The Matsuri Goodwill Dance

Congratulations to Grace Nohara for organizing this wonderful event at the Pacific Beach Hotel last Friday evening June 19th. The buffet food was delicious (I think the Pacific Beach must be improving their menus). The ambiance was friendly and the general dancing was fun. Much of the dance music was by a visiting Japanese singer and professional dancer, which provided a very different atmosphere, and I think it was appreciated by many of our local dancers.

So, let us get to the evening entertainment and exhibitions. A local dancer who was sitting at my table saw me jotting down some notes on the exhibitions and exclaimed, “please be nice”! So, I will do my best and try to “be nice”. Please understand that my comments are my own personal views of the dancers – you can agree or disagree with them as you choose.

The first item on the program was a special presentation exhibition by the Japanese visitor, singer, and professional Kenichi Okada. He demonstrated an International Rumba and Cha Cha Cha with our local amateur lady Charlotte Bugarin. Both of them had had very little time to practice together and I thought it very brave of Charlotte to agree to dance the two numbers. The Rumba was OK but the Cha Cha Cha was not good. Mr. Okada seemed intent on proving what a good dancer he ‘wasn’t’. I don’t think Charlotte was expecting the advanced and inappropriate choreography he produced – the routine ended unexpectedly soon! Charlotte is an excellent dancer and I congratulate her on “hanging in there”. I am sure she will think twice before doing that again!

The first exhibition was that of Cole Horibe dancing a Paso Doble with Professional Yanna Samkova. This was an excellent presentation by both dancers. Cole was very masculine and dominant and Yanna very Spanish and the choreography appropriate and phrased with the music. In my opinion this exhibition should have closed the evening performances. Well-done Cole. The only comment that I have is that while I found your ponytail to be appropriate, I could not understand the many hair clips?

Next, an International Waltz demonstrated by Ed and Matilda Felix. Their choice of music and choreography was very good. They move well together but I would like to see more use of the feet and ankles to create more Rise and Fall. The characteristic of the Waltz is a pendulum action with a Rise and Fall. Matilda must also watch her footwork.

Sergio and Renna Villanuevo presented their students in a ‘formation’ routine that I found very busy and a little clumsy. I usually enjoy their special interesting presentations, but for me this one was not one of their best. Maybe they are getting to be a little too creative. However I think the audience enjoyed it and it was a welcome break from the Ballroom and Latin exhibitions.

Then we had a Professional Slow Foxtrot performance by Thomas Nakamura and Stephanie Uechi. Having just returned from the Blackpool Dance Festival I think my standards are much higher than normal. As a couple their quality of movement, technique, and footwork is very good. But they are an enigma to me. Both of them are good dancers. But not together! Stephanie is a beautiful dancer very powerful, she moves well with sound technique. Tommy is also an excellent dancer with good movement and timing. It seems at times that Stephanie is overpowering Tommy and Tommy seems to be straining to keep up with her. If he would only relax and take charge I think there would be a vast improvement. The West Coast Swing entry was very good, cute, and interesting but Tommy needs to look up to his audience and show off a little more!

Lucas Jaime has a young new lady student from Hilo (Big Island) and she really has a great deal of potential. Kristin Kunzer danced a Theatrical Latin number that was interesting and appropriate for her. Watch for more work from this young lady of dance.

Last on were Carlos Chang and Yulia Sharipova dancing a Samba. Carlos was wearing “Yulia Zagoruychenko fringe pants” which I did not think complimented his already great movement.. They made him look a little overweight! Miss Sharipova’s dancing is specious, she is a trained dancer and looks great when making lines, her ballet training gives her good discipline and technique but in my opinion, at this time, she is not a good Latin American dancer. She needs to develop a stronger foot, leg, and body action, she needs to connect more with her partner and show more personality and connection and feeling for the various rhythms of Latin dancing. She is young and I think she could. accomplish great heights by studying the basic action of each of the Latin American dances. She does have so much potential. I would like her to find an Amateur partner to progress further.

In all, a wonderful evening of good food, camaraderie, music and dancing. Mahalo to Grace Nohara.

BRITISH PROFESSIONAL BALLROOM CHAMPIONSHIP

JUST IN - STOP PRESS!!

For the first time the USA wins the British Championship! Arunas and Katusha placed 1st in all four dances this evening (Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, Tango and Quickstep) 2nd were Mirko and Edita (Italy) placing 2nd in all four dances. 3rd were Victor and Anastasia (USA) 3rd in Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, Tango and 4th in Quickstep. Into 4th place were Domenico Soale and Gioia Cerasoli (Italy)who were 4th in three dances and 3rd in Quickstep. Also for the first time there were three couples from the USA in the final - Giampiero Giannico and Anna Mikhed (USA) were 5th placing 5th in Waltz, Slow Foxtrot and Tango but did not make the final in the Quickstep. Into 6th place Domen Krapez and Monica Nigro (Slovania). 7th place Sascha and Natascha Karabey (Germany) and 8th place Warren and Kristi Boyce (England)

BRITISH AMATEUR LATIN CHAMPIONSHIP

This event for many was the highlight of the week. With so many great couples dancing I know the Judges must have been concerned about dropping so many potential finalists!
The first British Latin Championship was held in 1964 and was won by Mr. R Taylor and Miss A Gent from Sheffield. After 1964 there have been so many famous dance personalities.
1972/73 Alan and Hazel Fletcher, 1974 Peter Maxwell and Lyn Harman, 1976 Mr. & Mrs. Espen Salberg, 1978/79 David Sycamore and Denise Weavers, 1980/81 Donnie Burns and Gaynor Fairweather, 1982/83 Marcus Hilton and Karen Johnstone (Hilton), 1987 Martin Lamb and Alison Bray, 1992/91 Brian Watson and C Leoni, 1993 Paul Killick and Inga Haas, 1995 Louis Van Amstel (Dancing with the Stars) and Julie Fryer, 2000 Slavik Kryklyvyy and Joanna Leunis, 2005 Ricardo Cocchi and Joanne Wilkinson
This year there were 310 couples listed with 21 from the USA. Making it through to the Quarter Finals were Ruslan Aydaev and Valeriya Kazharinova and Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Daria Chesnokova. Only Valentin and Daria went on to the Semi Final and the Final.
Winners were from Croatia Zoran Plohl and Tatsiana Lahvinovich, 2nd from Slovenia Jurij Batagelj andJagoda Strukelj, 3rd from England Neil Jones and Ekaterina Sokolova, 4th from Denmark Martino Zanibellato and Michelle Abildtrup, 5th from USA Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Daria Chesnokova, 6th from Moldova Dorin Frecautanu and Roselina Doneva.

BRITISH UNDER 21 YEARS BALLROOM CHAMPIONSHIP

This event was also started in 1989 and was first won by Mr. Timothy Howson and Miss Amanda Owen (Dokman). In 1991 Joanne Bolton won this Championship dancing with Mr. M Reilly. Then Timothy dancing with Joanne were major finalists and British Champions in 2005. Mr. Christopher Hawkins and Miss Hazel Newberry placed first in 1992. Mr. William Pino and Miss Alessia Bucciarelli won this event in 1993. Mr. Jonathan Crossley with a Miss M DeBarra won in 1994. In 1996 Mr. Roberto Villa dancing with a Miss M Cerea won. Mr. Domenico Soale and Miss Gioia Cerasoli won in 1997. Mr Linas Korieva was a winner in 1998 with a Miss A Bubnelyte.
This year there were 140 couples listed. There were 4 couples from the USA and none of them made the quarter final (top 24). In the Semi Final (top 12) there were 4 couples from Poland, 2 couples from Russia, 2 couples from England, and 1 couple from Estonia, Ireland, Denmark, and China.
Winning the Championship were Chong He and Jing Shan from China winning all four dances, 2nd place from Russia Vladimir Rudko and Maria Ivanova, 3rd place from England Kyle Taylor and Liis End, 4th place from Russia Vasily Kirin and Ekaterina Prozorova, 5th place from Poland Mateusz Papuzynski and Katarzyna Czyzyk, 6th place from Estonia Szymon Kulis and Margarita Zuonova.

BRITISH SENIOR LATIN CHAMPIONSHIP

This event was first run in 1967 and from 1967 to 1985 it was won by an English couple. In 1986 and 1987 a Dr. & Mrs. G. Abraham from the USA were the first foreign couple to take the title away from the English. England took back the title in 1996 and in 2000. Couples from the following countries held the title up to last year: Belgium, Germany (two times), Japan, Czech Republic (three times), Spain (two times), Philippines, Finland, and France.
This year there were 85 couples listed to dance including 3 couples from the USA. The dances were Cha Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive was introduced into the Semi-Final and Final. Couples competing were from England (17), Germany (10), Japan (8), Finland (7), France (6), Canada (4), Hong Kong (4), Austria (3), Spain (3), USA (3), Australia (2), Portugal (2), Italy (2), Russia (2), China (2), The Netherlands (2), Singapore (2), and 1 couple from South Africa, Malta, Wales, Scotland, Croatia, and Belgium.
Hawaii was represented by Calvin and Debra Ota and although they did not make the first cut they showed more confidence than they did when they danced the Senior Ballroom. They got themselves into a little trouble in the Paso Doble. Apparently it had not been explained to them that Spanish Gypsy Dance is not used all the time at the British Championships. If we all had to listen to that piece of music, which would be played 200+ times during the week, we would go crazy. Most dancers adapt their choreography to the unusual count of Spanish Gypsy Dance but for competitive work it is better to work in counts of 8. Unfortunately Calvin and Debra had not understood this. Anyway they certainly did not disgrace themselves and I am sure it was a great learning experience for them.
Into 1st place from Finland Petri and Ulla Jarvinen, 2nd place from Germany Andreas Hoffmann and Isabel Krueger, 3rd place from Spain Roberto Hernandez and Beatriz Perez, 4th place from Russia Vadim Kardash and Elena Skvortsova, 5th place from Finland Jouko Karppinen and Helena Merta, 6th place from Belgium Slawek Lukawczyk and Edna Klein.

BRITISH PROFESSIONAL "RISING STARS" BALLROOM COMPETITION

There were 234 Professional couples listed to dance in this event. 21 couples were from the USA. No couples from Hawai'i except for Ikaika Dowsett with partner Olya Zhuk and I am not sure if they danced. If they did then they did not make the quarter final (top 24 couples). In the quarter final there were four couples and going into the semi final there were two couples - Andrea Faraci with Iveta Pauryte and Anton Koukareko with Alena Feaktsistava. The final result was 1st Valerio Colantoni and Yulia Spesivtseva from Russia. 2nd from Poland, 3rd from Azerbaijan, 4th from Russia, 5th Anton Lebedev and Anna Borshch from Canada, 6th from Russia.

BRITISH UNDER 21 YEARS LATIN CHAMPIONSHIP

This Championship which was first run in 1989 it has become a very important event – a stepping stone for young dancers many of whom go on to win major events. For instance in 1995 Miss Kimberly Mitchell who eventually danced professional Latin with Mr. Bill Sparks and became USA Latin Champion won this event dancing with Mr. Scott Montague. And in 1998 Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova took this championship and only this week they retired from a very successful Amateur and Professional career. In 1999 the current World, British, UK, International Latin Champion Michael Malitowski won dancing with a Miss J. Golczak. In 2003 Derek Hough (Dancing With The Stars) dancing with a Miss A Piowtrowska and representing Poland took first place. 2004 Mark Ballas (also Dancing With The Stars and son of Corky and Shirley Ballas) was dancing with a Miss D Zviagina for England took home the trophy. 2005 the current USA Amateur Latin Champion Valentin Chmerkovskiy dancing at that time with a Miss V Kozharinova placed first.
This year the Championship commenced with 237 couples listed to compete and 10 of these couples were representing the USA. Only one USA couple made it to the Semi Final (top 12) – Kyrylo Dovgalin and Anastasiia Danilova. The Championship was won this year by Vjaceslavs Visnakovs and Teresa Kizlo from Latvia. 2nd place fromUkraine. 3rd place from Germany. 4th place from Russia. 5th place from Ukraine. 6th place from Denmark.

PEOPLE'S CHOICE Results

This past weekend Carlos Chang attended People’s Choice Dancesport Competition in Scottsdale AZ with some of his students. I am sure that Carlos is very proud of their accomplishments as follows:
Ria Baldevia took 1st place in her Solo routine with 95 points. She picked up eight 1st places and four 2nd places and also won the Closed Bronze and Silver Latin Scholarship in the Ladies “A” division.
Charlotte Bugarin took two 1st places and two 2nd places as well as 1st place in the Ladies “B” division of the Closed Bronze and Silver Latin Scholarship.
Theresa Nakayama came home with nine 1st places, three 2nd places, and two 3rd places.
Janet Liu placed 1st in the Ladies “S” Closed Bronze and Silver Latin Scholarship. In the Freestyle she took one 1st place, four 2nd places, eight 3rd places, and three 4th places.
Yulia Sharipova dancing the Junior Gold Latin division took five 1st places and she also won the Ladies “A” 5-dance Latin competition.

BLACKPOOL

A little more information from last Friday evening. In the Senior (Over 35’s) Ballroom Championship there were 168 couples with 11 couples from USA. Two USA couples made it to the semi final (top 12) – David and Liva Wright (MA) and Xingmin and Katerina Lu (CA). This was truly an international event as you will see from the results: A couple from BELGIUM took 1st place. 2nd GERMANY, 3rd RUSSIA, 4th THE NETHERLANDS, 5th FRANCE and 6th USA Xingmin and Katerina Lu.

In the British Professional “Rising Stars” Latin Competition there were 259 couples. 25 couples from USA were entered and 6 of them made the Quarter Final (top 24). The Results were: 1st Russia, 2nd Italy, 3rd USA – Denis Podolskiy and Yuliya Kushnirenko (CA), 4th Russia, 5th Russia and 6th USA Yegor Novikov and Ekaterina Zakharoff (WA).

As reported earlier the USA won, for the third time, the International Invitation Professional Team Match.
This was an interesting and exciting event. Many great couples and champions performed putting on what has been described as the best Team Match yet. The Team USA Bizokas/Demidova, Fung/Muravyeva, Cocchi/Zagoruychenko, Katsevman/Manusova won all of the five Ballroom dances and were second in four of the Latin dances and tied with Team Europe in the Jive they received a total of 298.3 points. Team Europe: Gozzoli/Daniute (Italy), Krapez/Nigro (Slovenia), Formica/Lebedew (Germany), Malitowski/Leunis (Poland) were a very close second with 297.8 points. Team Great Britain: (who held the title for 30+ years) Boyce/Boyce, Short/Channa, Ivanets/Bellinger-Ivenets, Rebula/Heron finished 3rd with 290.8 points. Team Asia: Shoji/Shoji (Japan), Zhiratkov/Novozhilova-Popovic (Hong Kong), Park/Maidiuk (Korea), Ning/Ding Fang (China) were 4th with 289.8 points – only 1 point behind Great Britain.
Following the Team Match it was announced the Eugene Katsevaman and Maria Manusova were retiring as Professional Competitors. An emotional retirement letter from Eugene and Maria was read by Chairman Marcus Hilton. Eugene and Maria won the British Youth Latin Championship in 1998. Then as Amateurs they placed in many Championship finals. They were USA Amateur Latin Champions for many years. Turning Professional they placed in many finals. In 2009 they performed their spectacular show at the Hawai’i Star Ball.
They will continue their career teaching, judging and performing.