And the new Under 21 Standard World Champions of the World DanceSport Federation have just been crowned! Paul Rednic and Roxana Lucaciu of Romania have taken the highest step on the pedestal this October 20^th, 2018, honoring their country’s flag, the country that hosted this fantastic World Championship. 

Last year’s Vice Champions, Paul and Roxana persevered to take home the win yesterday. Ranked 29^th in the WDSF World Ranking List in the Adult Amateur Standard Division, the couple finished with a final score of 178.292 out of a possible 200, a whopping 6.551 points ahead of Marco Bodini and Kristina Charitonovaite of Italy, our Vice Champions of this year.

The final began with solo performances of the Tango and the crowd went absolutely wild for Romania’s representatives – our champions, Paul and Roxana, and our bronze medalists, Stan Tiberiu-Florin and Daria Grigore. Whether it was the pride and adrenaline present in dancing on home turf, or just the excitement of dancing the final of a World Championship, both Romanian couples lit up the floor at the Constantin Jude Sport Hall. Stan and Daria even tied with Marco Bodini and Kristina Charitonovaite, our silver medalists, in their Waltz. The difference in scoring between overall second and third place was only in 1.698 points! 

In 5^th place of this World Championship final was a couple representing the country of Japan - Kazuki Sugawara and Laura Collavizza. They finished with a total of 161.951 points, 0.452 points higher than our 6^th place finalists from Italy, Andrea Gioncada and Vera Demidova.

A Strong Result for Japan

Kazuki and Laura just danced their third and final Under 21 World Championship of this year! In April, they performed in Moscow, Russia at the Under 21 World 10 Dance Championship where they placed 13th^th out of 70 couples. In May, they danced in Tbilisi, Georgia at the Under 21 Latin World Championship, placing 20^th out of 89. Now they concluded their final Under 21 World Championship for this year, improving substantially from last year when they placed 12^th, at the bottom of the semi-final. Now, their hard work and never-ending persistence had them accomplish an incredible feat of making it into the final of a WDSF World Championship.

The Under 21 Division - A Chance for Competitors

The wonderful thing about the Under 21 division of dance is the fact that it allows the transition to occur for youth dancers making their way into the adult age category. When the Under 21 division did not yet exist, dancers turning 19, had to step out of the youth category (16 to 18 years old), and compete with adult competitors who could be aged older than 30. Of course these older dancers have much more experience and knowledge and would most likely have the upper hand when it came to competition. Now, Under 21 categories allow youth dancers and adult dancers under 21, to come together and transition together as a result, into the highest level of WDSF competition before the Professional Division.

With the conclusion of the WDSF Under 21 World Championship, we make our way to Moscow, Russia this weekend to witness live and share with you the fifth GrandSlam of the 2018 World DanceSport Federation calendar year, before the final leg taking place in Shanghai this December. Catch all the stars on the floor, especially the Latin competitors, many who have just recently taken part in the World Championship on October 6^th. Stay tuned!