Pro-Am Smooth Open Scholarship had contestants only in B and Senior categories.

In “B” the top two contenders had even marks.

1st: Selene Steelman with Travis Tuft 1,1,2,2.

2nd: Angela Morrison with Peter Santiago 2,2,1,1.

3rd: Janice Stanton with Clive Phillips 3,3,3,3.

4th: Kelli Moll with Calin Panainte 4,4,4,4.

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Senior first place went to the only gentleman competitor:

1st: Ram Viswanathan with Sarika Hudson 1,1,1,1.

2nd: Lynne Lindhal and Plamen Danailov 2,2,2,2.

3rd: Cary Mabley and Marcus Arieta 3,3,3,3.

4th: Sue Rossman and Erwin Rybvzynski 4,4,4,4.

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Pro-Am Open Scholarship Latin had a larger turn out than the Smooth;

"B” Category 

1st: Caroline Mao with Simeon Stoynov 2,2,2,1,1.

2nd: Marina Svyatets with Alexandar Vukosavljevic 3,1,1,2,2.

3rd: Vanessa DiCicci with Vlad Astafiev 1,3,3,3,3.

4th: Carrie Steinmetz with Emmanuel Pierre Antoine in fourth 4,4,4,4,4.

5th: Brenda Vasiento with Srdjan Mikuljan 6,5,5,6,5.

6th: Victoria Draper with Frederic Havez 5,6,6,5,6.

7th: Johanna McKenzie with Vladimir Velev 7,7,7,7,7.

8th: Christine Bodne with Robert Arvidsson 8,8,8,8,7.

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“C” Category:

1st Nora Fox with Plamen Danailov 2,1,2,2,1.

2nd: Marina Svyatets with Alexander Vukosavljevic 2,1,2,2,1.

3rd: Diana Knight with Nikolai Shpakov 3,3,3,3,4.

4th: Christine Bonde with Roert Arvidsson 4,5,4,4,5.

5th: Marina Kazakevich with Mitch Gotchev 5,4,5,5,3.

6th: Rowena Ho with Andrei Kazlouski 6,6,6,6,6.

7th: Loretta Ho with Luciano Jamialkowski 7,7,7,7,7.

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“A” Category

1st: Nicole Pierzchalski with Vlad Astafiev 1,1,1,1,1.

2nd: Teresa Ng with Alexey Gavrilov 2,2,4,3,2.

3rd: Kristina Andrews with Tobi Kretschmer 4,4,3,3,3.

4th: Princess Villacarlos with Nikita Tsernov 3,3,3,4,4. 

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“Senior”

1st: Nora Fox with Plamen Danailov 1,1,1,1,1.

2nd: Alice Lekht with Igor Derimov 2,2,2,2,2.

3rd: Rica Zamora with Sinisa Vasic 3,3,3,3,3.

4th: Ram Viswanathan with Sarika Hudson 4,4,4,4,4.

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With a one hour intermission the evening session took off with the Amateur Latin. First place went to the radiating Austin Joson and Nino Dzneladze 1,1,1,1,1. Their look is very cohesive and power balanced. In second were Alexey and Vlada Karaylov 2,2,2,2,2, a very strong couple with a unique, smooth approach to their movement. That is often more pleasant to the eye than the expressive emotion of Austin and Nino. In third were Rami Schehimi and Susan Alice Fichte 3,3,3,3,3. Andriy Vitenko and Sofiya Baran took fourth 4,4,4,4,4. In fifth Jaryd Farcon and Kyla Dzhanlashvilli 4,4,5,4,4, and sixth Ryan Raffloer and Hanna Sverdlov 6,6,5,5,6.

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 Professional Exhibition Showcase had some unique and interesting performances. Top contenders Shane and Shannon Jensen took first, Grey Masko and Elizabeth Hayner in second, Mechyslav Pavlyuk and Gemma Arnold in third, fourth Vincent Antonelli and Stephanie Falciano. In fifth was Nenad Pavlovic and Anastasia Barhatova, and Manuel Trillo and Anna Belyavtseva in sixth.

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Rising Star Rhythm results:

1st: Ilya Abdullin and Tara Barakov 1,1,2,1,1.

2nd: Erwin Rybczynski and Iwona Rybczynska 2,2,1,2,2.

3rd: Grey Masko and Elizabeth Hayner 3,3,4,3,4.

4th: Joe Hasson and Natalie Honkonen 4,4,3,5,5.

5th: Rostislav Toporski and Sophie Cazenueve 6,5,5,4,3.

6th: Ernesto Palma and Nina Back 5,6,6,6,6.

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Rising Star Ballroom:

1st: Radu Sterban and Xenia Cletova 1,1,1,1,1.

2nd: Serhiy Averkov and Olena Barna 2,4,3,3,4.

3rd: Aleksandr Skriptsov and Aida Skriptsova 3,2,4,3,3.

4th: Anatolol Repliuk and Ruslana Mamaysur 4,3,3,4,2.

5th: Manuel Trillo and Anna Belyavtseva 5,5,5,5,5.

6th: Nenad Pavlovic and Anastasia Barhatova 6,6,6,6,6.

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Professional Smooth had a smaller than usual semi-final. The results put Mazen Hamza and Izabella in first 1,1,1,1. It was great to see this top notch couple start of the year strong. In second were Jean Paul and Lana Rossi 2,2,2,2. Congratulations to them on their recent marriage – they are a beautiful couple on and off the floor. John Campbell and Jaki Brockman took third 3,3,3,3. Fourth place went to Serhiy Averkov and Olena Barna 4,4,5,4. Ilya Abdullin and Tara Barakov in fifth 5,5,4,5. Sixth place Aaron Talbert and Angela Maughan 6,6,6,6.

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 Professional Latin was the most exciting event of the night, with powerful players, change of places, and a new arrival to the scene. In first place were Kamil Studenny and Anna Pelypenko 1,1,1,1,1. They are a successful couple from Canada who are visiting two years in a row and are always a pleasure to watch. Dmitry Nikishkin and Olena Shvets-Nikishkin placed second 2,2,2,3,2. They are a solid, consistent, and well-balanced couple. In third were Artur Tarnavskyy and Anastasia Danilova 3,3,3,2,3. Since their professional premier at UDSC they have shown nothing but consistent growth. In fourth place was the couple that stole the show for many – Ilie Bardahan and Bella Gubzheva 4,4,4,4,4. This a very fresh partnership, which radiates a lot of confidence and a sensual aura. We personally enjoyed them introduce a fresh look to this category. In fifth were Riccardo Pacini and Sonia Spadoni 5,5,5,5,5. Stanislav Savich and Nicole Prosser took sixth 6,6,6,6,6. 

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 Top Studio Award went to Paul Pellicoro’s DanceSport. Top Teacher Award went to Clive Phillips from Dance New York. Following awards and Best of the Best, everyone attended to lively after party in the Hotel plaza, filled with a large dancing area and great company.

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Floor's on fire at Golden Star!

Photography by Alex Rowan Dancesport Photography

It is first and thankfully not snowed in day here at Golden Star run by Delyan Terziev and Boriana Deltcheva. This is the second year they have taken this competition in stride and are definitely putting in all efforts into expanding it’s growth. Formerly known as the Northeastern Open, Delyan and Boriana not only changed the location to the Westin, but chose it in the prime area of Jersey City. Minutes away from Manhattan there’s lot of possibilities to get outside of the hotel when you’re not sweating on the floor.

The Pro-Am Rhythm Scholarships were straight finals with a relatively a few couples entered. In the “B” category we had Angela Morrison with Peter Santiago take first 1,1,1,1,2; in second place Tanuja Tharani with Adrian Persad 2,2,2,2,1; and lastly third Kelli Moll with Eugene Graev 3,3,3,3.

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 In the “C” category first place went to Gabriella Pannunzio with Grzegorz Kasprzak 2,2,2,2,2; and second to Jennifer Marre with Plamen Danailov 1,1,1,1,1.

Senior has Carol Silverstein with Jean Michel Erole in first place 1,1,1,1,1; Cary Muloley with Marcus Arieta in second 2,2,3,2,2; and Ram Viswanathan with Sarika Hudson third 3,3,2,3,3.

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 Contrary to common culture of Latin being the hype of 2015, the Pro-Am Ballroom Open Scholarship had more contestants! In the “C” category Linda Dillman with Arturas Misurenkovas took first 1,2,1,1,1; in second place we had Vincent Feingold with Frantsiska Papkala 2,1,2,2,2; third went to Sandy Chiu with Yuriy Nartovc 3,3,3,3,3; in forth Judy Marx with Ihor Kravents 4,4,4,4,4; and Jody Torre with Slaveyko Baylov 5,5,5,5,5 took fifth.

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 In “B” in first place was Patricia Chai with Sergey Bolotnikov 1,1,1,1,1; second Chikako Abe with Andrey Klinchick 2,2,2,2,2; and Susana Yu with Igor Mikushov in third 3,3,3,3,3.

In Senior first place was Linda Dillman with Arturas Misurenkovas 1,1,1,1,1; second Ram Viswanathan with Sarika Hudson 2,2,2,3,2; third place was Barbara Cheney with Vlad Astafiev 4,3,3,2,3; and Teresa Sun with Janis Kukanis 3,4,4,4,4 in fourth.

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Followed by a couple hour intermission, the ballroom became completely filled as Rising Star, Professional, and show events took place. After all the quarter and semi's, each finalist was brought out through a center stage escorted by a Cirque de Soleil reminescence of a creature. 

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 Out of a semi-final round on Rising Star Smooth, the finalists narrowed down to strong East Coast competitors. The scores were pretty consistent across the board in relavance to final placement.  Sixth place went to Rostislav Toporski and Sophie Cazenueve 7,7,6,7. Evgeni Rozenfeld and Samantha Jeanne took sixth 6,6,7,6. Both long long time standing competitors took fifth and fourth - Serhiy Averkov and Olena Barna 5,5,5,5 and Ilya Abdullin and Tara Barakov 4,4,4,4. In third place was Shandor Shtefil and Aleksandra Barsukv 3,3,3,2. In second was a couple we do not often see on the floor - John Campbell and Jaki Brockman 2,2,2,3. First place was Victor Tkachenko and Yulia Lukina 1,1,1,1. 

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 The Rising Star Latin has several new couples on the playing field and it is obvious 2016 will be a growing year for this category. In sixth place was Vladimir Velev and Lily 6,6,6,6,5. Aleksandr Lushov and Maria Bavyko 5,5,4,4,6. A fresh couple in fourth - Artur Shvetsov and Carolina Avila 4,4,5,5,4. Maxim Fomin and Alina Litvak in third 3,3,3,3,3. Riccardo Pacini and Sonia Spadoni, a power house that entered the scene last year from Italy took second 2,2,2,1,1. First place went to Ilie Bardahan and Bella Gubzheva - also a very new partnership that just began here on the East Coast. We are excited to see where the first and second place couples go this year. 

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Following Rising Star , Dancing Classroom's (program founded by Pierre Dulaine 20 years ago to bring dance into the public school systems) took the stage with 11 couples from the public school system dancing a mix of hustle, disco, and other dances. This was the most interesting part of the night for us. None of these kids are competitors, and their pure authenticity of passion and love for dance overtook the ballroom as everyone was clapping and screaming. These kids shared more true emotion and smiles with us than the occasional professional category can demonstrate. 

• Dancing Classrooms Dancing Classrooms
• Dancing Classrooms Dancing Classrooms
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Professional events continued the evening. Finals were performed in a UK style fashion, in which each finalist performed a full dance solo, in rotation of one couple at a time, alternating styles. In Pro Ballroom sixth place went to Yuriy Nartov and Sarika Hudson 6,6,6,6,6. Fifth place was Radu Sterban and Xenia Cletova 5,5,4,4,5. Emanuele Pappacena and Frencesca Lazzari Pappacena took fourth 4,4,5,5,4. In third was Igor Mikushov and Ekaterina Romashkina 3,3,2,2,3. Oscar Pedrinelli and Lenka Kovalcikova came in second 2,1,3,3,1. First place was Andrey Begunov and Anna Demidova 1,2,1,1,1.

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Professional Rhythm had some top couples from U.S. join. In sixth was Andrei Svirydzenka and Yulia Zubava 5,5,6,6,5. Ilya Abdullin and Tara Barakov took fifth 6,6,4,4,6. In fourth Erwin Rybczynski and Iwona Rybczynska 4,4,5,5,4. Shandor Shtefil and Aleksandra Barsukv in third 3,3,3,3,3. Shane and Shannon Jensen in second 2,2,2,2,2. Long standing Champions Emmanuel Pierre Antoine and Liana Churilova were the first place winners 1,1,1,1,1. 

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