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!

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: