2005 World Professional Latin Championship
Reprot by Colin Hillary
Nice serves as the airport for the French Riviera-Côte d'Azur as it is often referred to - which extends from the border of Monaco to St. Tropez along the Mediterranean coast. Most of the competitors and adjudicators for the World Latin arrived Friday morning, June 10, and were transported by motor coach to the charming hotel in Le Cannet, a suburb of Cannes, where we were to stay for the two days while attending the Championship.
The hotel situated in the hills surrounding Cannes required a taxi ride to the renowned promenade along the beach, overlooked by the casinos and hotels, which host the Cannes Film Festival and cater to the rich and famous. I chose to get some rest after the overnight flight via Germany and be ready for the reception dinner that evening.
The dinner, hosted by the organizers, Rene and Josette Barsi, was delicious with plenty of wine and good conversation. Saturday midday, the motor coaches commenced transporting competitors and finally adjudicators to the nearby sports hall. At around 2:00 pm, the first round occurred to begin the process of reducing the sixty competitors to the ultimate final and consequent placings.
The second round of 48 couples occurred around 4:00 pm and at this stage, an adjudicator has the opportunity to watch various couples and get a "feel" for the potential outstanding performances, which will affect a couples advancement to semi and final rounds. Two established finalists would not be competing, providing space in the final and also the semifinal, which could be an achievement for some couples. Slavik Kryklyvyy and Karina Smirnoff would not be representing the United States due to missing the U.S. Nationals last September when Slavik's U.S. Visa could not be renewed in time. Dimitry Timohin and Anna Bezikova would not be representing Russia because Anna was still suffering from a pinched nerve in her neck, which also caused them to withdraw from the Open British Championships the week before.
Prior to the evening program, the adjudicators reduced the 48 to a quarterfinal of 24 couples. During the afternoon session, there were also rounds of amateur competitions in Junior, Adult, and Senior divisions. The evening program featured the finals of these events, which provided continuous competition for the 2000 spectators between three remaining rounds of the World Professional Latin.
Also in attendance at the evening event were members of the WD&DSC presidium and its recently retired president, Karl Brauer. (He has a villa in the south of France.) There was an exceptionally fine floorshow during the evening provided by two very talented and well-coordinated French couples. Their segue routine involved several Latin rhythms with a predominantly Paso Doble theme incorporating some very impressive synchronized cape work and flamenco by the two men and innovative costuming by the two ladies.
The entire proceedings were conducted in French, so one had to follow the printed program and listen intently for one's name to be announced. The adjudicators and all the competitors were introduced by country at the commencement of the evening program, including those who had not reached the quarterfinal round.
There were several striking couples in the quarter- and semifinals that particularly impressed me. The second German couple, Oliver Seefeldt and Anna-Karina Moosman; the couple from Greece, Kiril Pandov and Sandra Gavala; the couple from South Africa, Ryno Van Den Berg and Svetlana Tishina; the two French couples, Pierre-Henri Dignac and Angelique Dignac-Pires, Cyril Cerveau and Emilie Caille; a couple well known in the U.S. but for the present are dancing for Bulgaria, Plamen Danailov and Radostina Gerova, and of course, our own U.S. Champions, Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kryuchkova, who I understand could be considered in seventh position based on the number of recalls to the final.
I marked both our couples into the final because I genuinely felt they both deserved it according to their dancing and the competition present on the night. As it turned out, the final six couples were:
Sixth place, Paul Richardson and Olga Rodionova, USA. In several dances, I marked them much higher than their overall placing. Their jive particularly put them in the top four on energy and Jive characteristics.
Fifth place, Matthew Cutler and Charlotte Egstrand, England. To me, they appeared to try to impress so much that at times it was at the expense of good technique. I am not going to nit-pick, but when seeing such brilliant dancing exhibiting such wonderful articulation of leg and foot action, not to mention arm styling and charismatic expression even in the semifinal, I expect more of a finalist. The man's facial expressions detract from their performance.
Fourth place: Serguei Ryupin and Elena Kvorova, Russia. Here is an extremely attractive couple. Elena is a strikingly beautiful woman who wore a costume to enhance her toned and tanned body. Serguei appears to partner her well and indeed draws attention to Elena. This is a clever credit to him because he doesn't exhibit the energy and body rhythm of the other male finalists and my overall impression of him is often flat-footed and static.
Third place: Andrej Skufca and Katerina Venturini, Slovenia. The form leading up to this event would have potentially had them second to the Champions, with the absence of the two other couples (Slavik/Karina, Dimitry/Anna), so I am sure they were disappointed with this result. I spoke to several judges later who did prefer them to their rivals, but they did not convince me of their claim for the higher placing. It was as if they were dancing their form performance to produce a form outcome.
Second place: Michael Malitowski and Johanna Leunis, Poland. I must admit being impressed with their performance the week before in Blackpool, so I approached the World's with certain expectations. The French audience was very much in their favor and the absence of other charismatic couples enabled them to produce a standout performance. Artistically, Johanna captured everyone's attention and although there is criticism of Michael's posture, his partnering skills enable Johanna the freedom and yet the strength and support to create the most exquisite shapes and forms. In fact, Michael sacrificed too much of himself in Paso Doble for my liking, being as it is predominantly the man's dance. This resulted in mostly abstract shapes from Johanna, which I found not to be in character with Paso, the only dance that I did not place them second.
First place: Brian Watson and Carmen, Germany. Chalking up yet another World title, the reigning champions produced a level of dance and composure to hold off the competition. They were unruffled by the audience support for Michael and Johanna and danced with full commitment from the semifinal to the end of the final round. Their victory was well received by the audience and right to their final exit after photo session and honors dance, they exhibited charm and poise.
Competitors, judges, and officials returned to the hotel for a most enjoyable party with food and drink in abundance. These gatherings offer an excellent opportunity to congratulate and compliment many of the couples on their performance. There can only be one champion, but many couples can enjoy a sense of accomplishment in their performance and representation of their country. Very often an encouraging comment can be extremely important during these experiences.
So after a few hours sleep, I began the journey home via Germany, having thoroughly enjoyed my experience and grateful to the National Dance Council of America for this marvelous opportunity.