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"America's Ballroom Challenge No. 4"
- Author:
- Elizabeth Knoll, 2-time Ohio Star Ball Champion
- Date Published:
- March 1, 2007
The Ohio Star Ball
As seen on TV as "America's Ballroom Challenge"
Fourth of a five-part series
Week Four: The Best Show on Earth!
It just seems to get better and better. No offense to the American Style dancers, but International is truly the epitome of what we do. The Standard events are usually the highlight of international competitions; the whole week of Blackpool builds to the Amateur Standard on Thursday night and the Professional Standard on Friday night. Here in the United States, we love our flash and bling, so the Latin events are usually the culmination of the weekend. And so it was with the Ohio Star Ball.
The weekend, spread out for us TV viewers, led us to the International Latin, which right now is the most exciting competition, at least at the top. For me this was a two-couple competition, with a bit of a gap between the top two and the rest of the field. Not to say the rest of the dancers are bad! Not in the least! But the two champions are truly world-class dancers. Not that we'd know it, based on the stupid camera work. I counted. The top two couples received about 1/3 of the total airtime given to the couples. I'm very happy for the rest of the competitors, that they get their day in the sun, and I hope this leads to an increase in business for them, but SERIOUSLY!!!!! For those of us who didn't attend the Ohio Star Ball, we would really like to have seen the entire competition, and seen more of the champions. They film this in November, and it's not aired until February. Can't they edit it so we see WHY the placements came out the way they did?
So once again, I will comment on the couples in the placements they received, not as I saw it on TV, because if I did that, then the champions would be in 6th place. Ridiculous.
1. Max Kozhevnikov and Eulia Zagoruychenko NJ 21121 (What are these numbers? They are the placements of the couple in the order of the dances danced--Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Jive). A stellar couple. Well, mostly. I love Eulia, except what was that satin bed sheet she was wearing?? I think my crazy Aunt Betty had sheets like that. No one can take their eyes off her. She is perfectly balanced, technically flawless, beautiful, feminine, compelling. Max is probably the reason she can be all those things, and indeed if you watch him, he's fabulous. But in my opinion he takes too much of a backseat to her. I'd like to see more of the man! Watch them on slow motion, and you see the total commitment and balance and synchronization. Nearly perfect.
2. Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kruchkova NJ 12212 We in Portland have had the great good fortune of seeing this couple in person. The reigning US Champions, they must have been very disappointed to take second. (I won't say "lose" since at this level the couples are all champions.) The best part about this couple is their relationship. Good dancers, good technique, but overall you get the feeling they are DANCING TOGETHER. Great. Because of their height difference, they sometimes try choreography that is a little weird, and sometimes leaves Elena in awkward positions.
A note about the top two couples: this result has been a long time coming in the US. Max and Eulia consistently do well overseas, but it's been Andrei and Elena here in the States for some time. I have seen both couples live, although haven't judged them against each other yet, and quite honestly I think they are both great. It's hard to understand how anyone marks anyone over Max and Eulia since they are so committed, so flawless, so exciting and take up so much space. They dominate the floor. But Andrei and Elena have a real partnership, very balanced between man and woman.
3. Andre Paramanov and Natalie Canada 34333 A unique couple. Very odd looking at times, and completely compelling at others. Too inconsistent for me, although they are the current Canadian Champions, and very dominant as such. Natalie has a great, flexible back, one of the best on the floor. But she does this weird crunchy thing with her toes when she points her feet: she scrunches her toes under her feet, and it looks all kinked up. Just point your toes! You don't have to prove you have strong, flexible feet by doing that. (Thank goodness Natalie didn't wear the dress you see her wearing in clips of the early rounds.....sort of a spider-web thing with yarn "dream catchers" hanging from the skirt. I kid you not. Awful.) And don't show a couple at the end of the Jive who are at the end of their energy! Show me someone who is still dancing!
4. Ilya Iframov and Nadia Goulina NJ I assume they were second in the Samba, although the marks were not read out. They got a lot of airtime, which gave us plenty of time to hate his shirt. Ick. Hawaii meets night club. Her dress was very pretty and feminine, though, looked like fringe on chiffon. I'm not normally a fan of pink for Latin dresses, but this was nice. Good dancing, not inspiring.
5. Vaidas Skimeljas and Jurga Pupnylete CA I have loved this couple since I first saw them a couple of years ago. They have started to make a real impact, first solidifying themselves on the West Coast, and now going national. A great result for them. They are tall, elegant, use their bodies and feet well, and while they lose speed in the Cha Cha and Jive, their rhythm in Samba and their lines and characterizations in Rumba and Paso take them over the top. For me, they could have challenged at least the two couples ahead of them.
6. Delian Terziev and Boriana Deltcheva NY Another nice looking couple, very attractive and inoffensive. But again, a little uninspiring. I did not like the wedding-caked-tiered look of her dress, but did like their personal connection and easy presentation.
There were several couples in the semi-final that could have made the final, and should have been disappointed they did not. In the future, watch for Tomasz and Izabella Lewandowski (CA) and Danny Arbour and Miriam Savaria (Canada). They will both be there in the future.
Showdance: (now I will rank them in the order I would have placed them, with their actual placements in parentheses)
1. (1) Andrei and Elena Paso Doble. Great dancing, great entertainment, great use of costuming. Very evocative of the dance. Excellent presentation.
2. (2) Max and Eulia Segue. Although I think they are fabulous, and their placement in the competition was correct, and they ARE the reigning World ShowDance Champions, this number fell short of the winners' Paso. They are so compelling to watch, but this number was a little lacking in drama! Go figure! And I think they are THE most exciting couple out there. I actually thought when I saw the number live last week that it wasn't as charismatic as it could have been.
3. (5) Vaidas and Jurga Segue. Oooh, fabulous. She is so trusting, and the choreography was so innovative. I loved it. Slo-mo showed a couple of faults in turns, but really good overall! Great music.
4. (6) Delian and Boriana Segue. Intriguing. I sure wish they had danced like this in the comp. Loved the "breathing" lead with the music. Excellent. Unlike Tony Meredith (more on the show's commentary in the next article), I hated the costumes. Ick. A black tutu with his ripped shirt? Double ick.
5. (4) Ilya and Nadia "Respect" segue. Fun routine, but I just didn't get into it. Her legs are terrific, and the boy shorts under the tux jacket were great. Their strut and attitude worked really well. Wasn't as entertaining as the music would lead you to think.
6. (3) Andre and Natalie. I hated this number. And the costuming?? She looked like a feather duster. The audience apparently loved the number, judging from the applause. And he crashed into her at the end! Lucky she was already on the floor. Bad choice; I'd much rather have seen the number they did when they won the Canadian Championships: they performed a Rumba to "Autumn Leaves" that kept the audience mesmerized. THAT was a good show.
So overall, the TV show was pretty good. The presentation of the competition was much better than in previous shows, even though we still didn't see much of the champions. I did not like any of the show demonstrations. On all of the previous shows, the first number featured a retired professional couple in the style of dance to be presented that night. This week, instead they offered the #2 Amateur Latin couple, Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Valeria Kozharinova. Why not a pro couple? Do we not have some who could do it? (several come to mind, including James and Jaana Kunitz) I thought our reigning US Amateur 10-dance couple, Pasha Pashkov and Inna Brayer were a huge disappointment; I usually like his dancing a lot, and this time she stood out and he appeared tentative and weak. And representing the Pro-am was the lady we girls should aspire to be like when we grow up, Ruthie Perkins, with her teacher Ben Ermis. While normally Ruthie's dancing is very easy to watch, and fun, this was not. Was it the costuming? I'm not a fan of pants for Smooth, unless they are so full they look like a skirt, but really I thought it was just a long weekend for both of them and they showed it. Slow, late and heavy movement that I don't associate with Ruthie, and some clumsy arm styling also uncharacteristic of this graceful lady.
Next up is the wrap-up article that will include some history of the Ohio Star Ball, and my participation in it. It's been so fun to have ballroom dancing on mainstream TV, and it'll tide me over until "Dancing with the Stars" on March 19. Can't wait!
GO DANCING!!!!!!!!!