• The full pro-am judging panel The full pro-am judging panel
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This is the first time, however, that I have attended. There were 2 full days of pro-am events held on the Tuesday and Wednesday before the start of amateur and professional festival events on Thursday. The panel of adjudicators used for these pro-am events was not the same as either the daytime or evening panels used for the majority of the festival and did include judges from the USA – Gary Edwards, Sue Puttock, Toni Redpath, Jonathan Roberts and Jonathan Wilkins.

From what I could ascertain from the participants, most had a good time dancing in this most famous of all the world’s ballrooms. For some divisions, the Empress Orchestra was used dancing to live music is certainly a rare experience for pro-am competitors, even given the fact that the music played for the American Styles was a little challenging. (Mambo is not the same as Samba – one is in the 4/4 time signature, the other in 2/4).

Personally I had some difficulty ascertaining exactly who was dancing at what time and in what division as from the administrative side the organizers chose not to use the computer programs developed specifically for pro-am style competition here in North American and honed over more than twenty years – but as long as the couples made their heats, I suppose there was not a problem.

The following is an accounting of the Open Division multi-dance events from the North American perspective and includes photos by Decadance Photography (Tony Eng) who are the official Dance Beat photographers for the Blackpool Dance Festival.

A1 Female Rhythm
1. Marinda James-Heskett w/ Jeremy Pilling (USA)
2. Nathalie Vuong w/ Edouard Volvick (Can)

• Lauren LaPointe w/ Louis Bar Lauren LaPointe w/ Louis Bar
• Marinda James-Heskit w/ Jeremy Pilings Marinda James-Heskit w/ Jeremy Pilings
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A2 Female Rhythm
2. Lauren Lapointe w/ Louis Bar

• Open A3 Rhythm Male Open A3 Rhythm Male
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A3 Male Rhythm
1. Jason Mihevic w/ Leisa Howard (USA)
2. Derek Mauzy w/ Brittany Gill (USA)

A3 Female Rhythm
2. Annette Monks w/ Ben Seifert (USA)
3. Lauren Lapointe w/ Louis Bar (USA)
4. Debra Hoag w/ Gherman Mustuc (USA)
6. Pushpa Shenoy w/ Jhondarr Lopez (USA)

B1 Rhythm Male
1. Derek Mauzy w/ Brittany Gill (USA)

• Monica Broch w/ Kris Suakjian Monica Broch w/ Kris Suakjian
• Sherry Tucker w/ Vlad Astafiev Sherry Tucker w/ Vlad Astafiev
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B1 Female Rhythm
1. Monica Broch w/ Kris Suakjian (USA)
2. Sherry Tucker w/ Vlad Astafiev (USA)
3. Kelly Akol w/ Jeremy Pilling (USA)
4. Annette Monks w/ Ben Seifert (USA)
5. Sally Vetter w/ Mihaly Meszaros (USA)
6. Debra Hoag w/ Gherman Mustuc (USA)

B2 Male Rhythm
1. Ran Holloday w/ Iraida Volodnina (USA)
2. Ram Viswanthan w/ Sarika Hudson (USA)
4. Ron Morton w/ Amy Suber (USA)

B2 Female Rhythm
1. Sherry Tucker w/ Vlad Astafiev (USA)
3. Maria Matulaniac w/ Gunnar Sverrisson (USA)
4. Lynn Hayes w/ Tim Pennenga (USA)
5. Susan Curling w/ Alex Armaos (USA)

C Male Rhythm
1. 1. Ram Viswanthan w/ Sarika Hudson (USA)
2. Stu Harrell w/ Carolyn Dominguez (USA)

C Female Rhythm
1. Lois Fein w/ Aleksandar Vukosalvejic (USA)
2. Raquel Perez w/ Tomofey Shalnev (USA)
3. Barbara Sanford w/ Leon Flores (USA)
5. Nanette Glasser w/ Matthew Hauer (USA)

• Angelina Evseeva w/ Aleksandr Skarlato Angelina Evseeva w/ Aleksandr Skarlato
• Lois Fein w/ Aleksandr Vuskolvejic Lois Fein w/ Aleksandr Vuskolvejic
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A1 Female Latin
1. Angelina Evseeva w/ Aleksandr Skarlato (USA)
2. Arielle Nates w/ Stefan Golubovic (USA)

A2 Latin Female
3. Liang Ling w/ Yegor Novikov (USA)

A3 Latin Female (largest event of the night)
5. Missy White w/ Genya Bartashevich (USA)

• Marina Svyatets w/ Aleksandr Vukosalveljic Marina Svyatets w/ Aleksandr Vukosalveljic
• Missy White w/ Genya Bartashevich Missy White w/ Genya Bartashevich
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B1 Latin Female
1. Marina Svyatets w/ Aleksandar Vukosalvejic (USA)
2. Rhonda Lynch w/ Stephan McCann (USA)
3. Lorraine Peoples w/ Genya Bartashevich (USA)
4. Rebecca Wong w/ Kamil Studenny (Can)

B2 Male Latin
1. Ram Viswanthan w/ Sarika Hudson (USA)
2. Ran Holloday w/ Iraida Volodnina (USA)

B2 Latin Female
2. Rebecca Wong w/ Kamil Studenny (Can)
3. Nora Fox w/ Plamen Danailov (USA)
4. Zonie Fang w/ Yiri Kosydar (USA)
5. Philippa Zemelma w/ Marcus Johnson (USA)

C Male Latin
1. Ram Viswanthan w/ Sarika Hudson (USA)

C Female Latin
1. Rica Zamora w/ Sinisa Vasic (USA)
2. Sola Wong w/ Andrei Kazlouski (USA)

• Micheal Shu w/ Katya Kanevskaya Micheal Shu w/ Katya Kanevskaya
• Rica Zamora w/ Sinisa Vasic Rica Zamora w/ Sinisa Vasic
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Male A1 Ballroom
1. Michael Shu w/ Katya Kanevskaya – USA
2. Kai Petersen w/ Neli Petrova – USA

Female A1 Ballroom
1. Brenda Dalzell w/ Evgeny Mayarov – USA

• Open A2 Ballroom Female Open A2 Ballroom Female
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A2 Female Ballroom
3. Irene Lee w/ Egor Bezudladnikov

A3 Male Ballroom
1. Fred Schwartz w/ Iulia Ceccolini – USA
2. Mark Nesky w/ Kristie Simmonds – USA

• Chen Ye w/ Mikhail Avdeev Chen Ye w/ Mikhail Avdeev
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A3 Female Ballroom
2. Chen Ye w/ Mikhail Avdeev
3. Irene Lee w/ Egor Bezudladnikov

B1 Male Ballroom
1. Claude Guimond w/ Anik Jolicoeur – Can

• Donna Wecker w/ Giani Caliandro Donna Wecker w/ Giani Caliandro
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B1 Female Ballroom
1. Donna Wecker w/ Gianni Caliandro – USA
3. Annie Chan w/ Christian Radvan – USA
4. Careen Friedland w/ Slava Kostianets - USA

B2 Male Ballroom
4. Ram Viswanthan w/ Sarika Hudson - USA
6. Jules Borne w/ Ariana Esposito – USA

B2 Ballroom Female
1. Beverly Moore w/ Alain Doucet – Can
3. Sulena Han w/ Gianni Caliandro – USA
4. Joan Giampalo w/ Andrea Faraci
6. Palema Melton w/ Stefano Placidi – USA

• Beverly Moore w/ Alain Doucet Beverly Moore w/ Alain Doucet
• Ram Viswanathan w/ Sarika Hudson Ram Viswanathan w/ Sarika Hudson
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C Male Ballroom
2. Ram Viswanthan w/ Sarika Hudson – USA

C Female Ballroom
4. Esah Yip w/ Gianni Caliandro – USA
5. Pauline Mak w/ Gherman Mustuc - USA

Male A1 Smooth
1. TJ Kyle w/ Jamiee Tuft – USA

• Plamena Gradinarova w/ Slava Kostianets Plamena Gradinarova w/ Slava Kostianets
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Female A1 Smooth
1. Plamena Gradinarova w/ Slava Kostianets – USA
2. Ollivia Zettergren w/ Gunnar Sverrisson – USA
3. Nathalie Vuong w/ Edouard Volvick – Can

Female A2 Smooth
1. Plamena Gradinarova w/ Slava Kostianets – USA
2. Irene Lee w/ Egor Bezukladnikov

A3 Male Smooth
1. Fred Schwartz w/ Iulia Ceccolini – USA
2. Jason Mihevic w/ Leisa Howard – USA
3. Derek Mauzy w/ Brittany Gill – USA

• Open A3 Smooth Female Open A3 Smooth Female
• Careen Friedland w/ Slava Kostianets Careen Friedland w/ Slava Kostianets
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A3 Female Smooth
1. Egor Bezukladnikov & Irene Lee – USA
2. Careen Freidland w/ Slava Kostianets – USA
4. Annette Monks w/ Ben Seifert – USA
5. Christine Lee w/ Marek Gabor – USA
6. Pushpa Shenoy w/ Jhondarr Lopez – USA

B1 Male Smooth
1. Fred Schwartz w/ Iulia Ceccolini – USA
2. Derek Mauzy w/ Brittany Gill – USA

B1 Female Smooth
2. Careen Friedland w/ Slava Kostianets – USA
3. Monica Broch w/ Kris Suakjian – USA
4. Debra Hoag w/ Rudy Homm – USA
5. Annette Monks w/ Ben Seifert - USA
6. Annette van Ommeren w/ Charles Roberts – USA

B2 Male Smooth
1. Ram Viswanthan w/ Sarika Hudson – USA
2. Ran Holladay w/ Iraida Volodnina – USA
3. Thomas Yearin w/ Alina Spencer – USA

• Open B2 Smooth Female Open B2 Smooth Female
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B2 Female Smooth
1. Beverly Moore w/ Alain Doucet – Can.
2. Elizabeth Cramer w/ Yuriy Kravets – USA
4. Cinthya Wolfsohn w/ Alex Zagrean – USA
5. Annette Van Ommeran w/ Charles Roberts – USA
6. Michaela Puno w/ Slava Sergiev - USA

C Male Smooth
1. Ram Viswanthan w/ Sarika Hudson – USA
2. Thomas Yearin w/ Alina Spencer – USA
3. Stu Harrell w/ Carolyn Dominguez - USA

• Feminina Mac w/ Vladimir Popov Feminina Mac w/ Vladimir Popov
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C Female Smooth
1. Feminia Mac w/ Vladimir Popov - USA
4. Barbara Sanford w/ Leon Flores - USA
5. Raquel Perez w/ Timofey Shalnev - USA
6. Julie Kim w/ Tim Emmett - USA