The 38th United States Dance Championship

By Armando Martin, Fred Astaire National Dance Director

America’s most prestigious Dance Championship was held in Orlando, Florida from September 2-6 2008. It is hard to believe that it has been 38 years since John Monte, Fred Astaire's longtime Dance Director, began with a dream of running the United States Championships and - with so much hard work and perseverance - made it into what it is today.

USDC is where everyone from all over the world goes to showcase their talents, win titles, and why not, go to Disney World afterwards and this year was no exception. Having more that 7000 entries and couples from more than 37 countries, USDC was once again the place to be the first week in September.

It is only fitting that a competition that was created by the Fred Astaire Company would have so many of our couples compete and, in some cases, win the TOP titles; in fact, couples that are or will be affiliated with FADS very soon won 4 of the TOP 5 titles at this year’s championships…something that we should all be very proud and ecstatic about.

First and foremost, I would like to congratulate all of our FADS couples that participated all week long. Both Pro and Pro-Am couples truly made a great statement about the incredibly high caliber of dancing we have in our company today. There were times when I looked out onto the dance floor and saw two or three FADS Pro-Am couples in a final of a competition that started with 30 to 40 couples - very impressive.

The International Latin was won by our very own Riccardo Cocchi with his partner Yulia. The speed, power and precision that these two perfect Latin dancers displayed on the floor was incredible. They won all 5 dances with ease and conviction. Also in the Latin category, we had our longtime FADS National Latin Champions, Ilya and Nadia from New Jersey. Ilya and Nadia must have been very disappointed with their final result as I was; I thought their dancing was strong, classy, and full of their very own unique style.

The American Smooth was won by Jonathan Roberts and Valentina who have been doing a lot of work with our company since my first meeting with them last July and will be fully joining the company by October. Their dancing was fantastic and they had to be to uncrown last year’s champions the way they did. Valentina, as always, danced like a princess in some kind of perfect dream, never going outside of her character and always delighting the onlookers. Jonathan was the perfect partner to her, always showcasing her beauty and elegance.

Also in the Smooth final was one of my favorite couples in the competition, Misha and Gala from the New York East studio. They had the night of their lives! Although this couple has been coming up very quickly through the competitive ranks under the watchful eyes of Marina and Taliat Tarsinov, I believe that they surprised themselves with their placement, having never been in the US final before they jumped straight up to 4th place this year. Their dancing was inspired, beautiful and larger than life. If they continue to improve on this track, there is no title this great looking couple cannot win.

Other couples who deserve an honorable mention in the Smooth are Vladimir & Vera Kosarev from our Rochester, NY studio; Warren and Babette Brown from our Jupiter studio, and Yuriy Simakov and Oksana Klyuchnyk from North Carolina. All three couples showed great promise and, I am sure, will have much success in the future.

Although the standard competitions didn't produce any FADS winners, it was a great showcase for two very good couples in our company. Greg Fidurski and Gabriela Jileva from Montville, NJ were in the final of the Open to the World Rising Star competition and were also second in the Standard Showdance. This couple’s expression and musicality truly sets them apart when they are on the floor. Greg's happy-go-lucky personality is always a refreshing sight on the Standard floor, which is sometimes filled with very serious and focused faces.

Ruslan Meshkov and Sandra Nema from the Albany, NY studio had a fantastic USDC, placing second in the US Rising Star competition and fourth in the Open to the World Rising Star. This young, beautiful couple continues to improve by leaps and bounds. They have a very tall look on the floor while at the same time showing great depth in the use of their legs and feet. I haven’t seen this kind of combination since John Woods and Ann Lewis were the World Champions about 12 years ago. Keep watching for this couple in the future.

For the first time in a long time, the Open Rhythm competition did not showcase a FADS couple in the final, although Albina Habrle and Hayk Arshakian from Milwaukee danced well enough to have been in it. Aaron Desoto and Jaana Lillemagi turned out a great showing; they placed 6th in the Rising Star Rhythm, but in my estimation they could have been higher. They have a very good look on the floor and their dancing is getting better every time I see them.

Another couple to look out for is Ilya Velednitsky and Mandy Carlyle. I love this girl - she is a pleasure to watch and they have tons of talent and lots of time to develop it. Also Andrey and Elena from South Carolina made a good showing. Technically and visually, this couple has it all. If they could be a little more passionate and even wilder, they could really climb up the standing in this style.

The Cabaret competition was totally dominated by FADS. The top two couples fought a very good fight for the entire competition, no last names needed here…Eric and Georgia and Jesse and Kimalee, both trained by Luann and Bruno, were flawless in their performances. I had the difficult task of having to make a decision as one of the judges and I was well prepared to give the top ranking to Jesse and Kimalee until Eric laid Georgia flat on his head and began to spin as fast as was humanly possible. He stopped suddenly and she continued to spin on his head like a helicopter before coming down to a complete stop! Right then and there, my mark changed.

But I must congratulate both couples for their efforts, in a style that is full of some very weird even laughable performances. These four young people bring out all that is best in dance, athleticism and artistry.

Well, that's enough from me this time, but listen, as they say on the NFL, the winners always go to Disney World, so you too can see these great performances again in October at the Fred Astaire National Dance Championships in Orlando, FL. Come and be entertained and amazed at the talent that our company has to offer! See you in Orlando.