Slavik and Anna would never have been first place within a year.

I almost feel sorry for Slavik in the documentary, as I have written before, I am afraid that Anna was Slavik's last hope for success and I think is professional career is over. In the film, it mentions that it was his last chance, so I am fairly sure we won't see Slavik on the dance floor anytime soon. The DVD for Ballroom Dancer will be available worldwide in the Spring.

Last dance of Franco Formica and Oxana Lebedew

Some World Superstars of Dance videos are up and they are enjoyable to watch, even if they are in poor quality.

I was particular touched by the rumba of Franco Formica and Oxana Lebedew, as you can visibly see Franco crying at the end of the routine. I hope Franco returns to the dance floor, because I think he has the best samba, and his dancing is so brilliant!

I think that based on his age, him and Slavik might be headed to retirement, rather than return to the floor with new dance partners? What do you think?

Here is the rumba:

Brand new chacha routine: 


Nobody knows exactly why the pair broke up, but Oxana did recently get married to Ilia Russo, another Latin dancer, who also split up with his partner. Maybe Oxana will end up dancing with her husband?

Hope to see Franco or Oxana on the dance floor soon, they are both brilliant dancers, and I thank them for the five years of excellent dancing!

Alessia Betti has retired!

After a long and fruitful career, Alessia Betti, former world, Blackpool and UK Open champion has retired! She was the best-known for successful partnership with Mirko Gozzoli that led to undefeated world championships from 2004 to 2009.

According to this Dancesportinfo article, she intends to start a family with her husband and former dance partner, Angelo Madonia. 


The youtube video in which she has used to say goodbye, shows that although her partnership with Mirko was successful, she had to make many sacrifices in her personal life to achieve success. Here is the video:

Valentin Chmerkovskiy is also a rap artist

Maybe I have been living under a rock, but I had no idea that Valentin Chmerkovskiy AKA ValC was a rap artist.

I think him being on DWTS will definitely help him break into the music scene.

Here is his latest music video. What do you think of this song?

Valentin Chmerkovskiy retires, joins Dancing with the Stars

Photo credit: Thomas Morton

The recent news that high level dancer, Valentin Chmerkovskiy at 25 has prematurely ended his competitive career has sent shockwaves throughout the ballroom dance community.

Like when Stefano Di Fillippo decided to switch from IDSF to WDC, Valentin issued a letter that explainned his reasons, which were primarily due to the politics in dancesport competitions today.

Valentin was dancing with Daria Chesnokova (girlfriend of Slavik Kryklyvyy) and at Blackpool 2011 he placed third. He was first the US and 9th in the world in the Amateur division.

He will be joining his brother Maksim Chmerkovskiy and be a pro on the 13 season of Dancing with the Stars. I think of all the male pros, he is probably the most talented.

He joins other high-level dancers such as Alexei Silde and Anna Firstova (who really did not get to reach their potential as professionals) in retirement. He was a truly great dancer who could have made the finals as a professional. Maybe he will one day decide to compete again (like Maxim Kozhevnikov), but that is rarely the case when a dancer joins DWTS.

To speculate, I think that Slavik might take Daria has his next partner. She is a very elegant dancer and high level who I think could hold her own against Slavik. If he does, let's hope that it lasts longer than his last partnership with Anna Melnikova.

UPDATE: I think Slavik isn't going to return to competition. Daria is on Dancing with the Stars with Val, so a partnership between them would be unlikely. In the upcoming documentary, I hear he has severe hip pain. Sad!

Here is a piece of Valentin and Daria's beautiful rumba

Alexei Silde & Anna Firstova retire from competitive dancing!

What a sad day in ballroom!

 Alexei Silde and Anna Firstova

 Photo credit: Jure Makovec 

Long time dance couple, Alexei Silde & Anna Firstova has retired from competitive ballroom!

I was pretty surprised to hear the news because it was only three months ago when they turned pro. At their last dance competition, "Vivat, Russia!" in Sochi, the pair won first placed and announced their retirement. The joy that Alexei and Anna brings on the dance floor is magical. Sad to see this pair leave after competing together for more than 10 years. I always felt that they had the potential to place in the top 6 couples in the Professionals.

Wish the couple best of luck in their retirement

Why Andrei Zaitsev & Anna Kuzminskaya should have been at Blackpool

This couple is amazing.


Anna Kuzminskaya has the one of the best leg extensions I have ever seen. Can you think of any female Amateur Latin division that produces such clean leg lines? She's had some comparisons to the equally amazing Yulia Zagorouitchenko. This pair's precision is insane and they are so talented. 

I really hope that any political issues are resolved and we see this pair and some of the other top couples at all the major competitions in the future.

Maxim Kozhevnikov is back with Anastasia Grigorieva!

 Maxim and Anatasia

In an exciting interview with dancesport.ru, Maxim Kozhevnikov and Anatasia Grigoriev have a candid interview. Maxim is known for his choreography and his former partnership with current world champion, Yulia Zagorouitchenko.

He will be returning to competition with Anastasia Grigoriev in the Professional Latin category. 

Here are some of the tidbits from the interview:

On their first try-out: 

After just two training sessions in the same day, it all became clear. Everything came naturally like a sixth sense, which is what has always lead decisions in my life. You could say that I am glad to have found my “Star” !!!!!

He had some very nice things to say about his ex-partner and fiance, Yulia: 

For me Yulia is the best woman in Latin ballroom dancing now …. and not because she was part of my life. I danced with her, I brought her to America and I played a big role in her partnership with Ricardo at the beginning. As a professional, technically and emotionally, she is stronger now than she has ever been. With great respect for Joanna, and as a dancer and as a person, I prefer Yulia for justifiable reasons - her dancing. But my opinion (as you know), is very subjective in this. Honestly, I cannot say that as a couple Ricardo and Yulia are better than Michael and Joanna. In some areas I like one couple, and in other areas the other couple. 

On Slavik: 
I don’t believe it is enough to have naturally incredible talent, it takes more than that. An example of this is Slavik Kryklyvy. With all respect to his talent and spirit on the dance floor (and I am one of his biggest fans!), my opinion is that at the moment he has lost himself.

On Yulia choosing Riccardo over Slavik: 

I was right when I insisted to Yulia to choose Riccardo over Slavik, even though he tried hard to partner with her. Because as a team, Riccardo is better for many reasons which will help her achieve her dreams. I was right, and the results from this are that they are now World Champions. The lack of clearly structured work led to the failure of Slavik as an athlete. Many people know how much Kriklivyi deserves the title of Champion for his special abilities and talent. I am one of his fans who believe in him as a champion, however it never happened. He didn’t achieve the dreams others had for him to be a champion….

I am so happy that he has found a new partner to dance with and I look forward to seeing him compete soon. He sounds like a very nice person and I appreciate his honesty during the interview.

For the full English interview go here (thanks to Dancesportshow).

Here is their very cheeky cha cha:



Their Avatar interpretation:

Surprises at Blackpool 2011: Joanna and Michal win again and some notable couples are missing!

Sorry for being away for so long...was busy with real life.

I am going to write about how I honestly felt about the Blackpool results...sorry if this offends anyone, but these were my thoughts.

Michal and Joanna take first place in all six dances at Blackpool 2011

Photo credit: www.malitowskileunis.com

So the battle between Joanna Leunis and  Michal Malitowski and Yulia Zagorouitchenko and Riccardo Cocchi wasn't a tight race after all with Joanna and Michal placing first in all five dances. Last year, Yulia and Riccardo won the jive. I don't think any couple can come close to the Yulia and Riccardo's jive, so for me no doubt Joanna and Michal's unanimous victory leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

Personally, I prefer the way Yulia and Riccardo dance. They are a lot softer and I think Yulia dances with more feelings than Joanna does. In addition, it's very evident that Riccardo is technically superior to Michal.

Btw, interesting note at the World Championships, Michal and Joanna were clearly very disappointed and did not speak to Yulia and Riccardo when they were standing on the podium. It's around 6:18 minutes. Yulia and Riccardo only spoke to Sergey and Melia. Michal and Joanna did not stay to watch Yulia and Riccardo's honor dance.

Here is the video:



Looking at dance politics, when Slavik Kryklyvyy and Karina Smirnoff were in the finals with Bryan Watson and Carmen Vincelji, Slavik and Karina could never beat them. Will Michal and Joanna win every year at Blackpool even when Yulia and Riccardo are winning the World Championships?

In addition, I have to point out that Sergey Surkov and Melia, as usual placed third. Sergey is a great dancer, but Melia in all honesty, is technically worse than any of the ladies in the top 20. She lacks hip action in the samba, cha cha and rumba and her jive lacks any bounce action.

I know everyone says she dances with great expression and feeling, and I think she does and I do enjoy watching her dance,  but does someone this level of technique deserve to be third in the world beating out exceptional female dancers like Melinda?

If any of you readers are professional dancers please explain to me what makes her technique even comparable to the top ladies like Yulia, Joanna or Olga. I know they train with Donnie Burns, but I find it shocking that someone so technically inferior can be a world finalist. For me, an interesting situation would be if Yulia and Riccardo and Joanna and Michal retired. That would make Sergey and Melia first in the world...even with her being a worse dancer than any of the top 20 ladies!!

Couple to watch out for: Stefano di Filippo and Olga Urumova placed fifth in the Blackpool Professionals. He looks like he has the most fun out of all the finalists and his hip action, energy and his choreography brings an authentic Latin flavour to the final. Olga is very good as well and they are very compatible together.

Notable missing couples: Some of my favourites in the Latin Amateur division that didn't compete (I am guessing due to IDSF restrictions) include Andrei Zaitsev and Anna Kuzminskaya and Zoran Plohl & Tatsiana Lahvinovich making the Amateur competition seem a bit emptier than the past few years.

Alexei Silde and Anna Firstova also were absent from the Professional division, and we won't be seeing them at any WDC competitions competing with other top 6 pairs. Sad...they are both so good!

So what did you think of my assessments of Blackpool? If you disagree with anything I said please let me know, eager to listen to some other opinions as well!

Franco Formica and Oxana Lebedew split!

 Photo credit: Thomas Morton

According to Dancesportinfo.net, legendary dancer Franco Formica and Oxana Lebedew have split up!

I am shocked, but there were rumours that the pair were involved together privately and that it didn't work out. We can only speculate if that is what led to the split.

Oxana owes much of success to Franco, who started dancing with her when she was only 19. Apparently she was the best dancer in his class, and he came out of retirement and they became part of the top three couples in the world.

Forums say she already has a new partner. If Franco decides to continue to compete, I have no doubt he will find another partner and make it into the professional finals. Him and Maurizio Vescovo have already shown that they can turn any young, relatively inexperienced partner into a super star.


Wish the pair well, hope to see them to both on the dance floor soon.

WDC Latin Championship: Yulia are Riccardo beat Joanna and Michal, Sergey and Melia beat Franco and Oxana and Justinas and Anna debut

 Riccardo and Yulia are now the official champs! 

Photo credit: Thomas Morton 

So the King and Queen of Latin Ballroom are officially Riccardo Cocchi and Yulia Zagorouitchenko.

Riccardo and Yulia beat Michal Malitowski and Joanna Leunis at the WDC World Professional Latin Championship 2011 yesterday.

Michal tweeted " Here we go again. We gave our best as always. Some things we can not control. Thank You for your support. Means the most to us. Love. M&J"

The last competition that Michal and Joanna beat Riccardo and Yulia was the UK Open last January. Riccardo and Yulia beat Joanna and Michal for the first time at WDC World Professional Latin last November.

I am glad that Riccardo and Yulia are they new champs and I think they are more creative Michal and Joanna. I respect them for continuously coming up with new routines and I prefer the fluid nature of Yulia's dancing, over Joanna's more technical, but stiff movements. However, I am sure these two couple are the undisputed top pairs.

I am still curious to see if this will be the same result at Blackpool.

There were some other surprises as Sergey Sourkov and Melia beat Franco Formica and Oxana Lebedew. Personally I think that Franco and Oxana are a much stronger pair and should have been third.

It was also the first competition for Anna Melnikova and Justinas Duknauskas. The pair placed just outside of the finals and were 7th.

So who do you think deserved to be first? 

Anna Melnikova and Justinas Duknauskas debut in Hong Kong

Anna Melnikova and her new husband, Justinas Duknauskas debuted a full out show with five dances in Hong Kong. Forgive the video for being pretty dark.



Anna's hair has gotten really long with extensions, so she actually looks a bit like Karina Smirnoff from far away. Her dancing and her style in the video reminded me a bit of Ekaterina Lapaeva, especially if you watch the cha cha portion. It appears she really wants to move on from her old partnership and create a unique style of her own with Justinas. She is still amazing and would deserve to be one of the top six ladies in the world.
 

Youtube comments were fairly harsh comparing Justinas to Slavik Kryklyvyy and Stefano di Fillipo. Of course, when you are being compared to the legendary Slavik, it will be hard to measure up on the first try.


Like I said before, Justinas is very young. They have potential. Will they make it into the finals in a major competition? Probably not yet with them being so new, but definitely in the top ten.

Karina Smirnoff will go nude for Playboy!

It has been confirmed...

Karina Smirnoff will be in Playboy

Credit: People magazine

Karina Smirnoff will go nude for playboy!

"I'm fearless and love the adrenaline rush," said Karina to Playboy magazine. She also said that
"Sexy is the confident energy a person produces and being "comfortable feeling of being who you are."

What do you think of her bold move?

People are saying it could cost her the Dancing with the Stars gig. I hope not, she is one of the reasons the show is worth watching.

UPDATE: Apparently DWTS knew about her spread all along. She will continue to be dancing on the show. 

Daria Chesnokova is Slavik Kryklyvyy's new girlfriend

Slavik and his new love, Daria

Looks like Slavik has moved on from his recent split from Anna with another beautiful lady.

His new love is Daria Chesnokova, a Ukraine dancer. She has been in an amateur partnership with Valentin Chmerkovskiy, the younger brother of Maxim Chmerkovskiy since 2008. The pair placed 3rd this year in the UK Open and are consistently finalists at major competitions.

Let's hope that Slavik doesn't break up this successful partnership and he finds a partner of his own.

Wish the pair well and we will see if Slavik will continue competing.

Funniest World Super Star Dancing Parody!!!

 After spending hours on youtube...I came across this gem.



It's a parody of some of the World Super Star dancers. They nail dead-on Melia's bad foot actions (and dramatic poses), Slavik's love of dancing solo, Bryan's enthusiastic jive and finally Michal and Joanna's abstract shapes during their techno music performances. Missing noticeably are Riccardo and Yulia....but you will still laugh so hard.

It is very funny, but as a warning only dancers who have watched the WSS videos one too many times will get the performances.

Happy watching!

Karina Smirnoff is opening her own dance studio!

Karina Smirnoff has announced she will open her own dance studio called Karina Smirnoff Dance.

In interviews, she has said that it was a lifelong dream of hers to open up her own dance studio. She follows in the footsteps of other well-known dancers who have opened their own studio such as Karen Hardy.

The studio will be located in Woodland Hills, California and will offer a combination of social and competitive classes. 

Although the website doesn't say who the instructors are yet, I have a feeling some she will bring in some well-known instructors.

She will be offering a free dance lesson for those who sign up online for a limited time.

Paul Richardson and Olga Rodionova get married!

It has been the time of the year for dancers to get married.

 Dancers in love: Paul Richardson and Olga Rodionova
Credit: Dancesportinfo.net

Dancesportinfo.net just announced that Paul Richardson and Olga Rodionova, former British Closed champs tied the knot last month in Houston, Texas where they had met. They had dated for seven years.

Other famous dancers that attended the wedding were Corky Ballas and Maurizio Vescovo

I know their dance partnership was over when Paul retired in 2007, so I was not sure if they stayed involved romantically.

I am glad they did... partnerships that work out off the dance floor make me happy.

Justinas Duknauskas and Anna Melnikova are married!

Justinas and Anna together

Credit: dancesportinfo.net

After dating for over a year Justinas Duknauskas and Anna Melnikova are married! 

Hopefully this translates into some beautiful dancing for the pair.

I can't help but wonder how Slavik is feeling...

Nevertheless congratulations to this happy couple.

Alexei Silde & Anna Firstova turn professional

Alexei and Anna at the German Open in 2010

Photo Credit: Jure Makovec

Top IDFS Latin pair, Alexei Silde and Anna Firstova announced that they would be joining the professional ranks.

The thing that is great about this pair in the enthusiasm that Alexei brings onto the dance floor. He always looks like he is having a great time.

Alexei is known for this video, where he is having too much fun on the dance floor  when he swaps partners with Andrey Gusev and improvises with Elizaveta Cherevichnaya.

My guess is that we won't him goofing off like this in the professional ranks. Here is a video of them dancing in various places in Miami.

Anyone else notice that Anna really actually has short, curly hair? I think she wears extensions for competition. Anna reminds me a bit of a younger Karina Smirnoff. Good luck to this pair in the future.

Slavik still has a chance...if his new partner is Ekaterina Lapaeva

UPDATE: Ekaterina has decided to retire, so Slavik is now out of a partner! 

UPDATE: Thank you very much to the kind readers that have alerted me that indeed Slavik has a new partnership with Ekaterina. 

Few weeks ago, I had said that Slavik Kryklyvvy's dance career was over because the chances of him getting back to competition with Karina Smirnoff were slim. 

However, the only top and single lady left,  Ekaterina Lapaeva ( the former partner of Justinas Duknauskas) is really underrated and luckily very good.

This lady hasn't received that much attention, but just by watching this rumba of her and Justinas, you can see how special she is. She is very dramatic in her expressions like Karina and some of her intricate body movements remind me of Joanna Leunis. She also is very emotional like Melia, but with much better technique.

Stefano di Fillipo and Olga Urumova get into the finals at UK 2011!

Stefano and Olga are back onto the dance floor after his public annoucement to leave the FIDS.

Photo credit: Peter Suba

Stefano and Olga were back on the dance floor yesterday beating many other top couples to make it into the finals.

The pair beat former finalists Markus Homm and Knesia Kasper and also Maurizio Vescovo and Andra Vaidiliate.

Michal Malitowski and Joanna Leunis beat Riccardo Cocchi and Yulia Zagoruitchenko!

Michal and Joanna at the UK Open 2011. They were the champions of the night.

Credit: Peter Suba

Yesterday at the UK Open 2011, Joanna Leunis and Michal Malitowski showed the world that they are the top pair once more.

I am surprised. A bit.

Am I excited? Yes.

Historically, the top Latin pair has stayed at the top...until they retire. Look at Donnie Burns and Gaynor Fairweather and Byran Watson and Carmen Vincelji.

This might make Professional Latin ballroom a little less predictable and a little bit more exciting. Last November, Ricccardo and Yulia were crowned the world champions. So this UK Open was absolutely essential in determining if Michal and Joanna were still at the top.

Riccardo and Yulia giving it their all this year at the UK 2011. They won the title last year.

Credit: Peter Suba

Last year, Riccardo and Yulia won, but Michal and Joanna didn't compete.

I wasn't there at the event, so I don't know how each couple danced, but Joanna and Michal beat them.

I really hope they finally changed their choreography and really added some other more creative elements to take the championship. They have been dancing the same routines for a several years now.

 Congrats to Michal and Joanna. May the best pair win every time.

Stefano di Fillipo will be competing at UK Open this year!

I just received word that Stefano di Fillipo with Olga Urumova will be competing at UK Open 2011. This ends speculation that he had retired. Good luck to him and Olga!

Poker Face and a three-person rumba at Blackpool Congress

I love creative dance routines.

The Blackpool Congress is the last place I would expect to see a cha cha and tango to Poker Face. For a minute, I thought the author had switched the music, but after hearing the applause, I realized it was real.

Here is a Latin couple and another standard couple (who I don't know the name of) dancing the tango.



Another favourite of mine is Bryan Watson, Carmen Vincelj and Hans Galke doing a three-person rumba at the Blackpool Congress in 2007

I love the song and the story of this piece. It was Bryan and Carmen's last year competing at Blackpool, so it was particularly moving.



That wasn't the first three-person dance routine, but I thought it was done particularly well and the choreography I thought was very thoughtful.

Klaus Kongsdal and Katya Virshilas are engaged

The attractive pair, Klaus and Katya

Credit: Hello Magazine

It has been confirmed that Klaus Kongsdal and Strictly Come Dancing's Katya Virshilas are engaged.

The lovely couple was introduced by Klaus's friend Jason Cutler, brother of Mathew Cutler who introduced with at the BBC bar.

Klaus was a former Blackpool finalist with Victoria Franova. He retired soon after he was on Denmark's version of Dancing with the Stars.

Katya was also courted by her 'Strictly' partner Gavin Henson, who had confessed his feelings for her. He had said "I fancy her. I wish she was single."

I think Katya made the right choice by sticking with Klaus. Congrats to this happy couple.