2019 WDSF World Championship Standard | Vilnius (LTU)

The 2018 WDSF World Championship Standard in Vienna (AUT) was an unforgettable event. Not only because of all the emotions which were spilled on the dance floor during and after the competition by the winners of their fourth World title, Dmitry Zharkov – Olga Kulikova (RUS), but also because of the exciting and tight final between the two runners-up, Evaldas Sodeika – Ieva Zukauskaite (LTU) and Francesco Galuppo – Debora Pacini (ITA). The two couples were practically tied in scores throughout the final, and the excitement continued all the way to the end, to the last dance of the final, and to the last scores. With a difference of only 0.75 points in total scores, Evaldas and Ieva won the silver medals and Francesco and Debora secured the bronze medals.

A year has passed, and the 2019 WDSF World Championship Standard in Vilnius (LTU) will witness the beginning of a new reign and a new era. The title is open and all the couples have been planning their training and competition schedules in a way they will be able to put on their best performances at Siemens Arena on Saturday. 78 couples representing 44 countries have been nominated by the WDSF National Member Bodies to start their journey towards the final and to pursue the highly sought-after and prestigious World title at 13:00 local time (12:00 CET).

For the third time in history the WDSF World Championship Standard will be competed in Lithuania. The previous editions took place in 2004 and in 2015. The organisers have written on the competition website: ”The winter will begin with a weekend of passionate competition and beautiful show. The excellence of dancers will move you and warm the deepest places of your heart and soul.”  With the World’s finest elite of Standard dancing on the floor the promises made by the organisers will surely be kept.

If you can’t be there in Vilnius on Saturday, tune in to DanceSportTotal.com, as starting from the quarterfinal round onwards we will be broadcasting the event live, world-wide. The quarterfinal is scheduled at 18:35 CET, semifinal at 20:25 CET and the final at 21:30 CET.

The second title event of the week which we will be keeping an eye on takes place in Bonn (GER), the 2019 World Para Dance Sport Championships which will kick-off on Friday and continue until Sunday. 231 athletes from 26 countries will take part in the biggest World Para DanceSport Championships ever. Live stream will be available at all semifinals and finals, and we will keep you posted!