Memorable Dancesport Moments of 2019
This year has been filled with A LOT of memorable dancesport moments. We had a few sad moments, but we had some happy ones as well. We’ve witnessed changes, wonderful partnerships coming to an end, retirements and new champions.
Let’s go together on the memory lane of 2019:
Achievements
1. In January 2019 the WDSF dancesport community voted for Dmitry Zharkov & Olga Kulikova as Athlete of the Year at World Games. This is a huge step for Olga and Dimitry as they moved also to Professional, leaving behind their great career as Amateurs.
2. Grün-Gold-Club Bremen formation, coached by Roberto Albanese won for the 10th time the WDSF World Championship Formation Latin Adult. It is an immense achievement and we congratulate them.
3. Also this year, in Bonn, it took place he biggest Paradancesport World Championship ever with 225 athletes (124 female and 101 male) from 26 countries competing across 21 medal events. The event was historic for Bonn, which has headquartered the International Paralympic Committee since 1999.
4. At the 2019 Blackpool Dance Festival in Professional Ballroom, we witnessed new champions: Andrea Ghigiarelli & Sara Andracchio. Andrea & Sara also won on the 30th of November the World Championship, becoming the new WDC Professional Ballroom Champions.
5. In the same manner, in the WDSF world, we have new Amateur Standard Champions: Evaldas Sodeika & Ieva Zukauskaite. Here is the ranking of the Championship.
Retirements
1. The UK National Professional Ballroom vice-champions Craig and Evgeniya Shaw announced that they retire from competitive dancing. Craig made an emotional announcement on his Facebook Page.
2. The retirement of Riccardo Cocchi & Yulia Zagoruychenko came in two waves of sadness: they announced their retirement at the Internationals and danced their last competition at the Worlds in Miami, winning their 10th title. They’ve graced us at the Internationals with a memorable Rumba: “The look of love”:
They have also allowed us to have a glimpse into their emotions through this wonderful interview from Ballroom BackStage.
3. Team Match at the Blackpool Dance Festival came with the retirement announcement of the World Champions Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova. The moment was truly historical and of course, the “hip hip hooray” was unmissable.
Announcements
1. GlandSlams are one of the most important competitions in the WDSF world. The location has changed this year for the first GlandSlam: from Helsinki to Bucharest. Here is how it all went.
2. The WDSF introduced a new type of event called the Sports Series. Eight couples qualified for the final, which was danced in a Duel (Battle) format.
3. The Internationals came with another announcement, this time for Ferdinando Iannaccone and Yulia Musikhina who announced that they are turning Professional, representing England.
4. Switching also from representing the USA, Stefano & Dasha announced on their Instagram that they are going to represent Italy. We wish them good luck and curious to see what the future holds.
5. Sad news for all their fans, Joanna Leunis & Michael Militowski decided to take separate ways, both personally and professionally. We wish them all the positive energy and strength to carry on their projects in 2020.
6. Another heartbreaking announcement came from Nina Bezzubova & Timur Imametdniov split. Nina’s announcement was truly emotional but through your dancing and character, you won our hearts. Nina is now dancing with Evgeny Vinokurov; may the new partnership be fruitful!
Love
Our world is full of love and passion, so it’s inevitable to have a few fairytale weddings or some show-stopping engagement proposals. This year, Mirko Gozzoli & Edita Daniute got married and had an elegant wedding.
Another memorable moment from the Blackpool Dance Festival was when Alessandro Quaranta proposed to his partner Tiziana, right after the final dance of Senior Latin.
As you can tell, 2019 was full of memorable dancesport moments, some a bit sad and some joyful. But this is the course of life, with ups and downs. We just need to move forward and see what 2020 has installed for us.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Bianca Gavrila
I've started dancing when I was 9 years old and it has been a part of me ever since. I love to surround myself with everything dancesport related. Now I get to experience the world of dancing through a writer's lens.