One of the most anticipated events of the year is approaching, not only for the attending athletes of the 2018 WDSF World Latin Championship, but also for their families, dance clubs, and trainers especially. October 6th is the day to await as FloDance dives into the historical city of Ostrava, Czech Republic. Ostrava has hosted the WDSF Latin World Championship previously in the year of 2014, where Aniello Langella and Khrystyna Moshenska of Italy claimed their third and final title as World Champions. If we jump back further in time to 2005, Ostrava also hosted the same World Championship.

One of the many reasons that so many anticipate this upcoming World Championship is because the top slot is open for the taking as reigning champions, Gabriele Goffredo and Anna Matus transitioned into the Professional Division this year as 3-time Amateur Latin WDSF World Champions. Now the time has come to crown the new successors, the new leaders of the World DanceSport Federation in the Amateur Latin division. 

The Battle Between Russia and Germany

Two couples from each WDSF member body are eligible to attend and compete for the World title. The couples that many anticipate watching include those from Russia and Germany, as most likely the newly crowned champions will arise from one of these two countries. 

From Germany, we have Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska, the very same Khrystyna who won this World Latin title in Ostrava back in 2014 with her previous partner Aniello. Last year, she and Marius also attended this same competition, the Czech Dance Open, where the WDSF Latin World Open was held. This event they won. From this perspective, the German couple has much more exposure to this city as well as to this event, including the audience. As a result, we may feel quite the welcome and support that the onlookers may give as they cheer on this couple.

Battling Germany is Russia - Armen Tsaturyan and Svetlana Gudyno. This year leading up to this World Championship, Armen and Svetlana have been strategically deciding the events that they compete in. Dancing together since 2010, Armen and Svetlana have been the World vice-champions for four years running, since 2014. Now, they can almost feel the title at the tip of their tongues. Just one reach away, one push to make it to the top. 

Not All is Final

However, not everything is set in stone - there is always a chance for any of the couples attending to make a breakthrough. That is the beauty of sport itself. The World Championship is an event that all dancers aspire to be a part of. World Champions transition year after year, and it is an incredible sight to see how couples grow as time goes by, attaining grander results event after event, year after year. Champions were not born champions as we all know. Champions are created by the blood, sweat, and tears put into this art and sport, a passion that burns in each of the dancers’ hearts. For example, from Canada, Karl Aniscenko and Dayana Nikon will be dancing their first Adult Amateur World Championship this coming week - an exhilarating and unexplainable feeling to be able to represent your country for the first time. Now they come back fighting in the Adult event. From Spain, we will keep our eyes out for Guillem Pascual and Rosa Carne. They came in 10th in 2015, dropped in 2016 to 13th place, and rose to 10th once again in 2017. For couples like Konstantin Gorodilov and Dominika Bergmannova of Estonia, they have been 11th for three years running since 2015. Such events as the World Championship allow couples to make a leap in their competitive careers and truly shine, taking new spots in the ranking of the top dancers in the world. 

We will be streaming live this long-awaited event, and will be sharing the energy exuberated by not only the dancing couples but the arena and audience as well. For dancers aspiring to be there, at the top, watching the reality of a World Championship event, grows more hunger inside to work harder and aim for the heights. Stay tuned this week as we cover one of the most anticipated events of the WDSF calendar year. You won’t want to miss it.

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