Saturday was a perfect day. Upon finishing the morning session early, all guests, judges, and dancers hit the beach to soak in the sun and play in the warm ocean water. The evening session consisted of a cocktail reception and a sit down Gala dinner with general dancing. The service and quality of the dinner gala was of Ritz-Carlton class. Then all attendees were treated to a wonderful set of Professional Events.

• Men in White Men in White
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In the Professional Showdance division there were three couples. In first place were Andre and Natalie Paramonov. Second place went to Travis and Jamie Tuft. In third place were Andrew Escolme & Amy Baker. 

• Pro Showdance Pro Showdance
• Andre & Natalie Paramonov Andre & Natalie Paramonov
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In the World Professional Salsa Championship there were also three couples. Steven Dones-Rogers and Simona Petric placed third, Jean Michel Erole and Sasha Nissengolts placed second, and in first were Nazar Norov and Irina Kudryashova.

• World Salsa World Salsa
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In the Professional Ballroom, the competition was blessed with the presence if reigning world ballroom dance champions – Arunas Bizokas and Katusha Demidova. They placed first (1,1,1,1,1). In second were Igor Mikushov & Ekaterina Romashkina (2,2,2,2,2). Yuri Nartov & Sarika Hudson placed third (3,3,3,3,3). In fourth (4,4,4,4,4) were Igor Colac & Roxane Milotti. Fifth place went to Lucas Chockuba and  Angelina Oh (5,5,5,5,5).

• Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova
• Pro Ballroom Pro Ballroom
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Professional Rhythm also brought the current champions - Nazar Norov and Irina Kudryashova (1,1,1,1,1). andre paramonov and natalie paramonov placed second (2,2,2,2,2). In third place were Yuki Haraguchi and Danas Jaksevicius (3,3,3,3,3). Jean Michel Erole and Sasha Nissengolts placed fourth (4,4,4,4,4). Dmitriy  Zavialov and Mariya- Khristina Shurupova placed fifth (5,5,5,5,5). In sixth place were Christopher Wayne Jones and Juanita Simanekova placed sixth (6,6,6,6,6).

• Pro Rhythm Pro Rhythm
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The morning session had the Ballroom Pro-Am events. In scholarship A in second place were Kelly Almond with Tibor Kerekes and in first place were Susana Yu with Igor Mikushov.

Top Teacher and Top Studio prizes were awarded in the evening as well. Top Studio went to Supershag from Boston, MA. Night ended with the usual dose of Latin social dancing unto the late hours of the night. On Sunday, Caribbean Dancesport is hosting the Catamaran boat tour with package holders!

• Top Teachers Top Teachers
• Supershag - Top Studio Supershag - Top Studio
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Caribbean hosts the 7^th leg of the Star International Latin Tour! First and second place are just eight points apart!

The International Latin Star Tour was a straight final with seven couples, of which five participated in the showdance component of the tour. Because it was a straight final there was no wildcard voting, only audience favorite.

Hayk Balasanayan and Emilia Poghosyan were the Star Tour winners of the night with majority audience vote and top solo scores. In the final they placed fourth (4,4,4,3,4). Their worst scoring judge was Danny Villavincencio who placed them sixth and seventh in all dances.

• Hayk Balasanayan and Emilia Poghosyan Hayk Balasanayan and Emilia Poghosyan
• Line up Star Latin Tour Line up Star Latin Tour
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Artur Tarnavskyy and Anastasia Danilova were the Pro Latin winners (1,1,1,1,2) and second on the showdance final, but scored poorly in audience votes. This placed them 3rd in the nights tour.

Dmitry Nikishkin and Olena Nikishkin-Shvets placed 2nd overall for the night. In the final they took second place (2,2,2,2,1) and third in the showdance. They had the second best audience votes.

• Artur Tarnavskyy and Anastasia Danilova Artur Tarnavskyy and Anastasia Danilova
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A new couple to the United States - Andrew Escolme and Amy Baker – joined us for the tour. They placed fifth (5,5,5,5,5) in the final and fourth in the solo piece. They lacked strong audience votes, but could be attributed to them being new in the area.

Igor Colac and Roxane Milotti placed 5^th in the solo and overall final standing for the night. In the heat final they placed Seventh (7,7,7,7,7). 

• Pro Latin Final Pro Latin Final
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Two couples did not compete in the solos, Jake Davies and Alyona Kalinina who placed sixth (6,6,6,6,6) and Ilya Maletin and Polina Maier who took third place (3,3,3,4,3).

Rising Star Rhythm final had Leo Mora and Christina Garced in third place (3,3,3,2T,3), Christopher Wayne Jones and Juanita Simanekova placed second (2,2,2,2T,3). In first place were Jean Michel Erole and Sasha Nissengolts (1,1,1,1,1).

Professional Smooth was also a straight final. In fourth place were Leo Mora and Christina Garced (4,4,4,4). Slawek Roszak and Denise Sobiewski placed third (3,3,3,3). Travis and Jamie Tuft placed second (2,2,2,2). First place winners were Max Sinitsa and Tatiana Seliverstova (1,1,1,1).

• Pro Smooth Pro Smooth
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The Open Scholarship Rhythm events were also held. In Open A second place went to Lindsay Milam with Joze Perez. In first place were Sophia Montanez with Daniel Vasco.

• ProAm Rhythm A ProAm Rhythm A
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The Open B Open Scholarship had a six person final. Deborah Liguori with Rodrigue Edouard placed sixth. In fifth were Beth Forehand with Christopher Wayne Jones. Courtney Bugler with Rainer Rics placed fourth. In third were Angela Morrison with Peter Santiago. Second place went to Jen Hoffman with Dave Hannigan, and first place Kia Malone with Eddie Rivera.

• ProAm B ProAm B
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Open Scholarship C winners were: Clarke Fairbrother with Rachel White in fourth place. In third place Farris Few with Rainer Rics. Second place went to Estella Clasen with Rodrigue Edouard, and in first place Patricia Mooney with Travis Tuft.

As always in San Juan, the dancing kept going off the competition floor through the after party in hotel main lobby and late night walks along the beach. 

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Caribbean Dancesport Classic – Let’s Party!

It is that time of the year again as we gather in San Juan, Puerto Rico surrounded by palm trees, different kinds of rum, and a relaxed atmosphere that can be felt inside and outside the ballroom!

This year Caribbean Dancesport moved to the Ritz – Carlton due to re-construction at the previous hotel. As usual, there are exclusive pool lounge areas, pre-parties, during parties, and after-parties.

Wednesday morning started off with the Viva La Vida Rum tour on old San Juan, which involved little San Juan and lots of Rum!!! The evening kicked off the competition with the famous nightclub session. Caribbean Dancesport continues to offer the full true nightclub experience with costume and mental spirit from all guests! This year’s theme was Hairspray, and we were treated by a full-on surprise performance Hairspray show!!!

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Thursday had Pro-Am Smooth and Latin Events, along with Professional RS Smooth and Latin, with a wonderful dinner in between with talented pianist Victor Valdez who kept the all of ours eyes up at him!

Rising Star Professional Latin winners were a new couple on the scene – Andrew Escolme and Amy Baker, and second place went to Igor Colac and Roxane Milotti.

Rising Star Professional Smooth results: First place to Slawek Roszak and Denise Sobiewski and second place to Leo Mora and Christina Garced . 

• RS Smooth RS Smooth
• RS Latiin RS Latiin
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Pro-Am Open A Latin Scholarship first place went to Jacqueline Soccodato with Delyan Terziev. Second place Sophia Montanez with Daniel Vasco, and Ashlyn Randolph with John King in third.  

• ProAm Latin A ProAm Latin A
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The Pro-Am Open B Latin Scholarship even had Maria Seragou with Dimitrios Damalas in first place. Jacqueline Soccodato with Delyan Terziev placed second. In third were Cecilia Bjorkman with Dmitri Barilo.

• ProAm B Latin ProAm B Latin
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Pro-Am Open C Scholarship Latin in first place were Fifi Wang with Delyan Terziev. Second place went to Tanja Hansson with Dmitri Barilo, and third was Roumiara Stoycheva with Neil Hollingworth.

In Pro-Am B Open Smooth in first were Jen Hoffman with Peter Santiago and in second Angela Morrison with Peter Santiago.

Pro-Am Open Smooth C in first were Alla Neyshtadt with Erik Pali. Second place went to Kristi Nadvornik with Mayo Alanen, in third Audria Hill-Mitchell with Peter Perzhu. Fourth place were Darla Davies with Jim Maranto, fifth Barbara Harris with Rainier Rics and sixth were Doreen Marchack with Youriy Pavlov.  

• ProAm Smooth C ProAm Smooth C
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Evening ended with a salsa party DJ’d by Tibor Kerekes from Supershag in the hotel lobby!