I know this post is a few days late but Nationals weekend was exhausting and of course there was DWTS to be watched. So better late than never here are some of my thoughts from the USA Dance Nationals in Baltimore this weekend. Now, it is a full three days of dancing so I didn't get to see everything but here are my highlights.
Let's kick things off with the Championship Latin event on Friday night. Originally I was pretty bummed going into this event since last year's champs Val and Daria were out of the running after his retirement from competition last year and many other finalists weren't registered. I was even more bummed when I found out that Denys Drozdyuk and Antonina Skobina weren't competing even though they had been registered. But my outlook quickly changed once the rounds started and I was treated to some great dancing. Pasha Pashkov and Daniella Karagach took home the title, adding it to their previous US 10 Dance titles. Pasha and Daniella focused only on Latin this competition and as much as I missed their Standard, it was nice to see them really shine with some new material in their routines. They are such a great couple and so gracious, I really hope they get to represent the US at the World Championships (why wouldn't they? yup, it's that pesky WDC/WDSF war again). Other couples I loved watching: 4th place couple Jason Dai and Patrycja Golak and semi-finalists (and next into the final) Ron Garber and Liza Lakovitsky. Other things of interest? I noticed a lot of the couples were foregoing the traditional rhinestones everywhere approach for simpler costume styles based on color-blocking, overall I would say they were very effective at catching the eye.
The New Champs
Moving on to Saturday night. At ballroom competitions and events its pretty common for Saturday night to be the marquee evening, with the best events and the best dancers. This year I felt a little differently though for a few reasons. To start, the Championship Rhythm final. I say final and not event because there were only six couples registered. After attending the American Style Congress earlier this year, I was really hoping to be inspired by what could be the future of the Rhythm style. There seemed to be a lot of camaraderie between the finalists and I don't doubt that many of them are working hard to improve and represent the style but the reality is the amount and the level of competition is just not on par with the other three styles showcased. I really hope that next year (if I make it, LA is far to spectate!) that I'll have more to report on.
Also on Saturday were the Youth Championship Latin and the Adult Championship Standard events. I really enjoyed the Latin although I thought that many of the couples didn't dance as well as I've seen them dance before. The Standard was a little more confusing to me. I just didn't find myself really picking favorites throughout the rounds and even in the final I wasn't decided on all the dances. It definitely made miss some of the couples I'm used to seeing, especially those that were already there in Baltimore but not competing like Pasha and Daniella and Sasha Tchernossitov and Regina Maziarz (who later on Sunday won the US 10 Dance title when I was sadly already on my way home).
On Sunday, I mainly enjoyed Baltimore but I stopped in for some of the night session before heading home. I didn't get to see the conclusion of all the events because I had to leave but I have to say I really enjoyed the session, particularly the Junior II Latin Championship event and the Championship Smooth event! I thought both of the top two couples in the Latin were fantastic. I think Patryk Ploszaj and Anna Kaczmarski had a well deserved win but it could just as easily go to second place couple Nicholas Stevens and Alexandra Gutkovich next time! Patryk and Anna probably had the best weekend of anyone at Nationals mopping up the Junior II titles in Latin, Standard, and 10 Dance. Looks like they have a busy international travel schedule ahead!
Right before I left I got to see the beginning of the Champ Smooth event and I was really impressed with the level of talent. I remember not being that impressed in past years so it was great to see such an improvement in the field overall. Although I wasn't there to see it, the win went to Kyle and Allie Spinder from Utah.
Looking back, I really did get to see some incredible dancing this past weekend even if there were couples missing for their various reasons. I've heard this year's Nationals was the biggest yet (so I guess that 75% rule didn't eliminate too many couples). Even if it does mean a packed schedule, I hope they get to say something similar next year; it is such a great time and I'd truly hate to see the event suffer from international politics.
