Slavik and Karina dance again at Blackpool 2015!

There was also a special treat at Blackpool with Slavik and Karina dancing again.

If only they would compete again at Blackpool...with all the retirements, if they trained hard they would have a good shot at the finals I think!

The video of their beautiful rumba is below:

 

Is Allison Holker good enough to be a pro on Dancing with the Stars?

I love ballroom ballroom dancing and I like Dancing with the Stars.

How did everyone feel about Allison Holker being a pro on the past two seasons on Dancing with the Stars?

While I love her as a contemporary dancer and I think she's great at that, I think her ballroom dancing just isn't that great!

Understandably, ABC hired her to be on the show because of her huge fan base from So you think you can dance, but I am a huge proponent of having actual REAL ballroom dancing on TV.

Her technique just isn't anywhere near the rest of the pros on the show and I find it a bit dissapointing to have her on there.

While my sentiments may be unpopular, it's just a shame they fired actually good dancers such as Chelsea Hightower or Lacey Schwimmer! Her dancing is also such a contrast from a world class dancer, such as Valentin Chmerkovskiy or Karina Smirnoff, who both have amazing technique!

The deficiencies in her technique are the most apparent in the pure Latin ballroom dances, such as the cha cha, rumba and samba. DWTS kind of doesn't do a good job with showing International style ballroom anyway because they mostly hire Latin dancers, so that doesn't matter as much. Also a dance like salsa, technique isn't as important.

I don't know if viewers can tell, but there were a few blog posts and message boards with the same sentiments and I am just not sure someone who is a very amateur ballroom dancer can do a good job at teaching on the show. Her dancing is "good enough" for the showcases on the show, but I think to be a good teacher you should have a certain level of mastery of the dancing! I also feel like if there's one show that shows what ballroom dancing is to a mainstream audience, it should be showing off "real ballroom dancing".

Here are some videos that prove my point:

A very trick heavy cha cha routine. The judges ripped her on this afterwards for the lack of "cha cha" content. I must agree with their sentiments.



A very amateur looking samba.



A trick-heavy rumba with very little basic.



However, she's certainly improved from when she was on SYTYCD

How ironic...Stefano di Filippo and Dariya Chesnokova dance together

Looks like another one bites the dust for Slavik Kryklyvyy....his partnership with Daria Chesnokva fizzled out and they broke up shortly after. According to Dancesportinfo they broke up in June. 

In some strange twist of fate, Daria will be dancing with Stefano di Filippo. Back in 2009, Slavik had convinced Anna Melnikova to break up with Stefano to dance with him. Now it loos like Slavik's ex girlfriend has left him to dance with Stefano. Daria and Stefano are also a couple in real life!

The dance universe is small indeed!

I am very happy that Stefano is back! He's insanely talented and he could easily make the finals with Daria. I wonder if Stefano will continue to do Dancing with the Stars in Italy...

What do you think will happen with Slavik next? I am now almost 100% sure his competition days are over. I would love to see some dance shows of the classic routines Slavik once did with Karina...he has never found a partnership that could match what he had with her.

Also thanks for all the readers who has emailed me about this! I am so sorry I have been MIA!

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:

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!

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!

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. 

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.

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.

Is Slavik Kryklyvyy's dance career over?

Slavik Kryklyvyy has the reputation for dating and losing his dance partners.

The latest rumor from is that Slavik will get back with Karina Smirnoff...but only for shows. Dancesport.ru reported that Slavik said this at the Rhythm 2010 tournament, but he says this is still undecided. 

Which brings us to the question: is competition over for Slavik?

Slavik is now 34. Bryan Watson, former world champion was 39 when he retired.

It didn't seem like too long ago when he was ranked second in the world with Karina Smirnoff and ranked third Elena Khvorova.He had a brief partnership with Hanna Karttenen, but you could just see in they had no connection on the dance floor.

His latest partnership with Anna Melnikova was by far the most promising after Karina.
They had chemistry, she's a good height for him, and she's also very talented.

Yet, Slavik's reputation for losing his partners remained when they broke up after only a year of dancing.

Slavik is known for difficult to partner. Elena has said this and there were constant rumors of fighting between him and Karina.

In this Ballroom Fantasy interview with Slavik and Anna, you can see the tension when she talks about dancing with him.

She says in the interview ''He's an amazing person, but it's just he's very difficult. But like all artists, he's a little bit mad.''

The sad moment was when Slavik says " We'll see if she's gonna survive for a year" and she responds "Yeah, I will."

They didn't make it.

Another interesting video is his practice session with Karina for the 2004 WSS. He is seen yelling at her at the beginning. You can see some definite tension.

 I've noticed that his choreography has also really changed. With Karina, the figures were more connected and there is less separation.




In his samba with Anna in the UK, you can see the use of more solo choreography.



Personally, I think Slavik could not break into the top 4 because of the choreography, not because of his or  Anna's technique.

For Slavik to make it, he needs a lady that is good and a partnership that will last. The top 6 ladies are now all taken and in fairly stable relationships. The closest single top lady is Ekaterina Lapaeva, who recently spilt from Justinas Duknauskas.

Slavik could do what Franco Formica did and dance with his best student and make her his partner. Oxana Lebedew is now a star. 

Hopefully it isn't over for this brilliant dancer, but his odds aren't looking great at the moment.

Video of Anna Melnikova and Justinas Duknauskas dancing (Finally!)

Merry Christmas dance friends,

A much anticipated video of Anna Melnikova and Justinas Duknauskas dancing a rumba to  Vittorio - All In Love Is Fair (Se l'amore c'è) has finally appeared on youtube.




Anna is still fantastic, she has a way of giving everything when she dances like Karina Smirnoff. However, her style is very different and she dances softer like Yulia Zagoruychenko. She also has some of the best facial expressions.

Comments on it have been somewhat critical about Justinas and their choreography. Of course Justinas is not yet near the caliber of Slavik Kryklyvyy yet, but only time will tell of how far he will go. Remember Justinas is only 24, while Slavik is 34. Justinas has 10 years less dance experience than Slavik.

I remember when Slavik first broke up with Karina Smirnoff and started dancing with Elena Khvorova. The comments were very harsh and makes me believe it attributed to their break-up. 

I think Anna and Justinas will only get better. Best of luck to this engaged couple.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy is the new Bachelor (in Ukraine)

I guess Karina Smirnoff really broke Maksim Chermkovskiy's heart...so much so that Dancing the Star pro is looking for love on reality TV. Maks is now filming the Ukrainian "The Bachelor" with a bunch of single ladies vying for his attention.

When I read this I thought...really Maks, you couldn't get a date the normal way? 

But he says he has his reasons for doing the show.

"I'm going into this with a thought of 'why not?'. I know it’s hard to find someone you can connect to on a project like this, but nothing is impossible. For the sake of the show I can't reveal anything, but I must say I am very pleasantly surprised so far. "

He also adds "This is the first thing in a VERY LONG TIME that I'm doing for ME. For the first time I don't really care what people think. First time that I'm not being 'judged', 'placed' or 'criticized' (well, maybe criticized, but you know what I mean)."
 
He turned down ABC's American Bachelor to do it in his native Ukrainian.

I am surprised he would go down this route with the swarms of women in real life who would love date him, but I wish him the best with love.

But from what I know about "The Bachelor," the love looks good onTV, but fails to translate in real life.

Here's a video in Ukrainian with him on the show.

Underrated, nearly forgotten...but really amazing: Dmitry Timokhin and Anna Bezikova

I was on Youtube, like always. I am a Youtube, ballroom dancer stalker.

But I came across videos of Dmitry Timokhin and Anna Bezikova, who are just phenomenal. Even though the videos are from 2001, even compared to dancers today, their choreography is fresh and very current. I love Anna especially with her cha cha flicks and her samba rolls. Anna retired in 2005 and Dmitry danced with Karina Smirnoff and Natalia Petrova. He retired last year.

I feel as when they were at the top amateur wise, they always overshadowed by Andrej Skufca and Katarina Venturini. When they were the professional, Karina and Slavik got most of the attention.

Nonetheless, I think they are amazing. Even looking at their routine ten years ago, I think it could beat  most amateurs right now. Her cha cha leg actions are wow!

Once upon a time there was Karina Smirnoff (Karyna Kylkova) and Paul Killick

I love finding old videos of my favourite dancers.

Karina's big break came when she was relatively unknown and 18 and paired up with the already established Paul Killick. Back then, Karina was known as Karyna Kykova.

She is so beautiful and not as tanned in the video. Short lived, but it is the partnership that made her a legend. They placed second overall in the 1999 British Open, losing to Jukka Haappalainen and Sirpa Suutari, but BEATING Bryan Watson and Carmen Vincelji.

Karina Smirnoff still can dance!

Okay, so we don't know whether or not Karina is going to get back with Slavik. At this point, judging by of her official website, I am going to say no. About every month, she is involved with some kind of Hollywood gig. She was at the American Music Awards just last month. I think she enjoys being a celebrity too much to leave Hollywood.

But we do know that her dancing abilities are still awesome! Look at the latest videos of her dancing with fellow Dancing with the Stars Dmitry Chaplin. She is amazing!

This proves that IF she did want to compete she COULD. If she looks this great with Dmitry...imagine how good she would be with Slavik. Her leg actions, speed and efficiency on the dance floor is still there. Karina + Slavik would be in the top 3 for sure.

 

Karina Smirnoff is engaged to Brad Penny!

Karina Smirnoff got engaged to Brad Penny on October 4th! Penny is a 32-year-old St. Louis Cardinal pitcher and they started dating in early 2010. Their wedding could be as soon as the New Year.

Karina was engaged to her Dancing with the Star's colleague, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. That engagement lasted only nine months. Hope this one means happiness at last. Congrats Karina!

Karina and her fiance, Brad Penny

I don't know if this is good news for people hoping for a Karina and Slavik reunion. I this it's going to be hard for her to balance her popularity in Hollywood, a marriage and a come back to the dance world. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that it will happen.

Check out her ring!

Loved Slavik and Karina together as partners!

Slavik and Anna split up = Anna + Justinas and Slavik + Karina?

So it is official.

Slavik and Anna have broken up!

They were ranked top 5 in the world and it seemed that Slavik Kryklyvyy had
finally found someone he actually looked very good with post Karina. Although he had higher results with Elena, Anna and him had this unbelievable chemistry!

But the impending split looked real, if you look at the World Super Stars rumba from this year. The song choice, Micheal Buble's "Always on your mind" is a break up tone and Anna doesn't appear to even want to go near Slavik. Towards the end...and you can just see that at 5:16, Slavik doesn't want to let this beautiful woman go.




They were dating they began dancing together.  Slavik has a history of dating his partners-from Karina to Elena to Anna. So does Anna. Anna dated Stefano di Fillipo and Slavik and now is rumoured to be dating Justinas Duknauskas!

Slavik is rumoured to be dancing again with Karina Smirnoff! Let's all hope that it's true...or I can't see Slavik making the top 3 with anyone else. I hope that Karina will stop wasting her talent on Dancing with the Stars and finally be crowned winner in Blackpool.

Meanwhile, since Justinas and Ekaterina split up around the same time and Anna is rumoured to be dating Justinas,  my bet is that we will see them on the dancefloor together very soon!