The Champions renewed their titles

Alexey Kondrashin – Darina Kozlova (RUS)

It was a triumphant day for Armen Tsaturyan and Svetlana Gudyno (RUS) who came to Paris, wow’d the French crowd and won their fourth European Championship title, the third one in a row. As being also the first qualifying event for Latin, they took a strong lead in the ranking for the World Games 2021. The French crowd appreciated the Russians as the cheers for them were just as loud as they were for the French, Charles-Guillaume Schmitt – Elena Salikhova when they entered the dance floor at Stade Pierre de Coubertin for the first time on the first heat of the first round.

In the final, Armen and Svetlana didn’t give a chance for the other couples, scoring the highest points in each of the five dances. Jive turned out to be the best for them as they scored 39.000, their highest scores in the competition. Behind them were the two German couples, Marius-Andrei Balan – Khrystyna Moshenska, who won silver and Timur Imametdinov – Nina Bezzubova, who won the bronze. The loudest chants were, however, directed to Charles-Guillaume Schmitt – Elena Salikhova (FRA), who ranked fourth. The couple had many family members and friends on site, and as they started supporting the rest of the crowd joined them in full. Andrea Silvestri – Martina Varadi (HUN) ranked fifth and Edgar Marcos Borjas – Alina Nowak (POL) completed the final and ranked sixth.

The reigning Champions renewed their title also in Acrobatic Rock’n’Roll as Alexey Kondrashin – Darina Kozlova (RUS) took home the title of the 2019 WRRC European Championship Acrobatic Rock’n’Roll Main Class Free Style. The couple ranked third in foot technique but scored well enough in the acrobatics to gain the highest total scores. The runners-up represented Russian Federation as well, and the President of FDSARR Ms. Nadezhda Erastova had a pleasure to congratulate Konstantin Samoylov - Anastasia Gusarova (RUS) for the silver and Ivan Kudryashov – Margarita Charkovskaya (RUS) for their bronze medals.

The joint event with Latin and Rock’n’Roll turned out to be a great learning experience, not only for the spectators but also for the couples, as they were mingling backstage, talking to each other and asking questions about their disciplines. Standard and Latin couples were amazed by the acrobatics, saying the performances gave goosebumps. And vice versa. They all recognized the hard work behind the scenes, which seems invisible for the spectators. The dedication of the couples for DanceSport was also mentioned by Mrs. Miriam Kerpak-Izan, the President of WRRC, and Mr. Charles Ferreira, the President of FFD, on their opening speeches as they congratulated the couples for being there at the European Championships.

WDSF World Open Standard was the third highlight of the Saturday in Paris. Madis Abel – Aleksandra Galkina (EST) secured the win with a margin of 3.247 points over the runners-up, Vadim Shurin – Anastasia Meshkova (LAT). Pasquale Farina - Sofie Koborg (DEN) ranked third. On Sunday, the WDSF International Open Latin was won by Winson Tam - Anastasia Novikova (CAN). Sutu George - Tereza Florova (CZE) ranked second and Egor Kondratenko - Mie Lincke Funch (DEN) ranked third.

At the same time in Bari, Italy, the WDSF International Open Latin on Friday was won by Giacomo Lazzarini - Michelle Nazarenus (BIH) and the WDSF International Open Standard on Saturday by Alexey Glukhov - Anastasia Glazunova (RUS).

Congratulations to the Champions, runners-up and the finalists!

Armen Tsaturyan - Svetlana Gudyno (RUS) | © Egli