The fourth leg of the Standard GrandSlam series has just come to a conclusion – and what an unforgettable evening it was indeed. The Beethoven Hall of the Kultur & Kongresszentrum Liederhalle was on its feet last night for the top Ballroom dancers of the World DanceSport Federation who have come to compete at this prestigious German Open Championship. Let’s break down some results!

The Champions Reign

Dmitry Zharkov and Olga Kulikova of Russia took home the victory here in Stuttgart last night with a score of 195.917 out of 200.000, conquering this German Open Standard GrandSlam for the second year in a row – their eighteenth GrandSlam first place title! Dancing together since 2001, this duo is a purely unstoppable bond, where determination, hard work, and a passion for their art and sport drives them to always reach for the stars and never give up. The first ever GrandSlam Dmitry and Olga danced was in 2003 in Moscow, Russia where they placed 36^th out of 99 couples. Now they conquer GrandSlam after GrandSlam, where they place first out of 257 couples. They have persevered through thick and thin and now represent the elite of all Ballroom dancers in the world.

Alexey Glukhov and Anastasia Glazunova (Russia)

Alexey Glukhov and Anastasia Glazunova of Russia placed fourth last night with a total of 185.457 out of 200.000, with this placement making their way up to the second-ranked in the WDSF GrandSlam leaderboard. Before this event, they were also ranked fifth in the World with 5,245 points, but now take the fourth position with 5,4310 points. What is truly amazing is that during this exact GrandSlam last year, Alexey and Anastasia placed seventh, scoring 176.902 points. Just one year later, their scoring has increased by almost 10, a fantastic achievement! They have made it into the final, just one place below pedestal standing.

We can also compare this Russian couple’s progress by taking a look at their competition with Vaidotas Lacitis and Veronika Golodneva of Lithuania. Vaidotas and Veronika took fifth place in the 2017 German Open Championships at the Standard GrandSlam while Alexey and Anastasia took seventh. This year, Vaidotas and Veronika are still in fifth at the German Open, but Alexey and Anastasia have risen to fourth.

Madis Abel and Aleksandra Galkina (Estonia)

Another couple that we were looking forward to seeing at the German Open was the young, dynamic couple of Madis Abel and Aleksandra Galkina of Estonia. In their young twenties, they are taking the WDSF by storm with their placements. This GrandSlam left them right behind the top six in the final. With their seventh place, this Estonian couple is now ranked third in the WDSF GrandSlam Ranking list and keep their sixth place position in the World Ranking leaderboard.

If looking at the top Latin dancers of the World DanceSport Federation, you may more or less be able to place them by technical quality, performance skills, and overall presentation. However, when looking at the Standard division, it is almost near to impossible to place these dancing couples. Anyone of them can be in the final and even the semi-final! This has been stated by more than one WDSF official, those that constantly get to experience the pure strength of these couples as they conduct the scoring examinations. 

It is pure to see that the levels of both Standard and Latin are rising here in the World DanceSport Federation. Now we shall see what may come of the WDSF Latin GrandSlam here in Stuttgart – live streaming today on FloDance!