UPDATE Blackpool begins!

Posted on May 27, 2015

Blackpool Dance Festival has started, and the results are in for the first competitions. The Amateur Latin Championship was won by new champions Nikita Brovko and Olga Urumova, from Russia, with Morten Löwe and Roselina Doneva, from Denmark, second and Kirill Belorukov and Ekaterina Nikolaeva, from Russia, third. 

Igor Reznik and Mariya Polischuk, from Ukraine, won the Under 21 Ballroom Championship, with runners-up Evgeniy Sveridonov and Angelina Barkova, from Russia, and Patryk Ploszaj and Anna Kaczmarski, from the US, third. 

The Senior Ballroom competition was won by Csongor Balogh and Anita Szabo of Hungary, with England’s Phil Holding and Janine Desai in second place. China’s Kai Li and Jian Ying Xian came third.

The Professional Rising Star Latin champions were Ruslan Aydaev and Valeriya Kozharinova of Russia. Francesco Bertini and Sarina Mazi of the US were second, with Canada’s Jean-Philippe Milot and Laurence Bolduc coming third.

England’s AJ Pritchard and Chloe Hewitt triumphed in the Under 21 Latin category, with Austin Joson and Nino Dzneladze of the US in second place and Adam Hathazi and Morgana Lakatos-Hayward coming third.

The Amateur Rising Star Ballroom category was won by Ukraine’s Igor Reznik and Mariya Polischuk, with compatriots Aleksandr Kalenyuk and Olena Ablitsova in second place and Canada’s James Cutler and Virginie Primeau in third place.

The US won the team match, with Great Britain in second place, Europe third and Asia in fourth place.

Germany’s Andreas Hoffmann and Isabel Krüger won the Senior Latin category, with Martin Macoun and Jitka Bohacova of the Czech Republic in second place. Germany’s Meik and Bianca Sauer came third.

The Professional Rising Star Ballroom winners were Marek Kosaty and Paulina Glazik of Poland. Iaroslav Bieliei and Liliia Gadiuk of the US were in second place, with Japan’s Shintaro Asamura and Emi Toyama in third.

Look out for our in-depth Blackpool coverage in the July issue of Dance Today. You can also read about Pritchards’ Dance and Fitness Academy, run by the parents of Under 21 Latin champion AJ Pritchard, in our June issue.

Photograph: VisitBlackpool

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.