Dance Holidays 2016: Coming Back to Dubai from Russia

It was the first time for our dance school to visit Russia and participate at international ballroom dance competition in Saint-Petersburg. The event was called “Saint Petersburg Dance Holidays 2016” that took place on the 27th and 28th of August, the last weekend of the month.

As we announced before (Ready for the Saint Petersburg Dance Holidays 2016?), this event was one of the largest Pro/Am events in Russia. It was very attractive and inviting, so our dance school decided to take part in it. Below is a short report about this event, our impression of Russia, and the final results of the competition.

Welcome to Russia!

It was the first time for our students to visit Russia, the largest country in the world! So, we decided to squeeze maximum from this trip: not just compete with other dance schools, but also enjoy it as tourists! It was dance holidays, after all!

Some people suggest to get acquainted with Russia from Moscow, the current capital of the country. But it’s hard to say which city Moscow or Saint-Petersburg is better: both were entitled as capitals, both are extremely beautiful, and have lots of amazing places for sightseeing. But the cities are very different, too. Actually it’s a good choice to visit them both.

As many tourism guide books mention, it is a good idea to get familiar with the culture and traditions starting with the Russian cuisine. It is extremely delicious, has a great variety of dishes, that will satisfy even the strictest demands and tastes of gourmets.

We visit all the most famous touristic attractions, such as Kazan Cathedral, Palace Square and Alexander Column, Church of the Savior on Blood, and Russian cruiser Aurora – one of the symbols of Saint Petersburg.

We also visited Petergof, sometimes called the "Russian Versailles", a town near Saint-Petersburg famous for its series of palaces and gardens.

Finally, excursion on a ship on the channels of the Neva river gives a unique opportunity to observe the bridges being drawn, traditionally at night, this opens the city for large water crafts. Besides, the night city has its own charm.

The Dance Competition

Our team consisted of 6 students accompanied by their dance teachers and partners. The ballroom dance competition was organized according to the WDC rules in Pro/Am format. The performances of our dance school members were distributed along both days – Saturday and Sunday. Each participant performed in different categories according to the selected dance program (single dance like Tango or Waltz, Scholarship, Challenge, etc.), difficulty level (Bronze, Silver, Gold, etc.) and age. They had to compete with couples from dance studios all over the world. The competition was really international, apart from Russia and UAE, there were participants from different countries, including USA, Great Britain, Germany, Ukraine, Finland, Italy.

We are very proud of our students! They performed extremely well and obtained a deserved win at the competition. Meet our winners below!

Kavita Pope Michelle

• Gold Beginner (Single dance of 10 Dance Program) – 10 x 1st places
• Bronze [Beginner, Full], Silver [Open, Full] Argentine Tango (Salon) – 4 x 1st places
• Bronze Full, Silver [Open, Full] Cuban Style Salsa – 3 x 1st places
• Gold Full 5 Dance Challenge Standard – 1st place

Ann Boothello

• [Silver, Gold] Beginner (Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Jive) – 8 x 1st places
• Silver Open [3, 4] Dance Challenge Latin – 2 x 2nd places
• Bronze Open 3 Dance Challenge Latin – 2nd place
• Bronze Open 4 Dance Challenge Latin – 3rd place

Cara Standley

• Silver Beginner (Waltz, Tango, Slow Fox, Quickstep) – 4 x 1st places
• Gold Beginner (Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba) – 3 x 1st places
• Silver Open 4 Dance Challenge Standard – 1st place
• Silver Full (Waltz, Tango, Slow Fox, Quickstep) – 4 x 2nd places

Victoria Shupik

• Bronze [Beginner, Open, Full] Slow Fox – 5 x 1st places

Ute Kuras

• Gold Beginner (Single dance of 5 Dance Standard Program) – 5 x 1st places
• Gold Open 5 Dance Challenge Standard – 3rd place
• Scholarship Standard – Semifinal

Linda Berlot

• Bronze [Open, Full] Argentine Tango (Free Style) – 2 x 1st places
• Bronze [Open, Beginner] Argentine Tango (Salon) – 4 x 2nd places
• Bronze Full Argentine Tango (Salon) – 2 x 3rd places
• Silver [Open, Full] Argentine Tango (Free Style) – 2 x 3rd places

Besides, our dance school won the 2nd place in nomination “Top Studio”! It is an excellent result, and proves the good work of the whole team!

Photos

Below are some photos from the competition, you can view a full gallery here.

Videos

Below are some performance videos, you can view a full video gallery here.

Our Dance School is Ready to Go On!

After coming back from Russia, we are planning new dance events and schedule participation at other dance competitions. There are many obvious benefits of dancing, but there are also some off-stage, like tourism, sightseeing, visiting other countries, meeting dancers from all over the world, and just having fun with your teammates. While we are looking forward for new dance challenges, our school is open for the dance lessons, practice sessions to sharpen your dance skills! For newcomers we have some special offers and private trial dance classes. It’s the best time to join our dance studio, let dancing in your life and enjoy it. Besides, we have some new seasonal special offers for newcomers, and issued the Membership Privileges Cards for existing students. Contact us and we will gladly guide you through the world of dancing!