The Professional Smooth was very interesting with a strong semifinal round filled with great potential and quality and a very disputed Viennese Waltz. Once in the final it must have been a tuff job for the judges placing these terrific 6 couples in order. Nick Cheremukhin & Viktorija won the competition overall but not all dances, they took first in the first three dances and second on the Viennese Waltz. The first place in this dance went to the strong runners up, Yegor Novikov & Aleksandra and they placed second in the other three dances. For us it was very close indeed with both couples showcasing great quality dancing in two very different styles.

Third in this professional Smooth heat went to Kyle & Allie Spinder but here once again they did not capture all third place marks, they took a fourth on the Viennese Waltz. The hard to get Viennese went to the couple placing fourth overall Evgeny Malko & Anna Shahbazyan who also took three fourths in the W,T,F. All straight fifths went to Slava & Valeriia Kostianets and all sixth places were awarded to Mark & Melanie Perkovich who came all the way from Australia. We must point out that this final was excellent with all couples being a little different in their styles of Smooth dancing, this is fantastic for this style.

The Professional Latin was a straight 5-couple final, but here also we thought some great potential. Evgeny Likhachev & Maria Levina placed first in all dances, second was awarded to Andrey Voloshko & Ekateryna Kyrylenko but here things got a little more on the grey side 2,2,3,2,3. Third were Boris Rudenko & Krostina Beregova with the scores of 3,3,2,4,2. The couple that impressed us the most was Igor Colac & Roxane Milotti and they took 4,4,4,3,4.  We were very surprised with their scores we figured they would at least take second overall, their performance on this night had wonderful energy and it was very clear to read. Last but not least in fifth position were Artemi Okunev & Yulia Dragina and they took fifth in all dances.

I want to say thank you to our hosts Richard and Jennifer Booth who as always provided wonderful hospitality for their officials and all their guest  

What a Challenge!

Last night at the Orange County Dancesport Challenge in Southern California, there was a major challenge in the “Star Ballroom Tour,” at first it looked as if it was all going to fizzle out going from a strong 12 couple semifinal to a 9 couple by the time everyone had checked in. A few of the couples canceled due to illnesses, etc. However, the nine couples left were totally worth the stay, they provided great entertainment from beginning to end.

There was a change of the guard when it came to the group competition, and the solo performances for the Star Ballroom Tour. On the last leg at the BBC&C in Boston, Massachusetts, Alexander Voskalchuk & Veronika Egora took the lead in all categories, but here it was a different game and a different situation, with a much different audience. Alexander & Veronica placed second in all the group dances giving them a 25 points total, their solo performance received an 89.71 and the audience went out in full force but not enough to get them over, they just got 10.5 extra points from them. Alexander & Veronica’s total was 125.21. A very strong showing but not enough to beat their counterparts, Mikhail Avdeev & Olga Blimova who in the end of the game got a complete total of 140.43 and they were crowned the 4th leg winners in this excellent “Star Ballroom Tour.”

How did Mikhail & Olga got such a fabulous score, well they won all dances in the group competition this gave them 30 points before the solos even started. In the solo performance the judges awarded them a 92.43 overall score and to conclude their fans in the audience helped them get an extra 18 points way ahead of Alexander & Veronika. Mikhall & Olga’s overall total was 140.43 a distance of about 15 points. This “Star Ballroom Tour” is scheduled to finish at the City Lights Ball in San Jose California this coming January and you don’t know who is going to take that $25.000.00 home and how they rest of the over $25,000.00 will be distributed.

Third in the Tour went to Andrey Begunov & Anna Demidova, they placed fourth in the group competition with the scores of 4,4,4,4,3. This gave them a total of 16 points going into the solo performance. The judges awarded Andrey & Anna the third best score of the night for their solo a 84.86, their downfall was the audience appeal they only got 1 point for this effort. So Andrey & Anna’s total for this leg of the tour is 101.86. Fourth place on the tour went to Denis Kutepov & Lesya Sinitsa, they placed third overall in the group competition with the scores of 3,3,3,3,4, these placements converted to 19 points going into the solo presentation. In the solo presentation Denis & Lesya placed fourth overall with a 81.00 awarded by the judges, they also lack on popularity with the audience because the audience could only give them a 0.5 towards their final tally of 100.50.

Fifth place on the tour was awarded to Igor Coloc & Roxane Miloti, they also placed fifth in the group competition. Igor & Roxane’s scores in the group competition were 5,6,5,5,5, this gave them a total of 9 points going into the solo competition, their solo scores from the judges were a 76.43 not bad but it did not help to get them out of the fifth position spot, and finally they always have a good audience and this was once again quite good, the audience awarded them 10 points extra towards their final tally of 95.43.  Sixth on the tour was awarded to last night’s wildcard Sarosh Ahmad & Zoe Wydroug they did not dance in the group final so they only get 3 points to start. Sarosh & Zoe’s solo performance was the lowest score of the pack a 57.71, but the audience loved them they gave them 9.5 extra points bringing their total score to 70.21 placing on these “Star Ballroom Tour” in sixth place.

There was a couple that made the final in the group competition but did not want to be part of the Tour at this time, that was Cristian Radvan & Kristina Kudelko, they placed sixth overall in the group competition with the scores of 6,5,6,6,6. It is on the tour rule that even though you compete in the event, you do not have to do the “Star Ballroom Portion.” For that reason the “Star Ballroom Tour” only had six couples in it and not the usual 7.

The Open Professional American Rhythm also took place here at the Orange County Dacesport Challenge and the winners were Danas Jaksevicius & Yuki Haraguchi and they won all five dances. Second in all dances were Ryan Lockhart & Danelle Newman and third was Renzo Zegarra & Chanti Platt with the scores of 3,4,5,4,3. Fourth was Piero Della Santina & Alessandra Gonzalez 4,3,3,5,4, fifth went to Todd Munson & Tarah Moya 5,5,4,3,5, and last but not list in sixth place was Gillermo Ceballos & Deborah Peres and they took sixth in all dances.

As always the Orange County Dancesport Challenge headed by Richard and Jennifer Booth is always casual and friendly.  Everyone knows Richard and if you need something you can always call on him directly and he usually makes everything right. There is never any tension at their events fun and laughter and cheers is always expected, congratulations Richard and Jennifer!

Tonight are the Pro Latin and Pro Smooth and it should be a great finishing night.