Stefano and Anna's last competition together in Blackpool
Every competitive dancer awaits the last week of May for the Blackpool Dance Festival. This is where the biggest and the best fight it out on the dancefloor for the coveted British Open Championship title. With Carmen and Bryan retiring last year before blackpool, Michael Malitowski and Joanna Leunis have become the couple to defeat when they won last year’s Blackpool Professional Latin Championship.
Well the polish couple (in an expected outcome) defended their titles becoming Blackpool champions for the 2nd time around. Riccardo Cocci and Yulia Zagorouitchenko is again at number 2 over all but placing first during the Jive Round (GO RULIA!). With Peter and Kristine Stokkebroe taking a leave of absence from the dancing world as Kristina expects their first baby, Franco Formica and Oxana Lebedew have replaced them in the bronze position. I was afraid that Sergey and Melia would take the third this time without them (I’m sorry I really dont like Melia, she has the worst technique I swear just my opinion). Crowd favorites when they we’re amateurs, Maurizio Vescovo and Melinda Törökgyorgy are at number 5. Sadly Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova didn’t make it to any of the Finals this year (they made it to the Jive finals last time), their still my favorite couple though.
In the Amateur Category, my idols, Stefano Di Filippo and Anna Melnikova won the Amateur Latin title by winning in all 5 dances (god this couple is unbeatable). What was unexpected though was the tie between Croatian couple Zoran Phlol & Tatsiana Lavinovich and Alexei Silde and Anna Firstova from Russia. Special rules we’re used to determine the 2nd place and it eventually went to Zoran and Tatsiana. Personally I’ve always liked this couple though their routines tend to have to many tricks and not enough basic figures but I think its about time judges gave them a higher ranking (I wonder when will they ever turn pro).
In a twisted turn of events, after winning the Amateur Latin championship title, Stefano and Anna announced the end of their partnership (WHY OH WHY) and Anna announced she would be dancing with a new partner (could she be Slavik’s new partner?). I really hate it when absolutely great partnerships end at the top of their prime, Stefano and Anna won every major competition they went to in 2008 including the coveted IDSF World Latin Championships in Australia (making them number 1 in the world). Its sad specially when I was just about to make a fanlisting/shrine to them -_-.