• Brian & Kristi McDonald Brian & Kristi McDonald
• "Legends" Dinner "Legends" Dinner
• "Men in Kilts" "Men in Kilts"
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Brian & Kristi (McDonald) have dedicated themselves to the service of ballroom dancing for nearly their entire lives. They have competed, taught and for a big portion of their lives they have worked politically, nationally and internationally, to improve our industry in countless ways, Brian as the longstanding President of the NDCA. As you can see the boys in the band decided to pay tribute to them and their heritage by wearing “Kilts,” as one would truly do when celebrating a very accomplished “Scottish American Couple,” and their long lasting Ballroom Dance Legacy!

• The VIP Balcony The VIP Balcony
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After the presentation and a speech by Mr. McDonald that brought many to tears, the honored party moved on to the “Royal Box” in the VIP area where they and many other special guests sat throughout the evening enjoying the competition and drinking champagne to their hearts content!

• Open Pro Ballroom "Peter Eggleton Cup" Open Pro Ballroom "Peter Eggleton Cup"
• Andrey Begunov & Anna Demidova Andrey Begunov & Anna Demidova
• Anton Lebedev & Anna Borshch Anton Lebedev & Anna Borshch
• Marat Gimaev & Alina Basyuk Marat Gimaev & Alina Basyuk
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Although the honored guest was the focal point of this evening at the DBDC, the competition down below the “Royal Box” was totally a treat to be had! The Professional Ballroom was of incredible quality. Marat Gimaev & Alina Basyuk took first places in all dances with a huge majority of firsts in all dance. Their worst marks came from Adele Hyland from Australia who awarded them 1,2,1,3,3. Canada’s Ballroom Champions, Anton Lebedev & Anna Borshch took second in all dances and from the balcony many admired not only their dancing but Anna’s bright and striking “pink” dress. Third in this parade of stars was awarded to Andrey Begunov & Anna Demidova who placed third in all dances and Anna also wore a pink dress that shone on the floor.

The rest of the final were also highly accomplished and very fitting for this prestigious final. Fourth place was awarded to Igor Mikushov & Ekaterina Romashkina, fifth went to Nazar Batih & Mariko Cantley and sixth to Christian Radvan & Kristina Kudelko.

• Danas Jaksevicious & Yuki Haraguchi Danas Jaksevicious & Yuki Haraguchi
• Riccardo Papi & Sabina Moretti Riccardo Papi & Sabina Moretti
• Andre & Natalie Paramonov Andre & Natalie Paramonov
• Open Pro Rhythm Open Pro Rhythm
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An 8-couple final was called in the Professional Rhythm competition and here Andre & Natalie Paramonov took first in all dances. Second in all dances went to Danas Jaksevicious & Yuki Haraguchi 2,2,2,2,2 and she too was the talk in the boxes, her dress apparently in the view of many of the ladies was beautiful. Third in this 8 -couple final went to Riccardo Papi & Sabrina Moretti 3,3,3,3,3; fourth went to Andrey Svirydzenka & Yulia Zavaska 4,4,4,4,4. In fifth position were Kristian Sese & Mae Lozada 5,5,5,5,5; in sixth place were Ciprian Popa & Alexandra Kopelovich 7,8,6,6,6; in seventh place were Kosta Trifunovic & Dinara Khayrulina 6,7,7,7,8, and in 8th place were Grey Masko & Elizabeth Hayner 8,6,8,8,7.

• Tagir Mansurov & Alexandra Kondrashova Tagir Mansurov & Alexandra Kondrashova
• Alan "McRudman" Alan "McRudman"
• Open Amateur Latin Open Amateur Latin
• Austin Joson & Nino Dzednaladze Austin Joson & Nino Dzednaladze
• Alexander Chernositov & Ariana Grishinina Alexander Chernositov & Ariana Grishinina
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The Amateur Latin from the attendees point of view in the VIP boxes was brilliant. It began with 14 couples and was a 7-couple final and here Austin Joson & Nino Dzneladze took first overall 1,2,1,1,1. In the dances they won they took the majority of first place marks in every dance. Second overall went to Alexander Chermositov & Arina Grishanina and as you see they won the samba 2,1,2,2,2. Tagir Mansurov & Alexandra Kondrashova were third 4,3,4,4,4; Alan Rudman & Svetlanta Lesnaya placed fourth 5,4,5,3,3.  (And Alan McRudman looked very styling picking up his award in his kilt). Fifth place went to Ewoud Fidom & Melanie Weiler 3,5,3,5,5; sixth was Edvins Astahovs & Jessica Swietoniowski 7,6,6,6,7 and in seventh place were Artem Zhychuk & Klaudia Petriti 6,7,7,7,6.

• U/21 Ballroom U/21 Ballroom
• Youth Ballroom Youth Ballroom
• Youth Latin Youth Latin
• U/21 Latin U/21 Latin
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The U/21 Latin was also a very strong event. The winners here in all dances were Zhychuk & Petriti. 2nd went to Vitenko & Baran and 3rd were Lazarov & Prokopovicova who had won the strong Youth Latin in the afternoon. The U/21 events were sponsored by James Coltharp & Olga Chekhova of the Keep Pressing On Project and the Youth events were sponsored by the CBZ Foundation. Sam Hacke & Katerina Hermanova won the Youth Ballroom.

• Chris Smith w/ Dave Hannigan Chris Smith w/ Dave Hannigan
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The Pro-Ams danced Smooth today and once again the winners of the Bronze Scholarships competed in the Best of the Best and the winner was awarded 2 packages for the Crown Cup in Dubai, 2017. In the Smooth that winner was Chris Smith w/ Dave Hannigan.

Stars Unite!

Last night at the DBDC 2016 the stars from the past and present united and gave the DBDC a night to be remember.

• Justinas Duknauskas & Anna Kovalova Justinas Duknauskas & Anna Kovalova
• Nick Cheremukhin & Viktorija Nick Cheremukhin & Viktorija
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In the Professional Smooth the recently crowned Professional US Smooth Champions, Nick Cheremukhin & Vicktorija took to the floor and in their first event after winning the highest title of the land, they did it again winning all dances with a majority of firsts in every dance. The Latin was also an excellent event and here the number two couple in the country, Justinas Duknauskas & Anna Kovalova won all five dances also with a majority of firsts in all dances. And for the first time in the history of Ballroom Dance, one of America’s Icons of our past Mr. Bob Medeiros was honored by the DBDC and his most favorite medal from the Imperial Championship in 1968, was presented to Justinas & Anna, immortalizing them with a decoration from “the man that introduced natural hip and body action into the world of Latin American dancing.”

• Kris Suakjian & Briana Haft Kris Suakjian & Briana Haft
• Star Tour final outcome Star Tour final outcome
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And speaking of “Stars,” another leg of the Star American Smooth Tour, was run and here it was all as unpredictable as ever. The audience favorite vote went to Kris Suakjian & Briana Haft they got the most support from the viewership last night and this effort rewarded them with 15 extra points. In the group competition they placed fifth in every dance and so only 8 points were awarded for this, but they got the third highest score of the solos an 83.43, placing them in fourth place at this leg overall with 106.43 points total.

It was possibly not the best night for Nick Cheremukin & Viktorija, who as we mentioned before won the group competition in every dance with a majority of firsts from the judges and collected 24 points total for this effort. Theirs was not the best score when it came to the solo performance, the judges awarded them 82.43 making them 4th in the solo, but their worst menace on this night was the audience only a small percentage of the audience voted for them giving them a 1 point only for this challenge. The audience vote seems to always be an issue with this couple and so Nick & Viktorija must always score very high in all the judges’ scores for them to take it away - not an impossibility for this couple, we have seen them do it quite fiercely before, but a very tough road to travel without the audience vote at your back in this tour. We must also mention that Nick & Viktorija also had a late start in the race so they are having to master a bumpy road with those missing points. On this tour leg they ended up in third position after counting all their points 107.43 total.

• Max Sinitsa & Tatiana Seliverstova Max Sinitsa & Tatiana Seliverstova
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The winners of this leg were Max Sinitsa & Tatiana Seliverstova and here too we did not know what to expect. On this outing they placed second in all the group competition dances and so they collected 20 points for this. When it came to the solo they did their provocative master and slave number where she wears something that could trigger your imagination in any direction depending on how you see it. It could be taken, as it has been sometimes, as to sexy for the judges or like last night, it hit the vein of desire and get the highest score. On this leg their solo number was awarded the best with an 88.71 points from the judges. This couple were not by far the audience favorite but did get enough points from them to push them over the top with a 7.5 from them. Overall their winning total was 116.21 points in their card.

• Kyle & Allie Spinder Kyle & Allie Spinder
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Second on these leg of the Star American Smooth Tour went to Kyle & Allie Spinder with 110.79 points total. They placed 4th in the four Smooth dances got 12 points for this, and they had the second best score when it came to the solo performance 86.29. Kyle & Allie are also quite popular with the audience and so they got the second best score from them 13.5 points total.

• Matt Rivers & Maliwan Diemer Matt Rivers & Maliwan Diemer
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From this point on the race seemed to get a little looser. Matt Rivers & Maliwan Diemer were 5th in the tour overall, this was quite good for them considering they were not helped by the judges and they were the couple brought to the floor by the audience as the wildcard selection. For this they started with 3 points. In the Solo they received 67.00 points and they got the second best score from the audience 13.5 points, bringing their total to an 83.50.

Sixth in the tour went to John Campbell & Jaki Brockman. They tied for 6th place in the group competition and it came down to a (Rule 11 decision) awarding them the 7th place just under Slava Kostianets & Valeriia Kostianets who came in sixth position. We do not have any rules in the tour about a tie unless is in the finale so both these couples got 4 points each for their group competition effort. Slava & Valeriia did slightly better in the show with a 73.57 score, compared to John & Jaki who got a 73.29 points. But the difference was made by the audience John & Jaki got 0.5 points and Slava & Valariia got 0. So overall John & Jaki were 6th in the tour with an overall score of 77.79 and Slava & Valeriia were seventh with a score of 77.57. Yegor Novikov & Aleksandra Smirnova competed in this event as well and they placed 3rd in all dances, however, they have not done any tour competitions so they opted not to compete in the tour solo at this time, so only 16 points were awarded to them.

• Bob Medeiros Memorial Medal - Latin Bob Medeiros Memorial Medal - Latin
• Patrick Slattery presenting Patrick Slattery presenting
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The Bob Medeiros Memorial Medal, was presented for the first time this year to the Professional Latin winners and the first recipients as we mentioned earlier were Justinas Duknauskas & Anna Kovalova. The Bob Medeiros Memorial Medal was presented by his life partner Patrick Slattery who lives in Miami, Florida and who traveled to the DBDC to present the medal to the winning couple. Mr. Bob Medeiros was the strongest influence on co-organizer Didio Barrera, as he says “without his inspiration I would not have been in this industry” and also of Mr. Keith Todd, editor of this magazine, who was brought and welcomed to this country by Mr. Bob Medeiros, from his birth place of London, England. Boston was also this great dance Icon’s birth place and where he lived throughout most of his competitive dance career, so it’s only fitting that the DBDC in Boston, should be the home for this medal and it is the hope of these two people that the legacy of such an Icon will be carried for years to come. As they say in America to a true “American Dance Hero.”

• Mykhailo Bilopuknov& Anastasia Shchypilina Mykhailo Bilopuknov& Anastasia Shchypilina
• Ilya Maletin & Polina Maier Ilya Maletin & Polina Maier
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Second in these Latin was awarded to Mykhailo Bilopukhov & Anastasia Shchypilina placing second in all dances. Third went to Canada’s Ilya Maletin & Polina Maier and they placed 3,3,5,3,5, fourth was awarded to Dimitry & Olena Nikishkin 4,5,3,5,3, fifth went to Artur Tarnavskyy & Anastasiya Danilova 5,4,4,4,4, and sixth were Nikita Malakhov & Nadezda Vlasova 3,3,5,3,5. This was a “points only” Star Tour event and so all couples received points from these group competition towards the Star International Latin Tour.

• Open Amateur Ballroom - Top 3 Open Amateur Ballroom - Top 3
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The Open Amateur Ballroom was also run this night and although it was quite small with only 4 couples in it, it was still mighty when it came to quality. The winners by far were Oskar Wojciechowski & Karolina Holody who won all dances with nearly perfect scores in all dances with just one or two judges dissenting in every dance. Second was awarded to Samuel Hacke & Katarina Hermanova and they placed second in every dance and third went to Ira Pollock & Amy Sun leaving fourth to Alex Arazawa & Natalia Struchkova.

• Lara Moto w/Slava Gorbunov Lara Moto w/Slava Gorbunov
• Charito Mabanta w/Evgeny Dyachenko Charito Mabanta w/Evgeny Dyachenko
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In the Pro/Am scene two styles were completed yesterday, the Rhythm Category and the Latin. Things got very exciting in the Rhythm Bronze “Best of the Best” competition the winner of this event not only won the right to represent the DBDC at the Ohio Star Ball this coming November but it also got an extra prize, 2 full packages to The Crown Cup in Dubai, U.A.E. in February, 2017. Congratulations Charito Mabanta w/Evgeny Dyachenko who won in the Rhythm style. The DBDC also gave another 2 full packages to the 2017 Crown Cup in Dubai, U.A.E. to the Bronze “Best of the Best” winners in the Latin division and this honor went to Lara Moto w/Slava Gorbunov. Congratulations to these two ladies and we hope to be there with you covering this pro/am event possibly the second largest in the world outside the USA and Canada.

Dinner was served last night in the Terrace Ballroom and it was a delightful concert of food and music, with the talent of Mr. Victor Valdez from Miami Beach at the piano with some help from some “Ballroom’s got Talent” people Mr. Gary McDonald, and Brent Thomas Mill as well as our new MC, Daniel Thacket. A fantastic addition to the DBDC team.

• Peter Eggleton Cup & Bob Medeiros Medal Peter Eggleton Cup & Bob Medeiros Medal
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Tonight we expect a fantastic competition. The Professional Ballroom for the Peter Eggleton Cup, as well as the Professional Rhythm will take to the stage and the Brian & Kristi McDonald dinner honoring them for their contributions and accomplishments in ballroom dancing will be taking place. We look forward to a fabulous night finale to the DBDC 2016.