• A standing ovation for Sam Sodano A standing ovation for Sam Sodano
• Linda Eder sings to Sam Linda Eder sings to Sam
• Sam Sodano Sam Sodano
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View the embedded image gallery online at:
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The phrase, “you shoulda been there!” is perhaps somewhat overused, but seriously, you shoulda been in Battelle Hall for the last night of the Ohio Star Ball last night and a tribute to Sam Sodano, the organizer for USA’s signature event for the past 40 years.

• Mark Brock Mark Brock
• Rufus Dustin & Marianne Nicole Rufus Dustin & Marianne Nicole
• Gary & Diana McDonald Gary & Diana McDonald
• Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin
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The show was a nonstop cavalcade of champions from the past, all seeming delighted to be once again on the iconic floor where so many of them made a name for themselves. So many of the old favorites were back it is not possible for us to name them all here in this blog (but be assured there will be a full photo tribute in Dance Beat soon). But let us highlight a few who we have not seen in some time and some who have not performed together for many years. One such couple who received a tremendous reception was Rufus Dustin & Marianne Nicole, together again and receiving a standing ovation. Bill Sparks & Kimberly Mitchell were on the floor. Mark Brock with his very first pro-partner together again after almost 40 years! Tony Meredith & Melanie Lapatin, David Hamilton & Olga Foraponova, Edward Simon & Michelle Officer – these are all legendary couples that many in the audience were seeing for the first time.

• Production number with Linda Eder Production number with Linda Eder
• Sam, Michael Chapman, Pamela Bolling Sam, Michael Chapman, Pamela Bolling
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The show was once again produced by Michael Chapman and Pamela Bolling and featured the legendary Broadway star, Linda Eder, who once again sang while several couples interpreted her music on the floor. It was truly a once in a lifetime event and really – you “shoulda been there!”

On the business end of the night it was the turn of the Smooth and Latin professionals to take the floor of the Battelle Hall. Once again, the finalists in each division also performed a solo as has become tradition at OSB. Extra excitement came from the fact that we were guaranteed new champions as neither of last year’s winners were here to defend due to other commitments.

• Open Pro Smooth Open Pro Smooth
• Travis & Jaimee Tuft Travis & Jaimee Tuft
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And the new champions in the Smooth were – Travis & Jamie Tuft! Travis & Jamie were threefold winners as they won the 4-dance, the solo and so were the overall champions as well. However, they didn’t have it all their own way in the 4-dance event. In this they won both waltzes and placed 2nd in tango and foxtrot. They had the majority of 1st places in the VW only. Pushing them hard were Max Sinitsa & Tatiana Seliverstova who won tango and foxtrot, were 2nd in waltz and 3rd in VW. Max & Tatiana had the majority of 1st places in tango and actually had more 1st places than Travis & Jamie in the waltz but not a majority. What made the difference was that Max & Tatiana had some judges placing them in the lower half of the final preventing them from reaching majorities in the “2nd or better” column. In fact they actually received 4 seventh placements from judge, Roy Stone.

An interesting aside was Tatiana’s dress for the final that lit up, literally in the VW. That’s right it had remote controlled lights sewn in. So who was controlling those lights? We’ll never tell – or maybe we will, but you’ll have to read Dance Beat to find out!

• Sergey Samchynskyy & Yulia Besarab Sergey Samchynskyy & Yulia Besarab
• Max Sinitsa & Tatiana Seliverstova Max Sinitsa & Tatiana Seliverstova
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Max & Tatiana were also 2nd in the showdance. Yegor Novikov & Alexandra Smirnova were 3rd in the 4-dance 3,3,3,2, but slipped to 6th in the showdance. In 4th place we had the brand new partnership of Roman Malkhasyan & Galina Detkina who were 4th in all dances and 3rd in the showdance. What an exciting duo this is! Two of the best American Smooth dancers now together! We’re expecting great things! Sergiy Samchynskyy & Yulia Besarab took 5th in the 4-dance 5,5,5,5 and 5th in the showdance. They had the most involved costuming of all the finalists in the showdance, opting for a Mad Hatter and Queen of Hearts theme. Sergey & Maria Barsukov were 6th in the 4-dance 6,6,6,7 and 4th in the showdance. Slava & Valeriia Kostianets were 7th in the 4-dance 7,7,7,6 and also 7th in the showdance.

Edward Simon will report on this division later in Dance Beat

• Mykhailio Bilopukhov & Anastasiia Schypilina Mykhailio Bilopukhov & Anastasiia Schypilina
• Pasha Pashkov & Daniela Karagach Pasha Pashkov & Daniela Karagach
• Open Pro Latin Open Pro Latin
•  

The Latin ranks were somewhat depleted as the World Championship in Malaysia was on the same night. A fairly comfortable win in the 5-dance went to Mykhalio Bilopukhov & Anastasiia Shipylina. They won all dances, 4 of them with the majority of firsts. In the showdance they slipped to 4th but that was still enough to give them the overall win. Pasha Pashkov & Daniella Karagach were 2nd in all dances in the 5-dance and won the showdance. Their showdance was an African inspired samba. Artur Tarnavskyy & Anastasia Danilova were 3rd in the 5-dance 3,3,3,4,3 and 2nd in the showdance. Aleksandr Skarlato & Loreta Kriksciukaityte were 4th in the 5-dance 4,4,4,3,4 and 3rd in the showdance. Nikita Malakhov & Nadezda Vlasova were 5th across the board – in all dances of the 5-dance and the showdance and similarly Sasha Althukov & Cheyenne Murillo were 6th across the board.

Karina Smirnoff has this report for Dance Beat

• Open Amateur Ballroom Open Amateur Ballroom
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The Amateur Ballroom final took place early in the evening (the preliminary rounds were in the afternoon). The win went to James Cutler & Virginie Primeau-Poirier of Canada 1,2,1,1,1. The scoring from the judges was quite close between them and runners-up, Oleksandr Kalenyuk & Olena Ablitsova 2,1,2,2,2. In fact this was closely scored final altogether. 3rd went to Mikhail Vorobiev & Natalia Kozhevnikova 3,5,4,3,4; 4th Samuel Hacke & Katerina Hermanova 4,3,6,4,3; 5th Tony Cooperman & Rickie Taylor 5,6,3,5,5; 6th Fedor Voronov & Sasha Dulrinsky 6,4,5,6,6.

• Evgeny Malko & Anna Shahbazyan Evgeny Malko & Anna Shahbazyan
•  

One prominent American Smooth professional couple chose last night to officially retire from competition. We said goodbye to Evgeny Malko & Anna Shahbazyan but also wish them well in future endeavors within the ballroom dance world.

Although the pro-ams danced Ballroom yesterday, the Dancesport Series Open Championships are not danced until Sunday afternoon, so we will have results from those later.

• Open PA Cabaret Open PA Cabaret
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One Dancesport Series Championship that was danced yesterday was the Cabaret. There were 7 high-quality entries and the winner was Jake Mazhar w/ Yulia Besarab.

Show time at the Ohio!

This weekend of dance was the 40th anniversary of the Ohio Star Ball.

• Pierre Allaire & Mireille Veilleux Pierre Allaire & Mireille Veilleux
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• Linda Eder Linda Eder
• Eugene Katsevman & Maria Manusova Eugene Katsevman & Maria Manusova
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•  

To celebrate Battelle Hall was dressed as much as any convention center could be dressed and part 1 of the show featured the well-known recording artist Linda Eder and many of the champions from past Ohio Star Balls. A favorite couple for many years was Pierre Allaire & Mireille Veilleux from Canada were among the headliners, and the house was brought up to its feet when Eugene Katzevmen & Maria Manusova finished their energetic cha cha!

• Dan Rutherford & Nicole Carrol Dan Rutherford & Nicole Carrol
• Evgeny Dyachenko & Inna Ivanenko Evgeny Dyachenko & Inna Ivanenko
• Edward Simon & Michelle Officer Edward Simon & Michelle Officer
• Darius & Jolanta Mosteika Darius & Jolanta Mosteika
• Ilya & Amanda Reyzin Ilya & Amanda Reyzin
• Slawek Souchaki & Marzena Stachura Slawek Souchaki & Marzena Stachura
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Pierre & Mireille and Eugene & Maria were not the only couples featured this night in part 1. We had appearances by Darius & Jolanta Mosteika, Igor & Polina Pilipenchick, Delyen Terziev & Boriana Deltcheva, Slawek Sochocki & Marzena Stahura, Andrea & Liene Faraci, Ilya & Amanda Reyzin, Evgeny Dyachenko & Inna Ivanenco, Edward Simon & Michelle Officer, Michael Mead & Toni Redpath, Dan Rutherford & Nicole Caroll, and anyone who we forgot, our appologies! We presume that the conclusion tonight will leave us wanting more. We know some of the past Champions that will be taking to the floor tonight and it should be a night to remember. The show was choreographed by the one and only Mr. Michael Chapman and featured the dance troupe from Ms. Pamela Bowling, who is a pro/am competitor and competed in the past as a student here at the Ohio Star Ball.

• Open Pro Ballroom Open Pro Ballroom
• Alexander & Veronica Voskalchuk Alexander & Veronica Voskalchuk
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The show was very interesting but what has made the Ohio Star Ball what it is today, is the actual competitions, and last night was no different. The two featured events here were the Professional Ballroom & Rhythm Championships. The Professional Ballroom had the two top couples missing, but that did not stop us all from seeing a good competition. Alexander & Veronika Voskalchuk, stole the night by winning all dances with a majority of firsts in every dance. They also stole the show when it came to their solo performance, featuring a very simple concept, Veronika having one too many cocktails and looking a little disheveled (for anyone that knows them a little, totally out of character for her and Alexander), she was approached and rescued by her savior, Alexander, who basically dances her away. Alexander & Veronika not only won the show again with a majority of firsts, and were the winners overall. We must also point out that in the group competition Ann Harding was the only one to award Alexander & Veronika four 5th place marks and a 3rd in the foxtrot.

• Ballroom Showdance Ballroom Showdance
• Iaroslav & Lilia Bieliei Iaroslav & Lilia Bieliei
• Oscar Pedrinelli & Lenka Kovalcikova Oscar Pedrinelli & Lenka Kovalcikova
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Iaroslav & Lillia Bieliei placed second in all dances on the Professional Ballroom competition, and were the recipients of all the missing first from Veronika & Alexander. They also placed second in the showdance, by Iaroslav playing the part of the lady and Lillia doing a very convincing man especially when it came to leading, I am sure that many ladies would have loved to be lead so gently and precisely. Third in the Ballroom competition was awarded to Rudy Homm & Katia Kanevskaya in the group competition but not with very clear marks as you will see 4,3,4,3,3. Rudy & Katia did not fair so well in the showdance portion where he played “Kermit” the frog and she played Ms. Piggy snout and all, they were awarded fifth position for this effort. Fourth place went to Vladishlav Shakhov & Ekaterina Popova 3,5,3,4,4, perhaps not what they were expecting since, a shadow of question and disappointment was noticed. In their solo performance they also placed fourth, but we must say that it did not leave a lasting impression. Fifth in the Ballroom competition went to Oscar Pedrinelli & Lenka Kovalcikova with these marks 5,4,6,5,5. In the showdance portion Oscar & Lenka did fair much better taking third place. Oscar & Lenka played two extraterrestrial beings with a little red light they made appear and disappear very cleverly to set up and end their performance, this of course was enjoyed by the audience who rewarded them with great applause. Sixth place in this final was awarded to Igor Mikushov & Ekaterina Romashkina who placed sixth in 4 dances and fifth in the Viennese Waltz. When it came to the group competition we and the people around us felt they could have been placed slightly higher, Igor & Ekaterina were possibly one of the most musical couples of the night and the improvement of their competitive Ballroom dancing has not gone unnoticed by many including out team. Igor & Ekaterina also placed sixth in the showdance number, and yes there was a wig and a costume but this too was not very memorable since it escapes our old minds this morning, it had something to do with “baseball,” or some kind of game, but it too lacked the creativity of many of the couples that placed ahead of them.

By the way we want to extend our congratulations to many of the couples that worked so hard from costuming to themes, to make this special showdance competition a memorable and special evening for us in the viewing box. When it came to the actual Ballroom event I am glad to see the judges rewarding some new couples for their efforts and not keeping to the usual form.

Look out for Charlotte Jorgenson's review of this event.

• Nazar Norov & Irina Kudryashova Nazar Norov & Irina Kudryashova
• Andre & Natalie Paramonov Andre & Natalie Paramonov
• Open Pro Rnhythm Open Pro Rnhythm
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The American Rhythm competition was also very good and the easy winner in all dances were Nazar Norov & Irina Kudryashova who as we mentioned took the majority in all dances losing only some firsts but had no lower marks than second place. Their Showdance was not as you would say a “show stopper,” here he had a top hat and she the cane, and they did an energetic number to “There’s no Business like Showbusiness,” it was uplifting and invigorating but not very creative! In their defense they really did not have to be, this uplifting number was good enough to get us all excited and feeling energized. We must also point out that they did get one 5th place mark, but in their Showdance from Chuck Danza, who must have been as impressed with their show as we were.

Second overall went to Andre & Natalie Paramonov who placed second in all dances. However, in looking at the marks we were very surprised to see three very prominent judges award them very low marks in this competition, Bill Sparks who awarded them 5,5,3,4,2, Linda Dean 5,5,5,4,5, and Mark Brock 3,3,3,6,4. We obviously did not see what they saw, but I suppose we missed a spot on the floor. In the Showdance Andre & Natalie placed second overall, and they did a an American style rumba featuring some perfectly executed rumba boxes, their music was fantastic, but here the judges were all torn. The only judge to awarded them a first was Mr. Donald Johnston, the only second came from Karina Smyrnoff, from here down the rest of the marks wen down to even a sixth place from Chris Johnston. I think perhaps after all the work done by the standard couples with music, theme and costumes the judges wanted more! Perhaps more attention should be paid to what the criteria for a Showdance should be? Anyhow we thought their rumba was great, with great movement and execution of basic elements combined, no overheads, no animal costumes, just a perfectly executed American style rumba.

Vard Margaryan & Inga Demetrian took third overall in the Rhythm competition with 3,3,3,3,4. In the Showdance, they also took third, here from what we can recall they did a mad professor kind of theme, but also not super memorable. Fourth went to Danas Jaksevicius & Yuki Haraguchi 4,5,5,4,3, as you can see the marks by now were all over the place. The Showdance for us was very campy with a great sense of humor, they played from what we could tell “aerobic” instructors from the 90’s. Danas & Yuki were well received and they did do a full “aerobisc” show, there was a lot of effort to be realistic and this was greatly appreciated by all.

Fifth went to Shane & Shannon Jensen 5,4,6,5,5, and they were also fifth in their showdance, all we know is that their costumes for their showdance were very appropriate, but there was no big impression from their number. We are a little surprised about this considering they are the masters at cabaret. Ilya Velednitskiy & Mariya Ilchenko took sixth overall 6,6,4,6,6, and also in their showdance. Glad we’re not taking a memory test, because this one also did not leave much impression.

Susie Thompson will report on this division for Dance Beat

• Clifton Sepulveda & Mar Martinez Clifton Sepulveda & Mar Martinez
• Open Pro Cabaret Open Pro Cabaret
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The Professional Cabaret was excellent and her it was all about the lifts. We never thought we’d say this, but the top three couples were fantastic and in our opinion the decision was possibly based on taste, because all their lift work was perfection, all great take offs and perfect ladings, transitions were also excellent all we can say is that it came down to just preference of routine and music, because the quality of the top three couples was almost perfection in action. First place went to Clifton Sepulveda & Mar Martinez and they received 7 of the 11 first places. 2nd were Tsorkean/Wheeler, 3rd Harris/Elkin, 4th Barker/Cherie, 5th Pohl/Freilich.

Battelle Hall was the venue for many Junior and amateur evnets during the daytime.  The final of the Open Amateur Latin was held tonight and 6 strong couples came back to battle for the win that ultimately fell to Tal Livsitz & Ilana Keselman 1,1,2,1,1.  winning that rumba and placing second overall were Pasha Stepanchuk & Gabriella Sabler 2,2,1,2,2.  3rd were Anselmi/Ricahrdi 3,3,4,4,3; 4th Cooperman/Taylor 4,5,3,5,4; 5th Ivanov/Usanina 6,4,5,3,5; 6th Rudman/Lisnd 5,6,6,6,6.

• Open PA Latin A Open PA Latin A
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In the Pro-Am World Dancesport Series it was Latin day. These divisions closed with some terrific open scholarships. First up was the Open A and this began with a quarter-final danced in 2 heats. I don’t ever remember the A division starting as a quarter-final. Valeria Vasilchenko w/ Dmitry Zavialov was the winner placing 2,2,1,1,1. Her fellow Floridian, Angelina Evseeva w/ Aleksandr Skarlato was the runner up 1,1,2,2,2. Emily Takhtarov w/ Nikita Malakov took 3rd 3,3,4,3,3; 4th Nicole Pierzchalski w/ Vlad Astafiev 4,4,5,5,4; 5th Deborah Tipley w/ Paul Ricardson 5,6,6,4,5; 6th June Lin w/ Pasha Pashkov 7,5,3,6,7; 7th Jamie Dorotov w/ Allen Genkin. This was a great final! Congratulations to all these young ladies.

• Open PA Latin B Open PA Latin B
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Missy White retuned to top form to take all dances in the Open B, partnered by Genya Bartashevich. Canada took 2nd, Sabrina Nirchi w/ Danny Arbour. The marks in this division were very scattered as shown by 3rd placed Mira Blinova w/ Clement Joly 6,4,2,3,4. 4th Jacqueline Soccadato w/ Delyan Terziev 3,3,5,4,5; 5th Brijet Whitney w/ Damir Karaman 4,5,4,5,3; 6th Vanessa DiCicco w/ Vlad Astafiev 5,6,7,6,6; 7th Kim Porter w/ Tomasz Wlodarski 8,7,6,7,7; 8th Carrie Steinmetz w/ Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine 7,8,8,8,8.

• Open PA Latin C Open PA Latin C
•  

Debbie Wright w/ Nikolai Voronovich continued her run at the top of the C division winning all dances. The multi-talented, Lynn Magnesen w/ Tykhon Zhyvuov was 2nd in all and Sophia D’Angelo also in her 2ndtop three, was 3rd in all, this time with Nikolai Pilipenchuk. 4th Lorraine Peoples w/ Genya Bartashevich 4,4,4,4,4; 5th Joan Goddard w/ Andrew Escolme 5,5,5,5,6; 6th Tomoko Fujiwara w/ Rangel Spirov 6,6,6,6,5.

• Open PA Latin Sen1 Open PA Latin Sen1
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Nora Fox w/ Plamen Danailov won all dances (4) in the Senior 1 Open. Beverly Moore w/ Alain Doucet (Canada) was 2nd in all and Vera Gutierrez-Clellen w/ Danas Jaksevicius was 3rd 4,3,3,3.  Toni Mullins w/ Tomasz Wlodarski won all dances in the Senior II. 2nd went to Carol Ferrell w/ Gene Bersten 2,2,3,3 and 3rd to Susan Sordoni w/ Francesco Arietta 4,3,2,2.

Nothing but the Best!

Last night was the conclusion of “The Best Of The Best.” For a full year couples in all divisions have battled it out, one against one or even three against each other in all categories and styles, for the opportunity to participate here at the Ohio Star Ball in “The Best Of The Best” Competition.

Last night they all took to the floor, one at a time, to show us what they had, and after a very long process and hours of solo performances here is the final judgment.

• Lynn Magnesen w/ Vard Margaryan Lynn Magnesen w/ Vard Margaryan
• Best of Best Gold Best of Best Gold
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The Best Of The Best in the “gold” division was awarded to Lynn Magnesen with Vard Margaryan, second place in this same division went to Giovanni Fortezza w/Jolanta Mosteika, and third was awarded to Missy White w/Genya Bartashevich.

• Best of Best Silver Best of Best Silver
• Jerry Magiera w/Vanda Polakova Jerry Magiera w/Vanda Polakova
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In the Silver division a gentleman took the best of the best and that was Jerry Magiera w/Vanda Polakova, second here was Angela Fuller w/Sasha Tsyhankov and third went to Judi Markell w/Pavel Cherdantsau.

• Alyssa Ivanson w/Tony Diddier Alyssa Ivanson w/Tony Diddier
• Best of Best Bronze Best of Best Bronze
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In the bronze division Alyssa Ivanson w/Tony Diddier won the honor, a repeat win from last year. Second was Cheryle Russo w/ Josh Tilford and third, Susan Lunson w/ Christian Caligari

• Cheryl Angelelli w/ Tamerla Gadirov Cheryl Angelelli w/ Tamerla Gadirov
• Madison Wallace w/Eric Luna Madison Wallace w/Eric Luna
• Roberto Haworth w/ Rachel Sayotovich Roberto Haworth w/ Rachel Sayotovich
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The Best Of The Best – Showdance was also decided here the same afternoon and in the gold Madison Wallace w/Eric Luna won top prize, second was Masha Gayuchenko w/Max Kholostoy, and third went to Miwa Rifu w/Peter Wlaker. In the Showdance silver Roberto Haworth was the winner with Rachel Sayotovich, doing an impressive cabaret routine, second in this category went to Lauren Walier w/Mayo Alanen and third place here was Marguerite Daniel w/Tibor Kerekes, with a very entertaining comedy number. The Bronze here was also excellent with 6 couples fighting it out for top spot and in a surprising result Cheryl Angelelli who danced in a wheelchair with her teacher Tamerla Gadirov, supporting and lifting her “wheels and all.” The lift brought the crowd to a roar. Second in this same bronze division was a three-person routine, Eddie Feliciano, who danced with two teachers, third was awarded to Kim Bors w/Russel Larson, it is interesting to note that these last three mentioned were all from the Fred Astaire organization.

I have to say that the audience was great during all the solos performances, the place was packed and you felt the support from the other competitors for the soloist on the floor. This was a great timeslot for these solos. The time spent putting these routines together along with the music, costuming etc. was well rewarded and enjoyed by many. Congratulations to all our “best of the best” competitors who had to earn their placements in this showcase of champions.

• Angela Fuller w/Sasha Tsyhankov Angela Fuller w/Sasha Tsyhankov
• Stefan Tuomanen w/ Michelle Officer Stefan Tuomanen w/ Michelle Officer
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The World Pro/Am Dancesport Series Nine-Dance, also came to their conclusion last night and in the “A” division Stefan Tuomanen was the victor by winning all Smooth dances and placing third in the rumba, mambo, second in the cha cha, bolero, and first in the swing. Second in this 9-dance venture went to Mariana Lvoff w/Vladimir Kosarev with these marks - 3,3,3,3,1,1,2,1,1, and in third place was Sarah Sharpe w/Gunnar Sverrisson 2,2,2,2,5,5,5,4,5. The B category in this nine-dance style was awarded to Angela Fuller w/Sasha Tsyhankov they won all dances but the VW in the smooth. Second in this same competition went to Nichelle Kennedy w/Aleks Nashev 3.5,2,3,4,2,2,2,2,4, and third was Irene Wong w/John Campbell 5,3,2,1,3,3,3,3,2.

• Open PA Smooth A Open PA Smooth A
• Brittany Falconer w/ Peter Walker Brittany Falconer w/ Peter Walker
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The World Pro-Am Dancesport Series Open Smooth categories also took place this evening, and in the “A” the top honor went to Brittany Falconer w/Peter Walker by winning 3 dances and placing second in the foxtrot. We must also point out that Brittany only took a majority of firsts in the waltz, she won the other two dances with “second or better” marks from the judges. Second place in this same heat was awarded to Olivia Zettergren w/Gunnar Sverrisson and she won the foxtrot and placed second in the other three dances. Third overall was awarded to Hanna Weiss w/Slawek Sochacki and she took third in every dance; in fourth place was Natasha Namen w/Aleksandr Skriptsov 5,4,4,5; fifth went to Jian Qiu w/Travis Tuft 4,5,5,4; sixth was TJ Kyle w/Jaimee Tuft and they took sixth in every dance and seventh in every dance was awarded to Alina Sakura w/Adrian Dydynski.

• Open PA Smooth B Open PA Smooth B
• Celia Chou w/ Erminio Stefano Celia Chou w/ Erminio Stefano
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The “B” category was just as exciting and in this category defending Pro/Am Ballroom World Dancesport Series Champion, Celia Chou won all dances partnered by Erminio Stefano. It is interesting to note that Celia won all dances with a majority of firsts, there were only two judges that gave her very low marks and that was David Kloss who awarded her all sixth placements and the second judge was Mirielle Veilleux and she awarded her fifth in every dance. Second in this excellent heat went to Selene Steelman w/Travis Tuft but as you will see the marks got a little more varied here 2,4,2,3. In third position was Laurie Meer w/Kirill Gorjatsev and she placed third in three dances and second in the VW. Stacy Tilford w/Josh Tilford was fourth 4,2,4,5, Amanda Levide w/Morten Jensen was fifth 6,5,6,4, and Patricia Schneider w/Slawek Sochacki placed sixth 5,6,5,6.

• Open PA Smooth C Open PA Smooth C
• Lynn Shanhan w/ Darius Mosteika Lynn Shanhan w/ Darius Mosteika
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In the “C” division Lynn Shanahan continued to hold on to her title partnered by Darius Mosteika and she won all dances. We must point out that Lynn won the waltz and foxtrot with a majority of firsts, the other two dances she won with a majority of “second or better.” From here down like in the “B” division the marks got quite varied. Sophia D’Angelo w/Max Sinitsa took second overall with these marks 3,3,2,2. Former Ballroom and Smooth Pro/Am World Champion Beverly Moore w/Alain Doucet placed third overall with 2,2,3,4; Alla Neyshtadt w/Sergey Vasilyev was fourth 4,6,4,3; Lynn Magnesen w/Tykhon Zhyvuov took fifth overall 6,4,5,5; sixth was awarded to Sherry Doug w/Dmitry Ilyushenov 5,5,6,6, and seventh was Helena Kostik w/Mazen Hamza and they took seventh in all dances.

• Diana Best w/ Aloysha Anatoliy Diana Best w/ Aloysha Anatoliy
• Open PA Smooth Sen 1 Open PA Smooth Sen 1
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The Senior I and Senior 3-Dance were also terrific events. In the Senior 1 top prize went to Diana Best w/Alosha Anatoliy 2,1,1,1. Second was Kristi Nadvornik w/Mayo Alanen 1,4,2,2; third was awarded to Patricia Mooney w/Travis Tuft 3,2,3,3; Pat Luthy w/Vladimir Popov placed fourth 4,3,6,5; Linda Gill w/Ruslan Meshkov was fifth 5,5,4,4 and sixth was Cynthia Wolfsohn w/Alex Zagrean with these marks 6,6,5,6. In looking at the marks we must say that this was a very tight race with little room for “walking it through.”

• Julia Wang w/ Aaron Talbert Julia Wang w/ Aaron Talbert
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Speaking of tight races, last in this parade of Smoothies we had the Senior 3-Dance. This competition was a challenge for all, even the judges but in the end Julia Wang w/Aaron Talbert took the trophy home by placing 2,1,2. Second overall went to Julia Tse w/Ian Folker and these are her marks 3,2,1, leaving Marilyn Helleberg w/Andrea Marta holding third 1,3,3. Joan Page took fourth with Gunnar Sverrisson 4,4,5; Michael Lahue w/Lana Rossi was fifth 6,5,4 and Anne Goldstein w/Andrey Gergel placed sixth 5,6,6.

Two American Smooth Amateur events took place and the Senior B winners were Ryan Jago & Michaela Puno, and the C senior winners were Pat & Antoinette Datoc.

With this the Thursday night session in the Regency Ballroom came to an end. Today Battelle Hall starts and we should see all the amateurs and professionals going head to head. The show will include recording and Broadway artist, Linda Eder and it should be a night to remember!

Conclusion of the World Pro-Am DanceSport Series Rhythm 2018!

Last night at around midnight the Open World Pro/Am DanceSport Series in Rhythm came to an end.

Many of the competitions started with a full quarter final round and some even with a first round. The competition was hard and many had competed a number of times already during the earlier session and so it was also a challenge to their stamina, especially for the teachers if they had one or more students competing in these events.

• Open PA B Rhythm Open PA B Rhythm
• Giovanni Fortezza w/ Jolanta Mosteika Giovanni Fortezza w/ Jolanta Mosteika
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The “B” category was excellent and it continues to be dominated by the only man student to make any of the finals, Giovanni Fortezza with Jolanta Mosteika. They won every dance with a huge majority of firsts in all dances. Second overall went to Erin Hall w/ Steve Vasco and in looking at the marks this lady was the one that took most of the firsts that Giovanni lost, but not enough - she placed second in every dance. Third went to Nichelle Kennedy & Aleks Nashev who placed third in all dances but the mambo where she took 6th, so what do you think made the judges give this very low mark? We think we know and we will share this in the coming write up in Dance Beat. Gewn Bourque & Aaron Talbert placed fourth overall 4,4,4,4,3 in this very interesting “B” Rhythm final. Beatrice Colon w/ Roman Malkhasyan took fifth 5,5,5T,5,4, and in sixth place was Mariana Lvoff w/ Vladimir Kosarev 6,6,T5,6,5.

• Open C PA Rhythm Open C PA Rhythm
• Lynn Magnesen w/ Vard Margaryan Lynn Magnesen w/ Vard Margaryan
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The “C” division was also a great heat to watch. All the ladies seemed totally prepared for their task. The top layer fight and we mean “close fight” for the top was between Quin Bommelje with Mikhail Vlasov who placed overall second and Lynn Magnesen w/Vard Margarian who took four firsts and one second and won the title. When looking closely at these two ladies’ marks, it was very close in all the dances. In the cha cha Lynn had 6 first place marks and Quin had 5; in the rumba Quin maintained her five first places and Lynn had a clear majority of firsts. The swing was a toss up between the two, Quin had 6 firsts and so did Lynn, but when it came down to second or better Quin took that dance home. The bolero was an easy win for Lynn with 11 first places and she also took the mambo 8 to 5. Third place in this was a little clearer with Maria Green dancing with Toshko Kondov taking third place in all dances. But things got a little more blurred when it came to fourth and fifth - Janice Gonzalez w/Vladimir Kosarev was fourth overall with these marks 4,5,4,5,4, and Joan Goddard w/Aaron Talbert placed fifth with these marks 5,4,5,4,5. This left Marcy Garson w/Ilya Reyzin holding sixth in all dances.

• Open PA A Rhythm Open PA A Rhythm
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The “A” division was also well attended and here Megqi Huang w/Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine won all dances, all with a majority of firsts except the mambo where she just had six firsts out of 13, here she had to rely on “second or better” to win. Marinda James-Heskett w/Jeremy Pilling was second in every dance. Kathryn Harper w/Rex Jones was third in all dances. Fourth place went to Mariel Viggers w/Josh Tilford who took all fourths; fifth place was awarded to Melinda DeNicola w/Mark Igor Shpuntov with 6,5,5,5,5, and sixth was Joanna Gorski w/Vlad Astafiev 5,6,6,6,6.

• Quin Bommelje w/ Misha Vlasov Quin Bommelje w/ Misha Vlasov
• Open PA Sen1 Rhythm Open PA Sen1 Rhythm
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The Senior I category was also an excellent event with very fit ladies and here the World Dancesport Pro/Am Rhythm Senior went to Quin Bommelje w/ Mikhail Vlasov and she won all dances. Second went to another very strong lady, Lucinda Poston w/Jonathan Green 3,2,2,2, and third was Diana Best w/Alosha Anatoliy 5,4,3,3. Leslie McLeod w/Melbin De La Cruz was fourth 4,3,4,5; Lois Fein w/Aleksandor Vukos was fifth 2,5,5,6, and sixth was Janett Bruttell w/Dimitry Zavialov 6,6,6,4.

These were some fantastic events and we were glad to be able to witness these couples in such great shape at this hour of the night. Congratulations couples you really outdid yourselves!