Ballroom Dance Gossip

Slavik and Karina dance again at Blackpool 2015!

2015-05-27T20:02:00.003-07:00

There was also a special treat at Blackpool with Slavik and Karina dancing again.

If only they would compete again at Blackpool...with all the retirements, if they trained hard they would have a good shot at the finals I think!

The video of their beautiful rumba is below:

Michal and Joanna + Andrej and Melinda have RETIRED!

2015-05-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

This Blackpool was certainly emotional and two of my favorite couples Michal Malitowski and Joanna Leunis and Andrej Skufca and Melinda Torokgyorgy have retired from competition!

Wish them well and it is certainly the end of a dance era!

Nino Langella and Anna Melnikova will dance together!

2015-04-13T21:56:00.004-07:00

There's been a rumor swirling online that Nino Langella and Anna Melnikova will dance together! See here for my previous post about this story.

I wasn't entirely sure because so far Nino's partnership with Vera Bondareva has been successful, but if the rumors are true, it would be so exciting!

Nino is amazing. He's young, very talented and I believe he will be world championship in the WDC Professional level one day! I hope he can bring out the best from Anna if this is true!

Please keep me posted if this rumor doesn't end up happening. :)

His partnership with Khrystyna Moshenska was amazing!!

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Is Allison Holker good enough to be a pro on Dancing with the Stars?

2015-04-10T02:29:00.000-07:00

I love ballroom ballroom dancing and I like Dancing with the Stars.

How did everyone feel about Allison Holker being a pro on the past two seasons on Dancing with the Stars?

While I love her as a contemporary dancer and I think she's great at that, I think her ballroom dancing just isn't that great!

Understandably, ABC hired her to be on the show because of her huge fan base from So you think you can dance, but I am a huge proponent of having actual REAL ballroom dancing on TV.

Her technique just isn't anywhere near the rest of the pros on the show and I find it a bit dissapointing to have her on there.

While my sentiments may be unpopular, it's just a shame they fired actually good dancers such as Chelsea Hightower or Lacey Schwimmer! Her dancing is also such a contrast from a world class dancer, such as Valentin Chmerkovskiy or Karina Smirnoff, who both have amazing technique!

The deficiencies in her technique are the most apparent in the pure Latin ballroom dances, such as the cha cha, rumba and samba. DWTS kind of doesn't do a good job with showing International style ballroom anyway because they mostly hire Latin dancers, so that doesn't matter as much. Also a dance like salsa, technique isn't as important.

I don't know if viewers can tell, but there were a few blog posts and message boards with the same sentiments and I am just not sure someone who is a very amateur ballroom dancer can do a good job at teaching on the show. Her dancing is "good enough" for the showcases on the show, but I think to be a good teacher you should have a certain level of mastery of the dancing! I also feel like if there's one show that shows what ballroom dancing is to a mainstream audience, it should be showing off "real ballroom dancing".

Here are some videos that prove my point:

A very trick heavy cha cha routine. The judges ripped her on this afterwards for the lack of "cha cha" content. I must agree with their sentiments.

A very amateur looking samba.

A trick-heavy rumba with very little basic.

However, she's certainly improved from when she was on SYTYCD

Big Surprise: Justinas Duknauskas and Anna Melnikova split!!!!

2015-04-09T21:04:00.001-07:00

NOTE: Rumor is that Anna Menikova and Nino Langella will be dancing together. They should be on fire!

Wow just news that Justinas Duknauskas and Anna Melnikova have split!

What a surprise! They were married and both intend to continue with new partners. A

Justinas and Anna at their wedding

All the content in this blog posts are property of Ballroom Dance Gossip.

Could this mean they broke up in their professional life as well? I know they have a daughter together and I was wondering what happened to Justinas on Anna's instagram as there recently there have been very few pictures of him. None since 5 months ago anyways!

I am saddened by this and I hope they both continue their respective dance careers. Any thoughts on who they should partner next?

Should Slavik try again with her as a partner? I just watched Ballroom Dancer again and it really did seem like he loved her and then lost her to Justinas. He needs to be gentle with her though and dance with her and not do all the solos he does in a competition.

If Slavik wants to come back, I think that he should dance with Anna or any other amazing girl, but he should lower his expectations a bit initially. I think they could have been in the Top 3 if he had persevered and not been as hard on her. Sometimes winning is about waiting for the couples above you to retire...

I don't want to speculate, but I am guessing a rift might have been caused due to the fact that Anna and Justinas dance results were quite disappointing and they didn't seem to gel together as dance partners the way Anna used to with Slavik or Stefano or Justinas did with Ekaterina.

Comments are Youtube were always quite critical about this partnership and about the fact that Anna was simply more talented than Justinas. I don't necessarily agree with that that was the reason their partnership failed, as I just think that as a couple, Anna and Justinas' dance styles didn't match that well and it showed in their results.

For instance arguably, in the partnership of Sergey and Melia, Sergey is the better dancer; in the partnership of Yulia and Riccardo, Yulia is the better dancer; and in the partnership of Michal and Joanna, Joanna is the better dancer. However, these couples still shine because the individual styles in the partnership complement each other.

Anna's dancing became more subdued with Justinas, and Justinas is not grounded or intense enough for her in his movements and he seems to make a lot of extra movements. She needs a dancer that brings out her fierceness and is a very masculine figure to her. In her partnership with Justinas she almost became the masculine figure because her style is so different from his. I still like her the best with Stefano, but she was also great and developing well when she was with Slavik. Justinas looked fine with Ekaterina because she's a softer dancer and she does a lot of extra movement as well, so they actually complement each other. Watch the videos to see if you agree with me.

Please comment if you here of any other news!

Slavik and all his solo wwhile dancing with Anna

Slavik holding Anna closely at the end.

Stefano and Anna looking amazing at the World Champions!

Justinas and Ekaterina

The way they were: The couples I miss the most from the dance floor!

2015-04-01T01:45:00.002-07:00

Back after a long hiatus! Publishing some new posts :)

I know that all ballroom dance fanatics such as I have couples that they miss the most! I get very nostalgic trolling on Youtube and I thought I would share with you some of the most iconic couples that have broken up, yet have undoubtedly left a mark in the world of ballroom dancing!

1. Slavik Kryklyvyy and Karina Smirnff

They were young. They were hot. They were so talented!
Slavik and Karina were also in a private relationship while they danced together for four years.I remember reading in an interview that he had kissed her randomly when she was having a phone conversation and that was how their relationship began. The couple was known for their explosive dancing...and their rumoured explosive fights! I believe that their professional partnership was over when they broke up as romantic partners.

For me, their dancing was absolute perfection. Their chemistry, their technique....it just came across as very geniune and real!

I know Slavik has tried to find a partnership that could finally allow him to become the World Champion, but he has never been able to finding a partnership that lasted as long as his with Karina's

From watching the clips of Ballroom Dancer, it appears he is very much a perfectionist and this probably drove his former partners away.

Also with the release of Ballroom Dancer, we now know for certain that Slavik has retired. It is funny that if they had lasted another few years and continued to dance together after the retirement of Bryan Watson and Carmen Vincelji, they would have surely won Blackpool and become the World Champions.

Isn't this video cute? I have also posted their reunion videos. PLEASE continue to dance together, so I can make it to you show next near at Dance Legends!

2. Stefano di Fillipo and Anna Melnikova

This couple was smoulderingly hot! Stefano was a beast on the dance floor...and Anna was so gorgeous! They both still are amazing, but personally, I think they were the best together.

Like Slavik and Karina, Stefano and Anna entered into this partnership as a private couple. However, they soon broke up afterwards and Anna started to date Slavik. However, Stefano and Anna continued to partner each other and together they won the Amateur World Championships and Blackpool.

This couple just complemented each other so well. Stefano might not have the perfect refinement of Slavik, but he brings sheer masculinity and FUN to his dancing. At that point, I thought that Anna brought out the best of her herself. She was the most confident, sexy and dynamic in this partnership!

Although Stefano had a very successful partnership with Olga Urumova, their chemistry wasn't as natural. He is very solid at the moment with his wife Daria, but I miss the boldness he had as an amateur. I felt that Anna became less bold during her partnership with Slavik. With Justinas Duknauskas, she has really toned it down and become a more subtle dancer in my opinion. I think a lot of it has to do with the amount of energy she gets to feed on and also how comfortable she is in that partnership.

Beata has Cancer - Please Donate!

2015-04-01T01:26:00.001-07:00

One of my favourite dancers of all time has ovarian cancer.

I hope she gets better and please donate if you can to help her in her recovery.

Dance Legends in New York this weekend!

2013-04-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hello dance lovers,

Just wanted to let you folks know that Dance Legends will be in New York this weekend!

If you are in New York or close by it should be a good show as there will be so many well-known dancers there, such as Yulia and Riccardo. I see it as kind of a Japan World Super Stars Dance Festival but in North American!

If anyone ends up coming let me know how it goes! I think it's pretty exciting retired couple Mirko Gozzoli & Edita Daniute will be there. I heard they were going to perform last year, but couldn't make it after they broke up.

Here are the photos from last year's event:

Rest in peace Julia Iveleva...you will be missed!

2013-04-06T12:09:00.003-07:00

I just received news that beautiful standard dancer Julia Ivleva has passed away after a battle with lung cancer.

My condolences go to her husband, Igor Litvinov and her family and friends who are going through this tough time.

Here a few videos of her dancing in her memory:

The lovely Dancing with the Stars tribute to her story

Igor Litvinov and Yulia Ivleva dancing the Foxtrot

Igor Litvinov and Yulia Ivleva at the Ohio Star Ball

Lady Gaga Show Dance

You will be missed Julia! Thank you for your beautiful dancing.

Anna Melnikova and Justinas Duknauskas may be expecting a baby!

2013-02-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

Hello dance lovers,

The rumour is that Anna Melnikova and Justinas Duknauskas are expecting a baby!

This was her Facebook message to her fans:

Dear all..

Me&Justinas we would like to share our great news.. letting you know that we will take a bit of the break in our dancing career:))..
the reason for that are very exciting family issues!;))
But surely,competitive dancing will always be our great passion!So we will be looking forward to see you all in 2014!!;))..
...
Stay happy..stay real..stay sincere..Trust in everything what you do...

With love,
Justinas Duknauskas&Anna Melnikova

Congrats Anna and Justinas! I hope to see them back on the dance floor soon :)

The saddest words are "what it might have been": The partnership between Slavik and Daria

2013-01-24T22:09:00.001-08:00

Hi dance lovers,

Sorry it has been so long. Life has been very busy!

I was look at Youtube videos and I found the videos of Slavik Kryklyvyy & Daria Chesnokova.

Samba

Cha-cha

Rumba

They actually looked quite good together I thought...she definitely has the potential to consistently make the finals at world competitions. Slavik still still looked like he had his technical powress as well. I think they could have made an excellent partnership.

I think Slavik still wants to come back on the dance floor. The question is...who can he dance with? I think he needs to accept that he will unfortunately never be #1 again.

On another note, Michal and Joanna won UK Open, so it look likes the fight for being the #1 Professional Latin Dancer in the world is still debatable!

Ekaterina Lapaeva retires from competitive dancing!

2012-11-29T19:30:00.001-08:00

Much apologies for my delay in the latest news with the Slavik and Ekaterina partnership!

Ekaterina just announced last week that she will be retiring from competitive dancesport

Very sad news for all the fans we had eagerly anticipated this partnership to blossom!

I wonder what was behind her decision to quit? In her l etter to Dancesportinfo she mentions that she wants to continue her education of psychology and philosophy, together with study of literature and creative art....so perhaps those were her reasons. Her dancing will sadly be missed!

Does anyone know what will happen to Slavik now? I hope he finds a suitable partner soon...

Stefano and Daria at the Internationals

2012-11-14T11:10:00.002-08:00

So the debut of the new partnership between Stefano di Filippo and Daria Chesnokova is finally on Youtube!

I think they look great together! A lot of people commented that Daria kind of dances like a combination of Anna Melnikova and Olga Urumova. I think Stefano always brings out the sexiness in his ladies ;)

Here is it for your viewing pleasure! What do you think?

Slavik Kryklyvyy will be dancing with Ekaterina Lapaeva

2012-11-07T13:58:00.001-08:00

Slavik Kryklyvyy will be dancing with Ekaterina Lapaeva! How exciting! I had written about this being a potentially good match more than a year ago here.

I do not think they are involved in a romantic relationship, so I hope that they will have the chemistry to make this partnership work. His partnership with Hanna Karttunen definitely needed this!

Thanks to a very astute reader for sending me a link with an interview with Slavik to alert me of this new partnership! Thanks to another reader for his comment to my post that alerted me to this!

Slavik definitely has a good chance with Ekaterina. She is a seasoned pro and I hope they will make this partnership work. He definitely needs to dance with her for more than a year to establish this partnership first then see if they can progress further in the ranks. I am predicting that they should make the finals at least.

This girl is fabulous I think! Just look the passion and charisma she brings in this WSSDF Latin video with Anton Karpov! She definitely has a style all her own for sure.

This is definitely Slavik's last chance to rise to the top I think. His age is catching up, but he is still a brilliant dancer. I think Ekaterina is definitely a better woman to reach for the top with than Franco's choice to dance with Olga Muller. I have high hopes for this partnership! (Please make it work Slavik, if you reading this!) What do you guys think? Will he finally find someone he can rise to the top with?

Results for WDC World Championships- Riccardo and Yulia are up on top!

2012-10-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

Yulia Zagorouitchenko and Riccardo Cocchi are rising to the top!!! With their recent win at Internationals, I think they are solidly ranked as the best dancers in the world.

They were just crowned the new World Championships! Congratulations to them both!

Michael Malitowski and Joanna Leunis were second, Sergey Surkov and Melia were third,
Maurizio Vescovo and Andra Vaidilaite were fourth, Andrej Skufca and Melinda were fifth and Justinas Duknaukas and Anna Melnikova were sixth.

The general trend at the moment appears that Andrej and Melinda have dropped to fifth place and Maurizio and Andra have risen to fourth.

Franco Formica and Olga and Stefano di Filippo did and Daria did not compete in the World Championships!

Thank you very much for reader electricblue for directing me to the results for WDC World Championships! I look forward to hopefully catching this on Youtube!

Internationals 2012: Very disappointing result for Franco and Olga; Riccardo and Yulia beat Michal and Joanna!

2012-10-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

Riccardo and Yulia end up on top!!!

As I had predicted....results confirm that Franco Formica and Olga Muller-Omelchenko finished outside of the finals at the International Championships 2012. They 16th! For me that is absolutely shocking! Franco is undoubtedly one of the best eligible men on the dance floor and I am pretty sure he would be disappointed with this result. I will keep everyone updated on the status of their partnership, but with this result, I am predicting that they will part ways soon. With Olga's age, I can't foresee this partnership even lasting beyond another 2 years.

It seems that Oxana and Franco did the best paired up together...as Ilia and her also placed in the top 32nd. I was very sad with the end of that partnership

I truly hope that Franco continues to compete nonetheless. I can see he is at his prime and with the right partner he will undoubtedly make the final again!

On other surprising note Riccardo and Yulia beat Michal and Joanna and finished in 1st place! I prefer the direction of Riccardo and Yulia, as I think they put more emphasis on the artistry of dance and are softer in their lines. I think the result is a fair one.

It seems that Maurzio and Andra are starting to consistently beat Andrej Skufca and Melinda as Maurizo and Andra finished in 4th and Andrej and Melinda finished in 5th. I have a feeling Andrej and Melinda will also be somewhat disappointing with that result.

I am very happy that Stefano Di Filippo & Dariya Chesnokova placed 6th overall! Very strong result for the pair and I have a feeling that in a few years Stefano will be in the top three.

So it looks like age is starting to matter in the Professional ranks of dancesport. Olga's technique just cannot compete with girls half her age. From videos I have watched, it also looks like age is catching up with Andrej Skufca and perhaps this is why he was beaten by Maurizio and Andra (Andra is very young!).

So what does everyone think? I think the results show a huge shake up in the rankings and age is definitely starting to matter. Though when I see Bryan Watson performing now, he is still amazing!!

Are Franco Formica and Olga Muller in trouble?

2012-10-08T16:47:00.003-07:00

Finally videos of Franco Formica and Olga Muller are up! Watching them...I have to wonder if this pair is in trouble.

The pair will be competing tomorrow at the International Championships...so I can't wait to post the results!

Here is their rumba:

The Youtube comments have not been very positive. There have been many remarks that her age has limited her flexibility and that Olga is not as good as Oxana was. There have also been people saying it looks very pro-am...with Franco being the Pro! I have to say I do prefer Oxana, as I think her technique allowed Franco to be more creative with the choreography. I found their choreography less dynamic and interesting.

To me, this partnership looks reminds me of the one that Slavik had with Hanna. I think Olga just hasn't danced for a while and this does show. Her technique is different from the younger girls and when you watch her rumba, you can see she takes smaller steps and her back is less flexible. But at 40 her dancing is still quite good.

The only question is whether this pair is good enough to crack the top three in world competitions. My prediction is that this pair will end up in 6th place or the semi-finals. However, given that Melia doesn't have perfect technique, yet her and Sergey are ranked well, maybe Franco and Olga have what it takes!

I absolutely adore Franco and I had hoped this partnership would be dynamic, but I have to say I am a bit disappointed.

Do you guys disagree with my analysis? Let me know!

Other videos:

Samba:

Jive:

Paso:

How ironic...Stefano di Filippo and Dariya Chesnokova dance together

2012-08-27T20:12:00.001-07:00

Looks like another one bites the dust for Slavik Kryklyvyy....his partnership with Daria Chesnokva fizzled out and they broke up shortly after. According to Dancesportinfo they broke up in June.

In some strange twist of fate, Daria will be dancing with Stefano di Filippo. Back in 2009, Slavik had convinced Anna Melnikova to break up with Stefano to dance with him. Now it loos like Slavik's ex girlfriend has left him to dance with Stefano. Daria and Stefano are also a couple in real life!

The dance universe is small indeed!

I am very happy that Stefano is back! He's insanely talented and he could easily make the finals with Daria. I wonder if Stefano will continue to do Dancing with the Stars in Italy...

What do you think will happen with Slavik next? I am now almost 100% sure his competition days are over. I would love to see some dance shows of the classic routines Slavik once did with Karina...he has never found a partnership that could match what he had with her.

Also thanks for all the readers who has emailed me about this! I am so sorry I have been MIA!

WSDF lifts sanctions for participating in "Non-WDSF Events"

2012-06-23T20:40:00.002-07:00

Very exciting news! Maybe dancers will finally get the freedom to dance.

WDSF announced yesterday that it would be allow dancers to participate in non-WDSF competitions. They had a General Meeting to resolve this issue. For the past few months, WDSF also allowed Facebook users to discuss this issue.

In the past, dancers such as Stefano di Fillipo and Valentin Chmerkovskiy have spoken out against these restrictions.

So perhaps the Amateur and Professional dance field will be more exciting?

I hope to see all dancers do Blackpool and World Championships next year. That would be definitely make things more interesting for me....

Let me know your thoughts!

Franco Formica and Olga Müller-Omeltchenko are still gong to compete!

2012-06-01T21:53:00.004-07:00

I recently found out that the reason that Franco Formica and Olga Müller-Omeltchenko were not at Blackpool was because they have decided to wait a bit longer!

That's definitely a relief for me! Franco is too good/young to retire this early in my opinion!

This was their message:

Dear Facebook Community, Danceworld, Fans and Friends,

...... Olga and me have decided to wait with our first competition and not compete in Blackpool.

We need just a bit more time.

Love
Olga and Franco

Would it be quite the shock if Franco and Olga or Slavik and Daria were to compete at Blackpool and not even make the finals?

The longer they are away, the more likely that is to happen, so I hope I see both couples soon!

Is the partnership between Slavik and Daria over?

2012-06-01T09:14:00.003-07:00

I just learned today about the new partnership between Slavik Kryklyvyy and Daria Chesnokova. They will be representing the US.

They were supposed to be at Blackpool competing in the Professional Latin division at Blackpool but they were a no show!

Apparently they had performed at the Sunshine State Dancesport Championships in Miami at the end of April and performed three dances. However although the MC had said they would return to perform more dances, apparently they just left.

A person on Dance Forums says:

they only danced 3 dances and received a standing ovation for Rumba, after doing Cha Cha and Samba......however, in the middle of the 5 dance show, they announced that Slavik and Daria were coming back after a costume change and would be back out (also note that never at any point did Slavik and Daria get a final send off from the MC....they never said anything more about why Daria and Slavik weren't coming back out, everything just ended and I asked a few people why they didn't come back out and you just got kind of a shrug, no explanation....
It was very strange, even now I never found out what happened, but I kind of felt something happened right in the middle of the show...Then Daria and Slavik are registered for these comps and now the whole partnership is supposedly off...

However, according to their respective Facebook statuses, they are both a romantic couple.

In my opinion, I think the two most talented guys in in the Pro Latin division are Slavik and Franco! Hopefully we find out what soon whether or not they will be back to compete!

Professional latin results: Michal and Joanna emerge on top!

2012-06-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

Blackpool winners: Michal and Joanna

It was no surprise for me that Michal Malitowski and Joanna Leunis won Blackpool 2012! Congrats to the fabulous couple!

Also congrats to Riccardo Cocchi and Yulia Zagorouitchenko who placed second and Sergey Sourkov and Melia that were third!

However there were some notable surprises. Where were Franco Formica and Olga? I was surprised they didn't compete. Hopefully that doesn't mean that Franco has decided to retire :S

Also, the Canadian pair, Maurzio Vescovo and Andra Vaidiliate placed ahead of Andrej Skufca and Melinda Torokgyorgy for all five dances! Normally Andej and Melinda are always ahead!

What do you think of the results?

Will Blackpool ever be the same again?

2012-05-30T11:56:00.002-07:00

Blackpool Latin 2012 winners!

Neil Jones and Ekaterina Solokova

Photo credit: Peter Suba

Hi everyone,

Sory I have been so inactive lately- life has been crazy!

I have been reading about the Blackpool results and I am eagerly anticipating the Professional Latin results that will be out very soon! I have a feeling that we all know who is probably going to win, but you never know!! I am very excited see how Franco Formica & Olga will do!

But on an interesting note Amateur Latin at Blackpool has really changed due to dance politics. The winners were Neil Jones and Ekaterina Solokova as expected, but I really miss the time when the top dancers from the World DanceSport Federation could compete as well. I feel that the competition would have been much more exciting with Andrei Zaitsev & Anna Kuzminskaya, Nino Langella & Khrystyna Moshenskaya and Martino Zanibellato & Michelle Abildtrup!

Martino and Michelle did dance at Blackpool last year and were only ranked 4th-perhaps that is also another reason why they chose not to compete this year. I am sure WDF is not happy with dancers that try to also attend the Britisah competitions.

The last amateur Latin Blackpool competition that had all the top dancers was in 2009, when Stefano di Filippo and Anna Melnikova took the crown! In 2010, Alexei Silde and Anna Firstova along with Andrei and Anna didn't go...and then it has gotten worse.

So what does everyone think? Will there be any changes soon to revert back to when dancers could dance at all the coveted competitions?

Exciting news: Franco Formica will be dancing with Olga Müller-Omeltchenko!

2012-03-21T19:43:00.006-07:00

Such good news!

Credit: Dancesportinfo.net

So Franco Formica will be competing again with Olga Müller-Omeltchenko! Their first competition with be Blackpool 2012. Here is their new Dancesportinfo profile.

Special thanks to a kind reader who alerted me to this news!

This will certainly be an interesting partnership. Olga has not competed since 2000. She was a former Blackpool finalist with her husband, Ralf Muller. She is definitely a dancer from the golden era of ballroom and I am interested to see how she will fare against some of the younger ladies in the finals. Most professionals retire in their mid 30s; so certainly Franco and Olga will be quite a bit older than the rest. According to Wikipedia. Olga is currently 39 or 40 and I believe that Franco is in his mid 30s (correct me if I am wrong).

Here is a video of Olga dancing with Ralf in 2011. The video was shot pretty far away from the couple, but her dancing still looks pretty good!

Here is Olga in competition with Ralf:

I would definitely appreciate seeing some more traditional approaches to Latin dancing. I like the innovative shapes and styling that dancers such as Michal and Joanna bring, but sometimes, I wonder if Latin dancesport is going into the "right" direction.

I miss the classical approach to Latin dancing Bryan and Carmen bought to the dance floor, so perhaps Franco and Olga will bring some of this back!

Btw, I l enjoy how Franco choses whoever he would like to dance with regardless of who is the "top" lady. He chose Oxana Lebedew when she was a unknown young talent and now is he going to be with a previously retired dancer.

I do hope that he doesn't make the mistake that Slavik Kryklyvyy did when Slavik picked Hanna Karttunen to dance with him. It was very clear that Hanna and Slavik didn't have much of a connection. In addition, it was also pretty obvious to me that her Latin technique was no longer what it used to be when she was with Paul Killick. I hope Olga still has the technique to compete with ladies such as Joanna and Yulia!

With their first Blackpool competition, I am predicting they will end up in the finals. If not the finals, then at least top 10.

I have always thought that Franco is a very special dancer. I have a feeling that Franco, like Slavik wouldn't be satisfied with any result other than being #1 (hence he split with Oxana, as the pair seemed stuck in a limbo). With dance politics, it will be very difficult for him to get to first place, but I definitely think that Franco's talent makes that a real possibility!

Edita Daniute retires from competitive dancing!

2012-03-01T14:59:00.002-08:00

Edita Daniute

Credit: OptimusMorton

Edita Daniute, former amateur ballroom champion and partner of Mirko Gozzoli has announced that she will be retiring from competitive dancing!

I am not that surprised she has retired as she does have a very young daughter and a husband who is a lawyer. I having a competitive dance career must have been difficult for her family. I think it is hard in general for a woman with a family and children to have a competitive dance career.

This is a portion from her interview with Dancesportinfo in 2010 on competing and having a family.

Edita: No, it is complicated and difficult I must admit I miss my family and I miss my daughter very much and it is hard but I am getting something that will stay with me for all my life. I have my career and there is a choice. In the 2 years I stayed with my family I missed that very much and I regret that I lost my career. I could be getting old and sitting and crying I could have been this or I could be that but I did not do it or, instead, I can do what is right for my own satisfaction...There is nothing worse in life than someone who is not satisfied with their career. There are people who do not care about their career they even do not want a career and they concentrate on the family but I think for most dancers this is not the case. We are sportsmen, we are competitors and dreams which have not been fulfilled leave us angry and even change your character and therefore I decided to give it a go. It is not easy but I try to spend one week in every month with my family.

She is very beautiful and talented and I loved seeing her dance with her hair down! Wish her best in the future and I hope Mirko finds someone and continues to compete!