10 Ballroom Videos You Must Watch On YouTube
We all know that there is nothing like a live performance. When you are sitting around the floor and you not only can see the couple dancing but you can feel their movement and you can hear them breathing, stepping and touching each other.
But sometimes, dancers can really send such a strong message through their dancing that even when watching a video we can feel their emotions and we can be touched by their passion.
This is the case for me with all the following videos, my all time favourite Ballroom videos. (Not listed in a particular order)
1. Luca Baricchi and Loraine Barry – Slow Foxtrot Demo
About Luca and Loraine we can easily choose any of their video on youtube, no matter if it is from a lecture, a competition or a show. I chose this one because everytime I watch it I find myself speechless, astonished by the quality of their movement, yet being so simple to watch.
The fact that they are dancing not in a competitive dress and suit let you even more appreciate the pureness of their technique, where every part of the body is doing its own action but completely in harmony with the others. And then the music…Oh my! They are dancing on this beautiful track which is at 21,5 bars per minute!!! Unbelievable how they can look so smooth on such slow music. Enjoy the video!
2. Mirko Gozzoli and Edita Daniute – Tango Show
You know that when dancing a show you have to make the crowd go “Whoa!”. Mirko and Edita made everybody in the Beethovensaal in Stuttgart excited already at the beginning of their show!
The reason why this video is on my all time favourite list is that it feels so true, so genuine. No hairstyle, open shirt and eyes burning of passion. We said at the beginning that some couples can let you feel their energy even if you are only watching a video, well..this is exactly the case. Look at the power that they express in every action, look at the intensity of their emotions on the floor. Simply great.
3. William Pino and Alessandra Bucciarelli – Waltz Show
A song that has become a classic, the one that you play when you want to express your best, the one that you don’t choose too often because it needs a certain respect. You can’t just warm-up on a tune like this or simply let it go while you are practicing some parts, no.. you can’t.
And all this is because of William and Alessandra’s Waltz show. We will always relate this music to them, no matter what, because they danced one of the best performances ever in Ballroom history on it. When it comes to art we all have different tastes and we can prefer something that others don’t.
But then there are masterpieces, and in front of them, everyone will simply be astonished. This is their masterpiece.
4. Massimo Giorgianni and Alessia Manfredini – Tango Show
If you ever wondered about the line between Argentine Tango and International Style Tango?
Well…Massimo and Alessia will tell you that this line can be erased and you can implement all the elements from the two different styles inside the same performance. And what a performance! Elegance, passion, style…here you really can appreciate the result of a lifelong dedication to improvement and research in dancing where technique and feelings go together supporting each other.
5. Marcus and Karen Hilton – Waltz Show
There are not so many words needed when talking about the top of Ballroom dancing, the ones that inspired and gave the basis to the generation of our days, the couple that represents the connection and the continuation between the basic principles of the champions of the past and the modern expression of this style.
I used to watch their fantastic competition performances, everytime and everywhere they danced at their best, and this is not easy at all, considering how long they have been competing at the highest level, defending their titles.
But suddenly I started to watch their shows, and this one in particular is the one that catched me the most. It may be the music, it may be the place, I don’t know…I actually don’t want to know why I love it, I just do. Here it is, a wonderful Waltz by Marcus and Karen.
6. Andrea Ghigiarelli and Sara Andracchio – Waltz Honour Dance
Royal Albert Hall, a white dress, only one couple on the floor, the orchestra starts playing a waltz. Isn’t this the dream of every ballroom dancer?
Well, not many can say to have been there, but certainly Andrea and Sara did. A beautiful, dreamy waltz in such an evocative place, where showing your best dancing, having all eyes on you, isn’t the easiest thing ever. That’s why I really consider this video very important to watch, it shows you how a champion can handle those situations, how he can show his best under pressure, when failure is not an option.
7. Andrew Sinkinson and Loraine Barry – Slow Foxtrot
I was looking for the video that could show the magnificence of the man that is and will always be recognised as the King of Foxtrot, but I couldn’t decide.
Every performance had its own flavour.
Finally I chose this one, an early one back in 1992 when he was already 3 times Amateur Blackpool Champion partnering with Loraine. In my opinion it shows the purest movement possible. Simply the perfection of the technique and mechanic in a beautiful venue. What else do you need? Refer to this video whenever you have some questions or doubts about basic steps. This video is better than the technique book!
8. Domenico Soale and Gioia Cerasoli – Waltz Show
Once again we are in Stuttgart, at the German Open Championships, but this time with a different couple – Domenico Soale and Gioia Cerasoli.
From the very first step they danced together, they were at the top in every category. These results were possible by an absolutely outstanding quality of the movement, showing maybe the best couple connection and footwork. In this video, we can appreciate a “one of a kind” moment, where the music, dancers and crowd are connected together by tangible emotions.
9. Dmitry Zharkov and Olga Kulikova – Waltz Honour Dance
There are moments in the life of a dancer that are like milestones, a moment that will stay in everyone’s memory for a long time.
This is the last Grand Slam of 2018. Just a few competitions left to complete their path in the Amateur category, and destiny wanted the last Grand Slam to be in Moscow, in their home country.
Emotions are tangible, being there, around the floor you could feel how thick and dense the emotions were in the air. Everything but the floor has been darkened out, the lights are on Dmitry and Olga and the orchestra starts to play the Waltz “All by myself”. You can feel how they put all what they have felt during these years competing around the world in that dance.
It’s like if every step would tell you a chapter of their story, the pain of every practice and the joy of every success. They look at each other, an explosion of feelings in their hearts and the Ballroom history has got a new moment to tell.
Blackpool Final 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000
Here I just want to share with you those that in my opinion are some of the best Blackpool editions. Nothing against nowadays finals, but those grainy, low quality videos have such an impact on me. I simply prefer to watch them compared to the new ones.
You can revive the “battles” between Marcus Hilton and John Wood and the energy of William Pino dancing his first tango in the final in 2000. You can see how Luca Baricchi improves year by year becoming the legend we all know or how the Quickstep routines evolve in what we dance today.
Matteo Del Gaone
Italian, dancing since the age of 5 and currently based in Moscow. With his partner Ekaterina Utkina, he is in the top 50 WDSF Adult Standard World Ranking, representing the Russian Federation.