1st Alessio Potenzizni and Veronika Vlasova, Russia. Alessio is such a showman and great to watch. They had bags of confidence and conviction to win this very important Championship. They blend their use of power and subtlety very well to create an interesting performance. They danced a very nice Viennese Waltz, and their Tango and Quickstep are first class. I must also compliment Veronika on her wonderful dancing. Congratulations on securing this great Championship.
2nd Vladislav Shakov and Ekaterina Popova, USA. They just managed to arrive in 2nd place after a close battle with the 3rd and 4th placed couples. They received every mark from 1st to 6th, and in the individual dances W T VW F Q they were placed 2 6 1 4 2. They are a very attractive couple with good style and a quality of movement that confirms their very good technical ability. Some adjudicators had them to win while others were marking them 6th. I must say that this can happen with adjudicators having very different opinions, and I admit that I also found them very difficult to assess.
3rd Rudiger Homm and Katia Kanevskaya, Germany. They finished with the following places, 4 2 5 2 3. They are another couple who are difficult to assess. They dance with their own style (which is good), but I see it as being heavy. I feel they should investigate some small changes to the hold, and try to be more flexible with body contact. If they can develop in this way I would be very happy.
4th Mark and Olga Elsbury, England. They finished with 3 4 2 3 4 in the individual dances. They were unlucky with this result but they did not dance at their very best, and this effected Olgas poise. However, they have such quality of movement and style which could result in much higher placings in the future.
5th Iaroslav Bieliei and Liliia Gladiuk, USA. I really like the look of this couple and they are now very experienced competitors. I noted that they had a very good start to their Tango, and generally they used their upper bodies and their head weight very well. I can see that Iaroslav drops his hip line slightly on many line figures, and generally could benefit from a stronger use of that area of the body.
6th Gianni Caliandro and Arianna Esposito, Italy. They danced really well all day and must have been disappointed with this low placing in the final. They are very good in all departments and I thought Arianna was one of the best ladies on the floor. I saw them as dancing with better timing – light and musical – softer and more flowing. They were unlucky to finish in 6th place.
Into the semi-final were the following couples.
7th Sergey Sutyrin and Natalia Sazhina, Russia. This is a wonderful partnership. I made many complimentary remarks about them during the day. They have power without force. So their weight connection is very good. They had some wonderful pieces of choreography in the foxtrot, and their quickstep was light, with speed and wonderful harmonious movement. For me they were a certainty for a high place in the final.
8th Go Hashimoto and Keiko Onda, Japan. I have never seen this couple dance better. I noticed a real improvement in their posture and the way they used their head weight. They are the Japanese Champions and must have been pleased with this performance but disappointed with the result.
9th Jack Beale and Natalia Beale, England. Now one of the top couples in England, and they are improving all the time. They have good style and movement, and are slowly getting more weight connection to the floor. I think their biggest problem now is the co-ordination between the legs and the body, as this will effect how the feet work. I thought Natalia danced very well and more freedom through the right side of the body from Jack would help her even more.
10th Kenji Moriwaki and Miku Matoba, Japan. I was pleased that this couple made the semi-final and it was well deserved. They have danced very well recently, and are finalists in all the major events in Japan. They are beginning to use their body weight, and this is adding more power to the movement.
11th Damiano Soldati and Laura Fox, England. They danced really well, and in the semi-final were at their very best. I can see that Laura is a wonderful dancer. They are improving all the time, and they have an amazing Quickstep. If they can continue in this way they they will have a terrific future.
12th Marek Klepadlo and Nina Yana, USA. They did very well to make this high level semi-final. I found them best in foxtrot, which suits their long legs, and free swing. I noticed some funny choreography in Tango so I would get that checked out. I also notice that Nina was a bit held and stiff in all dances. They have a lovely personality and look as if they really enjoyed their dancing, so overall, well done.
