Today Carolyn looked at Amateur Rising Star Latin.
PICK OF THE DAY
First round of all PICK OF THE DAY. Do you know who I ask the numbers from, while they were traveling to Blackpool...? Stefano di Filippo and Dasha. So the numbers chosen are...
15 35 73 108 123 146 175 177 200 233 245 277 299 313 333
15 Dong Soo Kim and Seo Yeon Kim from South Korea
Nicely groomed in a pink and animal print dress, but it is quite evident that they do not have that much experience Internationally,as they were struggling to get around the floor. I caught them in Samba and paso going against the line of dance. Very dangerous for them and their fellow competitors. Hopefully the can learn floor craft for the next occasion.
35 Peng Zhang and Yi-Ying Gao from China
Could not find them in Samba and Cha Cha. Rumba looks very good and I like the choice of basic choreography. It might be less visible but excellent choice.
73 Michal Galek and Klaudia Kedzierska from Poland
Lost them in Cha Cha and Samba. Found them in Rumba at the far end of the floor. Nice and neat but the boy has to control his spins in the beginning of his program . Paso not enough definition or idea of space and direction.
108 Luke Miller and Laura Robinson from England
Luke has improved in the last year, he is becoming more mature but not yet a man. Struggling with the inner muscular tone, as I would say the "in between movements". Some times it looks too light and not grounded enough, but I am sure with more attention he will become solid. Laura is a very good dancer. I think she could explore more to become more different and special. Just has to dig down into herself and ask what she wants to be. The answer is easy. GREAT.
123 Jun Luo and Ting Song from China
Finally found them in the Paso. That made me think a litte. They do not fill up space with definition, so the performance came over as weak. Need to work on timing and shape.
146 Kiki Nyemchek & Magda Fialek from USA
Very attractive couple, could communicate better together. They positioned themseves in the wrong place in Rumba. They could not finish all their choreography. Kiki has to be careful with his posture as he loses it too easily.
175 Andrzej Jarosz and Aleksandra Bogdanowicz from Poland
Could not find in any dance. Did they dance?
177 Vladyslav Chumak and Anastasiia Demianenko from Ukraine
Could not find at all. So maybe they did not dance.
200 Mengju Li and Xuejiao Yu from China
Could not find them in chacha but found them in Samba. Look a little heavy sometimes and not always together as a couple. In some places of their choreography the were very unsure and it made it look weak. Would like to see more clearness in their timing.
233 Zhao Haichen and Miao Yamin from China
The girl has nice legs and presents herself well but as a couple they not really connected together. Find the man too weak in most departments but the girl has talent and potential. Lost their way with Cruzados Walks into the wrong side of the floor in Samba, so bad floorcraft. Beginning of Rumba got stuck, could not close feet. Or fix it or do not do it.
245 Yaroslav Galay and Mariya Krivko from Ukraine
They 2 dimensional and not creating enough volume within the choreography. They go in their positions immediately to early and then it looks a little static. Should be working more through the feet and more activity in the body.
277 Mitchell Itkin and Natasha Shevchenko from USA
Nice appearance but do not have enough muscular tone to create volume. They seem to want to move too much into any space without a reason. The boy easily loses his frame constantly. Lost a little bit in open hand rock in Samba. Would like to see more concept within the performance.
299 Jack Johnson and Joanne De Jager from Australia
Tall couple, class and cool Cha Cha choreography beautifully groomed, good approach and energy. Sometimes Jack gets too heavy particularly in Batucada, his body weight goes to far back and does not uese his back enough. But they have potential.
313 Shan Di and An Ni from Japan
Very evident that they lack experience. Not handling the competition very well. They have to strengthen up their basics and then start to develop their dancing.
333 Daniil Egorenko and Maria Danutsa from Russia
At last I found them at the end of Samba. Nice but I find them a little too busy. Could be more settled into their feet and be more grounded. Would like to see more shape and definition
YOU CAUGHT MY EYE
First round of all YOU CAUGHT MY EYE. The numbers are...
24 50 81 96 110 118 130 172 173 197 234 251 286 303 336
24 Yang Hang and Yan Yan Yanise Choy from Hong Kong
They have alway caught my eye in most competitions as Yanise is always excellently groomed, but at times when a person is more well groomed than well trained aa a dancer it could be dangerous, because we have so much expectation. Can go un noticed by judges for the first couple of rounds but then it is noticed. Yanise has improved a little but not enough compared to Henry who now seems to be much more comfortable in his skin and more connected.
50 Maksim Bodnar and Elyzaveta Vnuchkova from Ukraine I very much like Maxsym, he seems to have something special about him, but I do not know if he is aware of this. Nice Samba, fabulous paso and a weaker Rumba. This could have been because he did not have enough space due to bad floor craft in Rumba. Would like to see more intensity as a couple, I find Yelyzaveta a little bit absent at times. Both have more potential than what they are showing. Dig more into yourself to find where you are going.
81 Ilya Kashirkin and Sofya Shmukler from Russia.
Very nice couple, great design in their dancing, yousing excellence floorcraft. Great energy for a first round. Treating it with importance. Ilya great ronde at the begining of paso.
96 Roberto Imperatori and Beatrice Tiberia from Italy
Have improved in the past 5 months, more in control of their bodies. Just one thing Roberto has to lose, he blows up his cheeks with air too often, giving him a very stressed look. By the way he is not the only boy who does it. I would say about 40% of the men do it. Looks absolutely horrible.
110 Wang Yu Guang and Xiu Ting from Hong China
This young boy is really good, has a hint of excellence in him but not yet developed but will be an AMAZING DANCER if he work in the correct way. He takes care of his parner. The girl for me is a good accessory, but that is quite negative for me as nobody should be an accessory. Girl lost balance too easily in lounge at beginning of Paso.
118 Steven Greenwood and Hannah O'Donovan from Australia
They caught my eye from the opposite side of the floor. Love Hannah, compact, fast, nice feet and talented. Steven is good but has a lot to work on. I feel he bites of more than he can chew. Trying to move into space too much and losing the compactness of the couple. Being a small couple does not mean they have to do more than is necessary to be seen. I know so well, still waiting to get taller. But a piece of advice is to fill up the space/volume necessary for all steps and believe it, it does give the illusion of being bigger and taller.
130 Ruslan Khisamutdinov and Elena Rabinovich from Russia
I followed this couple all last year and I have seen the progress they both made. Alway giving a great performance. Last year I always commented that Alena seemed to copy Anna Melnikova, whether it was being aware of it or not I do not know, it got her notices but now it is time to find the REAL Alena. I think technically they have improved but are in a tunnel now not really knowing which direction to take. the transformation from Youth to Amateur can take time or comes immediately. Hope it comes immediately. Floorcraft excellent. Would like a change of groom for them both.
172 Maciej Walczak and Anna Piaseczna from Poland
Looking better than usual for a first round, Maciej has gain more confidence when he is on the dance floor. More dominant, more control together which looks stress free. Good energy.
173 Bogdan Oligov and Evelyn Vidal from Canada
Looks like a new couple if I am not wrong. Bognan danced for Ukraine before. Looks good but fresh and not yet completely connecting together. But I am sure with good planning and work things will click together very soon. i hope.
197 Austin Joson and Nino Dzneladze from USA
I followed them a lot last year in the Under 21 and. Really love this couple, fresh enjoyable and free. They have a lightness to there attitude towards the performance which makes it look so easy. Nina done an amazing closing of feet in Fan. That is music to my ears. But would like her to be less facial. She does not need it.
234 Cristian Priori and Eleonora Riccardi from Italy
Cristian has become more mature and is now able to control most situations on the dance floor. Eleonora has become more compact in her base and more connected through her feet which then helps with being able to move more fluidly during the choreography.
246 Joel Lopez and Kristina Bespechnova from Spain
Welcome back home. So nice to see them again, so much quality, but I found them a little timid but I think it is just getting used to being back on the Blackpool floor, even though they have done the European. Looking forward to great things from this couple.
251 Robert Muller and Justyna Luczak from Poland
They look cool and confident and powerful.
286 Roman Oligov and Darya Kravchuk from Ukraine
Have been following them for quite some time and I really like them. It is classy, chic and sophisticated. Very rhythmical and fairly good technique.
303 Vadim Shvidanenko and Valentina Yakimenko from Ukraine
Very tall couple, normally with a good approach on the floor but this time it was a little unsure and unstable. Have seen them performing better. I am sure they will be better in the next rounds. Hope so.
336 Nurlan Gallyamov and Celeste Bailey from Canada
So fare these are one of my favorites of the competition. Love them. They look as they are already competing in the final! Great approach and a great example for the other couples.
SOME GENERAL THOUGHT AND NOTES DURING THE COMPETITION
Looking at the couples coming on and off the floor. They should be aware that they are being observed constantly by someone, ME in this case, and I can see people angry with their partners, facial disapproval not to write worse words. Smile on the floor and smile off the floor and if you want to argue GO OUTSIDE but not in front of anybody. You have to leave good impression not a bad one.
Another thing.....Why are couple stressed on the floor they should be 100% prepared physically and mentally. That is your job not an option! Last but not least..... Saw some strange choreography out there.
So I will be waiting to see you all on Sunday for my next comments. Who is going to be the PICK OF THE DAY and CATCH MY EYE.
Carolyn Smith
The views and opinions expressed above are those of Carolyn Smith and do not necessarily reflect the views of dancesportinfo
