The 3rd and 4th July 2024 saw the inaugural promotion of the “Hong Kong Open to the World Dance Championships”. Wow what a venue for this event to take place, the iconic Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre!
The Professional Ballroom Championship was held on the evening of Thursday 4th July as the finale to this fantastic event and what a finale this was. Such was the high standard of this final seven couples contested the title.
The winners, Stas Zelianin and Irena Cherepanova, danced superbly well, showing their improvement in many aspects of their performance. They are well deserving of their accolades at this moment and won all five dances.
Second place went to Stas Portanenko and Natalyia Koliyada. They too danced extremely well and they are now showing more maturity within their performance. They were second in all five dances.
Third place went to Alex Gunnarson and Ekaterina Bond. This was such a hotly contested final. Since turning professional this pair are dancing with much more harmony and making natural, look easy. They were third in all five dances.
Fourth place went to Philip and Joanna. They have a quality of movement and musicality which makes the onlooker feel the emotion they are delivering within their performance. They were fourth in all five dances.
Fifth place went to Sergie Sutyrin and Natalia Sazhina. This pair have always been very consistent competitors. On this occasion they showed being in a grand final is where they want to be and their performance mirrored that thought. They were fifth in four dances and seventh in Slow Foxtrot.
Sixth Place went to Peter and Amelia. Trying to break into a final has always been difficult for this couple, not because their dancing wasn't good enough, but because the competition is of a very high level. Well they made it this time and did not look out of place in the company they danced with. They tied sixth in Waltz, sixth in three dances and seventh in Quickstep.
Seventh place went to Vasily and Ekaterina Kirin. A dynamic couple who show and produce exciting shapes and energy. On this occasion they had more quality in their actions showing why they deserved to be in this final. They tied sixth in Waltz seventh in two dances, fifth in Slow Foxtrot and sixth in Quickstep.
This was not just about the final. The semi final was hotly contested as well. A notable performance from David Cockram and Rosie Ward from the UK who were next into the Final.
Congratulations to Mark Robertson for this spectacular event. A promoter of an extremely exciting festival! This inaugural event looks like the beginning of a major bash in Asia.
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