ADULT LATIN November 17, Vienna, Austria
It’s fitting for a ballroom dance competition to take place in Vienna, Austria. The traditionally romantic city has its own dance as a namesake—the Viennese Waltz. It was also one of the last cities to discontinue the traditional nineteenth-century ball. Dancing is part of the city’s genetic makeup.
“It was nice to see how other countries dance,” he said. “We usually dance in America, so it was fun to see people from other countries all over the world.”
But this year’s competitors weren’t waltzing in elaborate ball gowns. Vienna hosted the World Championship Adult Latin finals, which brought 93 couples to Europe to compete in the samba, cha cha, rumba, paso doble and jive in a large sports arena with cameras on every corner of the dance floor. Pavel Stepanchuk and Anastasiya Danilova, both USA Dance members, placed 25th out of the 93 couples, ranking in the top 27 percent of competitors. Italy’s Aniello Langella and Khrystyna Moshenska took first place, joined by dancers from the Russian Federation, Denmark, Moldova and Germany in the final round.
Pavel Stepanchuk & Anastasiya Danilova Photos By Roseanna Richards
“This was our first time competing in World Championships,” Pavel said. “We had no expectations, no idea what would happen. We were very happy to be in the quarter finals. We were proud to represent the USA.” Pavel also said that dancing in the World Championships gave him the opportunity to see people from all over the world dance with their own unique styles. www.USAdance.ORG
2013 January - February
27