Le Sleek Chic!

The lighting and atmosphere set up for the dancers in each and every dance is admirable, the rewards and outstanding trophies are beautiful, the attendance and enthusiasm of the audience guided by the very capable MC is significant and the music made us tap through nearly all heats. But that’s not all, some of the competitions last night were terrific and totally worth a mention on this blog.

• Open Amateur Latin Open Amateur Latin
• Michel Finkelstein & Yuliya Ishchak Michel Finkelstein & Yuliya Ishchak
• Idan Daich & Rumi Dolmaya Idan Daich & Rumi Dolmaya
• Sandu Babira & Alise Dombrovsky Sandu Babira & Alise Dombrovsky
•  

The most interesting competition for us in this interesting set up last night was the Open Amateur Latin. Many of the competitors down to the semifinal round were of excellent quality. Michel Finkelstein & Yuliya Ishchak won every dance and we have to admit they were the best overall, they were easy to spot, had wonderful energy and were on this night above the rest. Second overall went to perhaps our favorite couple Idan Daich & Rumi Dolmaya with these marks 2,3,2,2,2, and yes as we mentioned before we are in accord that Michael & Yulia should have won, but in this heat Idan & Rumi really got our attention. The gentleman in particular was very rhythmical and demanded your full attention. We are not sure that Idan & Rumi were very deserving of that third place mark in the samba, but there was so much action on the floor that we can see how the judges might have overlooked them in this dance.

For us things were really up on the air when it came to third place down. On this occasion Sandu Babira & Alise Dombrovsky took third overall but as you will see not in all dances 3,2,3,3,4. We have to admit that this couple did improve as they went on, in the semifinal had anyone asked us what we thought, we would have said it would almost be hard for them to make the final, but yes they improved their game in the final and we could see how they ended up in this position. Vincent Corriveau & Bianca Champagne placed fourth overall 4,4,4,4,3, this couple for us had tremendous energy, they always pushed with lots of consistency and we are also not surprised they made the final, their work was not as clear as we would expect, but good enough to make it on this group.

Fifth place went to a couple that also caught our eye almost immediately and who we thought could have placed a little higher at least in fourth place in some of the dances and that was Steve Grenier & Maryse Loiselle with these marks 5,5,5,5,6. Unlike Sandu & Alise who placed third and got better as they went, this couple’s performance got weaker as they went, by the time the paso and jive came in the final they started to lag behind and looked a little sluggish. Sixth in this terrific final was awarded to Chad Faessier & Danika Flood 6,6,6,6,5, this was a very good couple as well but in the scheme of this final not good enough to push much ahead. We do have to congratulate these excellent couples because they made this an excellent finale to this excellent night of dancing at Le Chic de La Dance.

• Open Pro Latin Open Pro Latin
• Ilya Maletin & Polina Mayer Ilya Maletin & Polina Mayer
•  

The Professional Latin as well was as we sometimes say tiny but mighty with only three couples entered but with great quality in it. Ilya Maletin & Polina Mayer were by far the best in this heat and we would have been surprised if they did not win. Second went to Eyal Gleanz & Amanda Fleishing who took second in every dance and who we must point out had a better or should we say better prepared night than at the most recent competition we have seen them at. Yes we think that Eyal should probably give up the man bun but other than that they are in a good place and making progress. Third in all dances was awarded to Han & Crystal Ly, a good performance but with a few spacing problems making them look a little unsure of their footing.

• Open Pro Ballroom Open Pro Ballroom
• Richard Tonizzo & Clare Hansen Richard Tonizzo & Clare Hansen
•  

The Professional Ballroom was a hit with Richard Tonizzo & Clair Hansen who basically stole the show from everyone else in this final, placing first in every dance. In this heat for us there was a huge dilemna between our thinking and the judges’ thinking. Han & Crystal Ly placed second overall but not in every dance 3,2,2,3,2. We felt that second might have been a little high for this couple, we would have placed them third and that is due to some basic balance problems in some of the dances. Third overall was awarded to Dmytro Startsev & Natalia Laskomecka with these marks 2,3,3,2,3T. This couple had a major traffic problem, and what we mean to say is that every time we looked at them they were on the wrong side of the floor or adding to some of the congestion but I suppose like with Han & Crystal we were looking at the wrong time. Had we had the power to place this couple our overall second place would have gone to the couple that placed fourth overall Mathieu Casavant & Melanie Martin 4,4,4,4,3T; we say we would have placed them overall second because even though their work did not have as good a swing as the others mentioned, at least they kept their composure and posture through nearly every dance without getting into any major problems.

• Open Pro Smooth Open Pro Smooth
•  

The Professional Smooth was a two couple race and this easily went to Pavel Lebedev & Dirana Khayrulina who won all dances, second was awarded to Mathieu Casavant & Melanie Martin.

There were two very good senior events. The Senior II was greatly attended and the winner overall was Jean-Francois Rousseau & Nathalie Labouceur winning all dances. This event had open marking, meaning the judges showed their marks after every dance, so the couples have extra pressure knowing how they are doing as they go. Jean-Francois & Nathalie won every dance with a majority of firsts but we did not quite see it this way. We think that Mario Nadeau & Danielle Nobert could have easily taken a dance or two but it was not to be, the judges had them second in every dance. Third overall was awarded to Guy Joyal & Sylvie Lortie placing fourth in the waltz and third in the other three dances. Claude Guimond & Martine Guay were fourth 3,4,4,4,4, Karl Belanger & Chantal Arcand placed fifth in all dances, Robert Foucault & Marie-Andree Ploirde were six in all and Stephane Lemay & Melanie Milette seventh.

• Senioe II Ballroom Senioe II Ballroom
• Jean-Francois Rousseau & Nathalie Labouceur Jean-Francois Rousseau & Nathalie Labouceur
• Senior III Ballroom Senior III Ballroom
• Mario Nadeau & Danielle Nobert Mario Nadeau & Danielle Nobert
•  

In the Senior III the first place spot went to Mario Nadeau & Danielle Nobert winning all dances, second was awarded to Claude Guay & Ginette Beaulieu placing second in all dances and third overall was awarded to Denis Lapierre & Elise Lavery 3,4,4,3,3.

With this, this very sleek evening of dancing at Le Chic de La Dance concluded and we immediately attended a reception for many of the attendees. Congratulations to the organizer Alain Doucet, Anik Jolicoeur, Claudia Primeau, and Francis LeFrenier for putting together such a fabulous event to showcase our ballroom dancing!