The way they were: The couples I miss the most from the dance floor!

Back after a long hiatus! Publishing some new posts :)


I know that all ballroom dance fanatics such as I have couples that they miss the most! I get very nostalgic trolling on Youtube and I thought I would share with you some of the most iconic couples that have broken up, yet have undoubtedly left a mark in the world of ballroom dancing!

1. Slavik Kryklyvyy and Karina Smirnff

They were young. They were hot. They were so talented!
Slavik and Karina were also in a private relationship while they danced together for four years.I remember reading in an interview that he had kissed her randomly when she was having a phone conversation and that was how their relationship began. The couple was known for their explosive dancing...and their rumoured explosive fights! I believe that their professional partnership was over when they broke up as romantic partners.

For me, their dancing was absolute perfection. Their chemistry, their technique....it just came across as very geniune and real!

I know Slavik has tried to find a partnership that could finally allow him to become the World Champion, but he has never been able to finding a partnership that lasted as long as his with Karina's

From watching the clips of Ballroom Dancer, it appears he is very much a perfectionist and this probably drove his former partners away.

Also with the release of Ballroom Dancer, we now know for certain that Slavik has retired. It is funny that if they had lasted another few years and continued to dance together after the retirement of Bryan Watson and Carmen Vincelji, they would have surely won Blackpool and become the World Champions.

Isn't this video cute? I have also posted their reunion videos. PLEASE continue to dance together, so I can make it to you show next near at Dance Legends!





2. Stefano di Fillipo and Anna Melnikova

This couple was smoulderingly hot! Stefano was a beast on the dance floor...and Anna was so gorgeous! They both still are amazing, but personally, I think they were the best together.

Like Slavik and Karina, Stefano and Anna entered into this partnership as a private couple. However, they soon broke up afterwards and Anna started to date Slavik. However, Stefano and Anna continued to partner each other and together they won the Amateur World Championships and Blackpool.

This couple just complemented each other so well. Stefano might not have the perfect refinement of Slavik, but he brings sheer masculinity and FUN to his dancing. At that point, I thought that Anna brought out the best of her herself. She was the most confident, sexy and dynamic in this partnership!

Although Stefano had a very successful partnership with Olga Urumova, their chemistry wasn't as natural. He is very solid at the moment with his wife Daria, but I miss the boldness he had as an amateur. I felt that Anna became less bold during her partnership with Slavik. With Justinas Duknauskas, she has really toned it down and become a more subtle dancer in my opinion. I think a lot of it has to do with the amount of energy she gets to feed on and also how comfortable she is in that partnership.

Stefano and Daria at the Internationals

So the debut of the new partnership between Stefano di Filippo and Daria Chesnokova is finally on Youtube!

I think they look great together! A lot of people commented that Daria kind of dances like a combination of Anna Melnikova and Olga Urumova. I think Stefano always brings out the sexiness in his ladies ;)

Here is it for your viewing pleasure! What do you think?

Results for WDC World Championships- Riccardo and Yulia are up on top!

Yulia Zagorouitchenko and Riccardo Cocchi are rising to the top!!! With their recent win at Internationals, I think they are solidly ranked as the best dancers in the world.

They were just crowned the new World Championships! Congratulations to them both!

Michael Malitowski and Joanna Leunis were second, Sergey Surkov and Melia were third, 
Maurizio Vescovo  and Andra Vaidilaite were fourth, Andrej Skufca and Melinda were fifth and Justinas Duknaukas and Anna Melnikova were sixth.

The general trend at the moment appears that Andrej and Melinda have dropped to fifth place and Maurizio and Andra have risen to fourth.

Franco Formica and Olga and Stefano di Filippo did and Daria did not compete in the World Championships!  

Thank you very much for reader electricblue for directing me to the results for WDC World Championships! I look forward to hopefully catching this on Youtube! 

Internationals 2012: Very disappointing result for Franco and Olga; Riccardo and Yulia beat Michal and Joanna!

Riccardo and Yulia end up on top!!!

As I had predicted....results confirm that Franco Formica and Olga Muller-Omelchenko finished outside of the finals at the International Championships 2012. They 16th! For me that is absolutely shocking! Franco is undoubtedly one of the best eligible men on the dance floor and I am pretty sure he would be disappointed with this result. I will keep everyone updated on the status of their partnership, but with this result, I am predicting that they will part ways soon. With Olga's age, I can't foresee this partnership even lasting beyond another 2 years.

It seems that Oxana and Franco did the best paired up together...as Ilia and her also placed in the top 32nd. I was very sad with the end of that partnership 

I truly hope that Franco continues to compete nonetheless. I can see he is at his prime and with the right partner he will undoubtedly make the final again!

On other surprising note Riccardo and Yulia beat Michal and Joanna and finished in 1st place! I prefer the direction of Riccardo and Yulia, as I think they put more emphasis on the artistry of dance and are softer in their lines. I think the result is a fair one.

It seems that Maurzio and Andra are starting to consistently beat Andrej Skufca and Melinda as Maurizo and Andra finished in 4th and Andrej and Melinda finished in 5th. I have a feeling Andrej and Melinda will also be somewhat disappointing with that result.

I am very happy that Stefano Di Filippo & Dariya Chesnokova placed 6th overall! Very strong result for the pair and I have a feeling that in a few years Stefano will be in the top three. 

So it looks like age is starting to matter in the Professional ranks of dancesport. Olga's technique just cannot compete with girls half her age. From videos I have watched, it also looks like age is catching up with Andrej Skufca and perhaps this is why he was beaten by Maurizio and Andra (Andra is very young!). 

So what does everyone think? I think the results show a huge shake up in the rankings and age is definitely starting to matter. Though when I see Bryan Watson performing now, he is still amazing!! 

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!

WSDF lifts sanctions for participating in "Non-WDSF Events"

Very exciting news! Maybe dancers will finally get the freedom to dance.

WDSF announced yesterday that it would be allow dancers to participate in non-WDSF competitions. They had a General Meeting to resolve this issue. For the past few months, WDSF also allowed Facebook users to discuss this issue.

In the past, dancers such as Stefano di Fillipo and Valentin Chmerkovskiy have spoken out against these restrictions.

So perhaps the Amateur and Professional dance field will be more exciting?

I hope to see all dancers do Blackpool and World Championships next year. That would be definitely make things more interesting for me....

Let me know your thoughts!

Huge surprise....Stefano di Fillipo and Olga Urumova split up!

Wow....just when this super pair was getting so good. I just found out that Stefano di Fillipo and Olga Urumova split up! I am very sad about  this news, but happy to hear that Stefano will be returning onto the dance floor.

Stefano di Fillipo and Olga Urmova at International Championships 2011

Photo credit: Volgyi Attila

The pair was ranked number 5 at Blackpool in 2011. I noticed that although they have technically been dancing for 2 1/2 years, they weren't a pair that consistently competed in every competition, which was probably due to Stefano's hectic dance schedule on the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars, Ballando con le stelle. 

When someone splits up with their partner, it becomes more difficult to move up the ranks in dance competitions. Judges generally mark more established partnerships such as Bryan Watson and Carmen or Joanna Leunis and Michal higher than new couples. It makes sense on one level, as their partnership is not as strong yet, but I think sometimes some newer couples are marked lower because of political reasons.

I wish them both success in their future dance careers. I was truly moved by their performance at the World Superstars Dance, so I will post that again.

No surprise here... Ilia Russo and and his wife Oxana Lebedew will dance together!

Looks like we finally may have an idea of as to why former top pair Franco Formica and Oxana Lebedew split up. The rumor is that they had conflict over their 4th place finish at the World Championships in 2011.

Oxana Lebedew will be dancing with her husband, Ilia Russo, who also split with his partner around the same time. I wish the pair good luck in the future.

Ilia and Oxana Russo

I truly hope that Franco, one of my all-time favorite dancers returns to the dance floor. The man is so talented and I adore his dancing.

Someone finally posted some of the good quality videos of World Superstars Dance Festival 2011 on youtube.

Franco looks like he's dancing at WSD like it might be his last time performing there...especially during the samba at the end!

Another memorable performance was Stefano di Fillipo and Olga Urumova's very emotional rumba with Mikee Intron's wondeful live vocals to "Ma Che Ne So"! He sounded amazing live.


What a show! Hopefully one day I will get a chance to see it in person.

Happy New Year everyone!

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!