The WDC AL European Juvenile Latin Championship held every year at the Blackpool Winter Gardens is a must in the diary for all International competitors. This year was no exception with couples travelling from far and wide to compete for this coveted title.
Into 1st place was no 122 Luca Ivanets and Pebble Rose Spratt, following on from their recent win at the UK Open in January they must have been the favourites to win this title. They were closely contested and were placed 1,2,1,1. They danced with great confidence covering the floor with a very clean visual energy. Luca has a great sense of frame in both styles and this attributes greatly to the success of this couple. Pebble has a good understanding of the timings of her legs and feet and produces a good solid action. Congratulations to both of you on obtaining this prestigious title.
2nd was couple 180 Zixuan LIU and Qiaoyu DENG
This couple produced a fabulous performance and were definitely pushing the couple in front of them for first place being marked 2,1,2,2. They have a super contained use of the body, great awareness of their centres and release of energy and are a very well rehearsed couple. They showed great presence and charisma with super attention to detail in their leg and rhythm actions. Well done!
3rd place number 240 Michael WONG and Selene WANG 3,3,3,3
Again another super strong couple from China showing great strength in their leg and body actions. A lovely rhythmical and technical couple, a very effervescent girl. Nice clean work that was very readable both in choreography and actions. Very well done. A new partnership that has not been together that long so must have been thrilled with this result. Showing great promise for the future.
4th place number 105 Nazar Melnychuk and Mira Hrinchenko 4,4,4,4
Number 105 were very rhythmical in their Samba action using the hip and bounce action very nicely. The technique was very clean and clear to read and for children of this age it is very nice to see a clear understanding of the different rhythms. They showed a good presence and awareness of their arms and usage, filling the space around them fully. Well done.
5th place was number 224 Oleh Lytvynenko and Emiliya Rudovskaya 5,5,5,5
A beautiful little couple, the boy has a very contained energy and use of his body and the girl is very slick. A super action from both of them with good strong straightening of legs leaving nothing to chance. Very on their feet and confident in their weight transfer from foot to foot. Definitely a charismatic couple to watch out for in the future.
6th place was 74 Joe Zhiyang Qiao and Victoria Chengliya Zhang 6,7,6,6
A super couple from Asia that have a very contained energy with great control of the hip and middle action. They lack a little bit of urgency and the staccato action in cha cha which can make them look slow in comparison to the other couples but saying that still a great accomplished little juvenile couple.
In to 7th place was 95 David Dobo Williams and Avarose Boliver 7,6,7,7
A strong upright posture and quiet confidence from this couple. A nice action that is a little bit clipped and not quite fluid enough but they do show good use of the music and lead and follow with a good action and reaction. Well done to both of you on making this final.
Image credit: MJO Photography
