Issue 2015/06: Hometown Heroes | The GrandSlam STD Stuttgart

::: WDSF Press Release ::: Issue 06/08/2015 :::

Hometown Heroes | The GrandSlam STD Stuttgart

Over the past ten years, the victories at the GrandSlam Standard Stuttgart were divided up between one Danish, two Italian and two German couples. Six wins went to the host country, three to Italy and one to Denmark. Simone Segatori - Annette Sudo, GER, were first in 2014, claiming the second GrandSlam of their career after 2014 Hong Kong and starting on a streak that has not stopped yet.

If the two plan on matching their German predecessors when it comes to dominance at the GrandSlam Stuttgart, they will need a win this year too – and then three more until 2018. Benedetto Ferruggia - Claudia Koehler won here non-stop between 2008 and 2012!

Another victory by Segatori - Sudol would definitely get celebrated at the DanceSport Club Astoria Stuttgart too. Both dancers represent this club – as did Ferruggia - Koehler before them. That a local couple is always among the contenders for the home GrandSlam is one of Stuttgart’s peculiarities. And one that converted this city into the Mekka of DanceSport over the past decade!

But let’s not preempt what will end up being a tight competition between the Germans and the other favourites. In 2015 Hong Kong, Dmitry Zharkov and Olga Kulikova, RUS, came within less than two points in a total score of nearly 200 for all five dances to stage the first major upset for the year.

Vaidotas Lacitis - Veronika Golodneva, LTU, Francesco Galuppo - Debora Pacini, ITA, Nikolay Darin- Natalia Seredina, MDA, and Bjorn Bitsch- Ashli Williamson, DEN, are the Hong Kong finalists looking to repeat their exploits in Stuttgart.

Evaldas Sodeika and Ieva Zukauskaite, LTU, who chose to skip dancing in Hong Kong, are on the starting list for Stuttgart. They better be there too, if they plan to qualify for the Shanghai Showdown in December. Four GrandSlam results will be required for that.

GrandSlam Trophies by Swarovski

Besides the peer recognition, the applause of an expert public and the generous prize money, new GrandSlam trophies are awarded to those who end up on top on 15 August. Just in time for Stuttgart, the WDSF partner Swarovski created a set of GrandSlam trophies. These were developed with new technology and a computer-controlled machine cut that is unique to Swarovski. It produces concave and convex facets that capture all the elegance and precision of the dancers.

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