Carolyn looked at the first round of Amateur Latin.
PICK OF THE DAY
So for the first round of the Amateur Latin who did I choose to do the PICK OF THE DAY numbers during dinner at an Italian restaurant?
I will give you some clues:
- He is a Dance Icon
- He is from Ukraine
- He is an amazing dancer, very good looking and sooo charming
- Very knowledgeable about wine
I do not even have to write his second name... it is the one and only Slavik!!!
1 33 59 88 127 151 169 195 212 242 275 300
1 Karl Hallberg and Matilda Johansson from Sweden
I am sure this is the first time they came to Blackpool, quite relatively basic choreography, surely they have not yet been able to get everything together, but I am sure they got a lot of experience dancing on this amazing dance floor. I like the fact that they came and jumped into the deep end and competed against the top couples.
33 Oleksandr Vasylenko and Kateryna Panfilova from Ukraine
Nice compact action in Cha Cha, doing great New Yorkers. Rhythmical promenade runs down the long side. Wish they could have used more space in Rumba, they has 4 couples around them. They should have just simple done some Rumba walks to move away.
59 Jose Esquivel and Chanel Coles from USA
I like the pale blue dress. Seems to be not very experienced yet. They tend to anticipate the music in Cha Cha. Also the boy has maybe not yet understood the principals of connecting with his own body, there is certainly no definition of what he is doing yet. Struggling with the changes of directions in New Yorkers in Cha Cha. Would like to see more muscular tension in the girl when she is doing her merengue runs, a little ahead of the music. In the promenade or the boy is pulling the lady or the girl is not moving enough but they were struggling a little. Little bit busy in Rumba, drag, spins a bit of backs and then when it comes to fan, floes her feel really badly.
88 Aurimas Bartkus and Ieva Riepsaite from Lithuania
Very young couple with lots of potential. Good open hand rocks with spin and locks, but would look even better if they could both fill up the volume and fill in the music more. In Rumba the girl lifted her leg up and demonstrated a very bad foot position. There is a correct way of positioning the foot, but not like this.
127 Dong Jin Lee and Chae Lim Seo from South Korea
Nice zig zags in Cha Cha, would have been nicer if they could be more precise with the timing and the base smaller, which would automatically make the girls legs look good with her thighs closed. The boy could come down to earth a little, he has the tendancey to flit around too easily up and down. They place themselves nicely on the floor. I really like the presentation from the boy in every dance particularly at the beginning. I commented in the RS that the girl should tighten her base more when she does the zig zag in Samba and I saw the same error again tonight.
151 Li Di and Zhao Lei from China
I really like these two, one of my favourite couples. I find them so underrated in the competitions, meaning I find they do not get what they deserve. I would place them much higher to where they actually get. The girl has great legs and the boy has great usage of energy. There are a few things I would like the boy to do, softer his face a little, it sometimes looks too aggressive and use less physical for leading, he could easily do it with less force. Beautiful body wave in the beginning of Samba, amazing little couple. I thought they got a raw deal in the Rising Stars. Beautiful piece in Rumba where the boy lead the girl to turn on one foot and stops her with precision, then she does the most beautiful dèveloppè.
169 Adrian Dreling and Agata Wawrzusiszyn from Poland
Very positive couple but I find a little too exaggerated the boys face with the “UUUUUU’S” and “AAAAAAA’S”.
195 Aleksandr Andreichev and Kristina Nikiforova from Greece
Looking quite nice and powerful in Cha Cha
212 Darren Morrissey and Christina Morrissey from England
Eye catching dress in black and white.
242 Kiril Kulish and Orsolya Horvath from USA
Wow, what a dress and what a very good performance, this girl has changed drastically. I am impressed.
275 Nurlan Gallyamov and Celeste Bailey from Canada
I like this couple very much, but I don't see them getting the results they deserve.
300 Jason Chao Dai and Sasha Nissengolts from USA
Very attractive couple doing great New Yorkers, good posture and movement. I would like the boy to be more flexible in the hips.
YOU CAUGHT MY EYE
And the numbers for YOU CAUGHT MY EYE
22 44 78 92 96 120 123 141 157 184 211 248 268 287
22 Cristian Priori and Eleonora Riccardi from Italy
Still on a high from yesterday and still look good in the first round.
44 Kirill Belorukov and Ekaterina Nikolaeva from Russia
Wow, they look great together, both moving on to a better partnership that before. Ekaterina looks better with a tall boy and Kirill looks better with a more active and independent girl. Very new partnership and it looks great already, just think when they have more time to prepare for the next major comp. Can’t wait to see the outcome. Kirill looks much more free and easy, I think mainly because Ekaterina is so active by herself, but still dancing as a couple.
78 Alon Davidovsky and Elina Shustin from Israel
Looks improved from last year, looking more tidy and more organised and clear. But the boy is constantly looking down in all dances which gives a negation approach to his presentation. At the beginning of Rumba I would like the girl to close her feet and not only thighs and knees. This makes her look like she has knocked knees. The tanning could have been done better, it was marked and messy and this was in the first round. Going back to the dancing, their connection together is quite good but still to be worked on better.
92 Jack Johnson and Joanne De Jager from Australia
Adore the dress, so cool and classy. In Samba I found the boy's back looked stressed with tension. The girl has a very sensual approach in Rumba, but has to be carefree when coin any type of line that her feet have to be in the correct position in the right direct.
96 Filippo Zara and Irene Corvi from Italy
This really caught my eye... yellow trousers and black shirt. I am not against it at all, but...
120 Zi Hao Zhao and Cao Wan from China
They look happy and enjoying themselves, which is very refreshing to the many horror faces I see on the floor around them. Good floor craft as they managed to get out of a situation in the middle of a few couples. Good ronde in Samba. Gorgeous dèveloppè in Rumba two splits in the air. Love her legs, feet and body, she makes them talk, amazing body language.
123 Owen Nene and Linda Green-Thompson from South Africa
A very small couple with very little international experience, I am sure this is the first time in Blackpool, but it was so nice to watch, they were so delicate and innocent in their approach. I wanted to jump down on to the floor to make space for them. They made the best of the situation and I am sure they will go back with so much more experience. They done some nice travelling zig zags and zig zags going round in a circle and he was leading it quite well, could have been a little bit more softer.
141 Ruslan Khisamutdinov and Elena Rabinovich from Russia
Thank god they use immediately the long black dress they used in the final of the Rising Stars. They look so much more groomed and elegant. They danced a 100 times better today than in the Rising Stars. I can honestly say that they belong and look more in place in the Amateur.
157 Sam Shamseili and Frederikke Flyvbjerg Norgaard from Denmark
This is the first time I have saw them together and I think this is THE partnerships that will work. They both have a vey extrovert approach to the dancing which I like very much. In particular choreography which I thinks still has a lot of work to be done but both are for me on the right road. I feel Sam now has to make his priority on getting more knowledge on technique and mechanics, it cannot just be possible on the individual approach. When they can get the combination together it will be amazing.
184 Joel Lopez and Kristina Bespechnova from Spain
Now they are really dancing well and more openly and more freely. They belong to here and not in the Rising Star. Great basic priorities shown in every dance. Very mature and pleasing to the eye.
211 Sergey Gusev and Anastassia Usoltseva from Russia
I found them difficult to find them today on the floor. In Cha Cha I saw them immediately but then on the other three dances I struggled to find them and it was always at the end of the music. When I did find them, they would be in the middle of a crowd.
248 Dario Pizzo and Karen D'Albundo from France
Also they had a better performance today compared with the Rising Stars. Yesterday they were very stressed but today was much better, I would still like Dario to be much more open.
268 Giovanni Virgitto & Giulia D'Alessandro from Italy
Another couple who is riding the wave of success from the day before. They now seem to believe in themselves more. I am sure it will continue this way.
287 Mickael Vaganay and Amandine Mauceri from France
I find them very energetic and visible but when I look more closely they seem to have talent but missing a lot of basic essential information. I am a great believer that if you use this tactic then is has to be studied well. It is obvious that people are going to look but when they do they have to see something that is good with quality, this did not happen at all unfortunately. But the idea is great.
GENERAL THOUGHTS AND NOTES
Why do the men put more make-up on than the ladies? This I will be talking about later on in the various comments.
I found it really hard to find people in the first round that I liked. That worries me.
Carolyn Smith
The views and opinions expressed above are those of Carolyn Smith and do not necessarily reflect the views of dancesportinfo
