The Presidential Task Force to Combat Competition Manipulation (CCM TF) in DanceSport met in Vienna, AUT, on Sunday 20 November. In their second meeting since the task force was created earlier this year, the three members - President Lukas Hinder, ethics in sports expert Harri Syväsalmi and the author of the WDSF Code of Ethics Daniel Stehlin - started the process of conducting hearings with some of the different stakeholders in DanceSport. While these hearings - actually, they are very informal and un-minuted meetings - are kept confidential by the parties, the TF reports on the outcome of all of its other deliberations.
In this case, WDSF takes pride in announcing that another anti-manipulation measure that is based on the recommendations of the task force gets implemented after both the Sports Commission and the Managing Committee have approved it.
Deviating from the procedure in the past - and for a trial period of a still undetermined duration - WDSF will publish the names of all the Adjudicators making up the panels at title and GrandSlam events. The following Adjudicators will officiate at the 2016 WDSF GrandSlam Finals in Shanghai on 1o and 11 December.
2016 GrandSlam Finals Shanghai | Panel of Adjudicators
Marie Raiend |
NZL |
Atsushi Yamada |
JPN |
Andrey Shamshurov |
RUS |
Petra Matschullat-Horn |
GER |
Domenico Soale |
ITA |
Petr Pastorek |
SVK |
Zhang Qingshu |
CHN |
Diana Mitt |
EST |
Jens Werner |
DEN |
Tatsiana Lavinovich |
BLR |
Denise Mayes |
England |
Martynas Kura |
LTU |
Two great World Championships were held on 19 and 20 November at the Multiversum in Vienna - Schwechat, AUT. Finnish dancers Jaak Vainomaa and Taina Savikurki secured their first world title in Ten Dance after a particularly strong showing in the Latin section. In the World ShowDance Latin of the Professional Division, Austrians Vadim Garbuzov and Kathrin Menzinger won their third world title with "I Am a Refugee," a show that takes up on current events and the drama of millions emigrating from their war-torn countries.
Both World Championships will become available on Vimeo. The one on the 2016 World Ten Dance from Friday 2 December as a Vimeo on Demand programme (US$ 3.75 for a 3-month streaming period).
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/2016worldtendance
The one of the PD World ShowDance Latin will get released at no charge in the course of the next week!
Vadim Garbuzov - Kathrin Menzinger, AUT, win their third World Champion title in ShowDance, their second in Latin, ahead of runners-up Michele Cantanna - Maria Richter, GER. Third place goes to Marco Zingarelli - Ilaria Campana, ITA.
The range of topics that the performances in this year's PD World Showdance Latin are based on is as wide as ever. On the lighter side, we have "Super Mario" doing Nintendo antics to the amusement of the audience while on the other end of the spectrum the statement "I Am a Refugee" should trigger more serious reflection.
Which one will convince the panel of judges remains to be seen. Both performances - Michele Cantanna - Maria Richter, GER, with "Super Mario" and the "Refugees" Vadim Garbuzov - Kathrin Menzinger, AUT - made it to the 8-couple final. Five couples have already assumed their respective places in the final standing of the PD World Championship. Click here!
Watch the first videos on the WDSF YouTube channel DanceSport Total.
The 2016 PD World Showdance Latin is today's highlight at the Austrian Open. The first round is currently in progress and 13 couples have entered the championship.
While waiting for the first photographs to become available from that, we suggest that you watch some of the many videos that were recorded during the 2016 World Ten Dance Championship held here yesterday.
Go to the WDSF YouTube channel DanceSport Total.
Reporting continues from Vienna, AUT, as there is a substantial backlog of videos from yesterday's World Ten Dance that still needs processing, i.e. editing and uploading. However, the members of the WDSF Communications team feel much like the finalists who went the distance by four sets of 10 dances in something like ten hours: exhausted. And there is another World Championship to go: the 2016 PD World ShowDance Latin is scheduled to start later this afternoon.
Stay tuned for more!
Jaak Vainomaa - Taina Savikurki, newly crowned World Champions in Ten Dance, are being celebrated in the Finnish media!
Jaak Vainomaa - Taina Savikurki, FIN, win their first world title in Ten Dance after putting up a fight for every dance in the Latin section and after coming back from more than two points down in the Standard. Runners-up were Daniil Ulanov - Kateryna Isakovych, CYP, who made it three out of three second places in World Championships between 2014 and 2016. Second runners-up were the reigning European Champions Konstantin Gorodilov - Dominika Bergmannova, EST, who lost much terrain in the Standard but fought back by winning five out of five.
Two rounds of Latin and two of Standard have already been completed by the 12 couples that have made it to this semi-final. It should get underway shortly at the packed - albeit not fully - Multiversum. Last year's World Latin was a 100% sell-out, but there are clearly some unsold seats tonight. We wonder why: the dancing is great and you actually get twice the dosage that you would in another World Championship - for the same ticket price!
From this point, the couples still in contention have to perform another 20 dances and change their attires twice.