The dance couples came to the Ohio Star Ball to receive their awards after accumulating points shown on our website leaderboard over the 12-month period. This year there were 22,000 entries!

The Ohio Star Ball was jammed pack with people and it proved to be quite an exciting event with lots of dancing to see!   To get every heat judged, there were three ballrooms all going on at the same time.  This means there were three sets of judges and three announcers.   Each day began in the early morning and ended at 5 or 6 PM for six days of competitions.

The dance categories were:  Pro-am, Collegiate, Teddy bear, Pre-teen, Youth, and Junior competitors.  Friday and Saturday evenings special showcase competitions and professional competitions were held in Battelle Hall. 

Awards were given by Marilyn Fordney to the 10 top Ballroom and the 10 top Latin, as shown here.  The Fordney Foundation could not be prouder of all the dancers who participated in the Youth and Junior dance series.  The dancing was thrilling to watch and the young dancers keep getting better and better all the time, delighting the audiences!  We congratulate all the Fordney Foundation winners in both Standard – Top 10 and Latin – Top 10.  Here are your winners:

• Sam Sodano, Marilyn Fordney, Top 10 Ballroom Winners Sam Sodano, Marilyn Fordney, Top 10 Ballroom Winners
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1 – Matthew Zoladkiewicz & Elizabete Grigalinovica-Leja 
2 – Kirill Zakirzyanov & Valerie Snitko 
3 – Leo Kolmykov & Daria Andreyev 
4 – Eric Kashkevych & Anna Bugutskiy 
5 – Nathan Zaytsev & Annika Mugin 
6 – Anthony Mattos & Eva Zinchenko 
7 – Matthew Berenshteyn & Katerina Petrenko 
8 – Max Mingioni & Zoe Estrina 
9 – Daniel Novikov & Mishella Vishnevskiy 
10 – Joshua Ginzburg & Sophia Elkin 

• Sam Sodano, Marilyn Fordney, Top 10 Latin Winners Sam Sodano, Marilyn Fordney, Top 10 Latin Winners
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Fordney Foundation Top 10 – Latin
1 – Alexander Sarkisian & Chantal Khodarkovsky
2 – Kirill Zakirzyanov & Valerie Snitko
3 – Ethan Hayutt & Anastasia Lepin
4 – Anthony Mattos & Eva Zinchenko
5 – Nathan Zaytsev & Annika Mugin
Tie 6 – Dave Firestein & Shelly Umansky
Tie 6 – Leo Kolmykov & Daria Andreyev
Tie 6 – Daniel Novikov & Mishella Vishnevskiy
9 – Vadym Pidhoretskyy & Abigail Srulevich
10 – Erik Linder & Shelly Linder

Fordney Foundation Presents The Best of the Best Awards at Ohio Star Ball 2019

• Best of Best Best of Best
• Best of Best Best of Best
• Best of Best Best of Best
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This year, many of the competitions in the Fordney Foundation Junior and Youth Dance Series offered Best of the Best heats. This generated a final count of 28 couples that would vie for three Best of the Best awards at the Ohio Star Ball. This type of ballroom dancing requires special costumes, professional coaches, development of routines, and a lot of dance practice. Usually at an annual event held at the Ohio Star Ball there might be 10 or 12 couples.  We are happy to say, this was way beyond that number to perform and judge!  

• Daniel Novikov and Mishella Vishnevskiy Daniel Novikov and Mishella Vishnevskiy
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Pre-Teen Results
1 – Daniel Novikov and Mishella Vishnevskiy
2 – Michael Novikov and Dasha Dragunov
3 – Lucas He and Juliana Gekker

Junior Results:
1 – Alexander Sarkisian and Chantal Khodarkovsky
2 – Ilan Fridman and Zlata Zarkhin
3 – Nathan Zaytsev and Annika Mugin

• Michael May & Pallany English Michael May & Pallany English
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Youth Results:
1 – Michael May and Pallany English
2 – Tyler Li and Anjelica Lowe
3 – Blake Fox and Nicole Ascione

• Travis & Jaimee Tuft Travis & Jaimee Tuft
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During the evening show, professional ballroom dancers also featured Best of the Best show dances in special costumes and routines. Our 2007-2008 Brigham Young University scholarship winner Travis Tuft and his wife, Jaimee, came out on the dance floor to standing ovation with lots of clapping and laughs. Their performance ended with a standing ovation as they left the dance floor. But everyone wanted them to come back for a final curtain call so again they came out to standing ovation with thunderous applause and many showing thumbs up. Of course, they won the first place award in the Pro Smooth Showdance this year at the Ohio Star Ball.

• Debbie Avalos-Kusumi, Red Team Captain, Mascot, Clement Joly and 1st Place, West Coast Team Debbie Avalos-Kusumi, Red Team Captain, Mascot, Clement Joly and 1st Place, West Coast Team
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This year we had three teams in the team match. As they came out on the floor for each heat, it was an explosive performance with sounds of cheers and clapping by the audience. It was a fight to the finish with the West Coast team winning the first place award. Congratulations to all the winners on these three teams who all won cash prizes from the Fordney Foundation. The teams consisted of the following:

• West Coast Team West Coast Team
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Team Captains - Debbie Avalos
Team Mascots - Clement Joly
Ballroom
PT1 Leo Liu & Nicky Lin
PT2 Yegor Zhukov & Adyson Cherkas
JR1 Nathan Zaytsev & Annika Mugin
JR2 Zorik Moldavsky & Alice Bankova
Youth Maksim Berenshteyn & Katrina Petrenko
Latin
PT1 Sean Ginko & Scarlet Armstrong
PT2 Sean Ginko and Emily Tatoosi
JR1 Daniel Novikov & Mishella Vishnevskiy
JR2 Anthony Mattos & Eva Zinchenko
Youth Vasyl Kotenko & Anita Zohrabin

• East Coast Team East Coast Team
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East Coast – Blue
Team Captains – Rita Algarra and Maria Manusova
Team Mascot – Yusif Amsatr dressed as a Parrot

Ballroom
PT1 Max Mingioni & Zoe Estrina
PT2 Leo Kolmykov & Daria Andreyev
JR1 Eric Kashkevych & Anna Bogutskiy
JR2 Matthew Zoladkiewicz & Elizabeth Grigalinovica-Leja
Youth Joshua Ginzburg & Sophia Elkin
Latin
PT1 Lucas He & Juliana Gekker
PT2 Kirill Zakirzyanov & Valerie Snitko
JR1 Ethan Hayutt & Anastasia Lepin
JR2 Alexander Sarkisian & Chantal Khodarkovsky
Youth Vadym Pidhoretskyy & Abigail Srulevich

• Central Team Central Team
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Central – Green
Team Captains – Kimberley Mitchell & Donna Edelstein
Team Mascot – Dave Firestein dressed as a Bear

Ballroom
PT1 Misha Long & Isabella Bersten
PT2 Alex Shvartsman & Sophie Doliwa
JR1 Ilan Fridman & Ziata Zarkhin
JR2 Sebastian Lennox & Veronica Baranova
Youth Karol Zajac & Olivia Kolodziejczyk
Latin
PT1 Bryan Rizun & Capri Johnson
PT2 Isaac Koyfman & Capri Johnson
JR1 Liran Lander & Emma Rainyte
JR2 Nicholas Bleykhman & Alissa Joly
Youth Michael May & Pallany English

This year, three top studios were recognized with trophies who had the most entries in competitions across the U.S. and Canada.  We congratulate these Top 3 Studios who won these awards at Ohio Star Ball - 2019.  They are: 

 

• Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #2 Studio winners, Dance Vita Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #2 Studio winners, Dance Vita
• Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #3 Studio winners, Center for Ballroom & Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #3 Studio winners, Center for Ballroom &
• Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #1 Studio winners, Brilliant DanceSport Studio Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #1 Studio winners, Brilliant DanceSport Studio
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• Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #2 Studio winners, Dance Vita Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #2 Studio winners, Dance Vita
• Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #3 Studio winners, Center for Ballroom & Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #3 Studio winners, Center for Ballroom &
• Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #1 Studio winners, Brilliant DanceSport Studio Marilyn Fordney, Sam Sodano with Top #1 Studio winners, Brilliant DanceSport Studio
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1st – Brilliant Dancesport Studio – Warminster, PA
 
2nd – DanceVita – San Mateo, CA

3rd – Center for Ballroom & Dance – Lincolnshire, IL

*** If you would like to help our next generation to learn dance, contribute to our DREAM program.  Go to www.fordneyfoundation.org and click on the “Donate” tab and scroll down to “Go Fund Me” button or you can send a check directly to the foundation at the address that appears on the website at the end of that page. Or if you would like to have a brick engraved on our Yellow Brick Road for someone who has passed away and loved to dance or was a dance advocate, then scroll down to “Yellow Brick Road Memorial” and remember to insert their name in the memo box.