Being a ten dance athlete is not just about physical endurance, but also about mental and emotional stamina. This is what made the difference for the champions of the night. We saw a part of each of these aspects yesterday at the 2018 WDSF World 10 Dance Championships that took place in Warsaw, Poland. The heat was definitely on, and the competition was top notch, especially when it came down to the finals.

In the ten dance division, the finalist couples dance both a Standard and a Latin final. Their combined scores of each of the finals produces the outcome of the entire event. Let’s take a look at the couples that made the top 6:

Expect the Unexpected

The Standard final was commenced first, after which we got quite the surprise. Results can never be 100% predicted, and it was quite clear that the competition was going to be a tight battle, especially between the pedestal placements. Winson Tam and Anastasia Novikova of Canada were last year’s Ten Dance World Vice-Champions. Ranked 17^th in the Latin and 23^rd in the Standard WDSF World Ranking List, they were one of the top candidate couples to achieve an incredible result yesterday. However, then we had Konstantin Gorodilov and Dominika Bergmannova of Estonia, this year’s WDSF European Ten Dance Champions in the running as well, ranked 11^th in Latin and 45^th in the Standard WDSF World Ranking Lists. They did not compete in last year’s World Ten Dance Championship, but were definitely out for the title yesterday.

Going back to the results after the Standard final, many had quite the shock! Daniil Ulanov and Kateryna Isakovych of Cyprus had taken the lead! This couple placed fourth in last year’s Ten Dance World Championship and now had won the Standard leg! They were in a 13.25 lead over Konstantin and Dominika who were trailing behind in second! That is an immense lead! Sadly, Canadian couple Winson and Anastasia lost their runner-up position from last year.

The Latin Final

It was time for the Latin final, and it was clear that Konstantin and Dominika really needed to step up if they wanted to take home the victory. While Daniil and Kateryna rank 38^th in the WDSF Latin World Ranking List, the Estonians rank 11^th. If Konstantin and Dominika could make up for the loss of points they suffered in the Standard final, they could win! But, the challenge was not an easy one. However, the strength that the Estonian hold in the Latin division made them preserve as they took a 1.48 point lead over Cyprus, ending the night with a victory – a well-deserved victory.

The final placements were:

Winson Tam and Anastasia Novikova had a fantastic Latin final and made the pedestal taking home a Bronze World Medal. Russia placed in fourth, Czech Republic in fifth, and Poland in sixth.

Watching any 10 Dance event truly makes one see the strength it takes to be a dancer in this industry. Not only do you have to be physically capable of dancing round after round, but you also have to do it with grace and ease, even though we all know that it is not easy at all. We lose with dignity and learn, and we win with humbleness and modesty. A big round of applause for all the competitors that took part in this event – the essence of being a DanceSport competitor.