We told you that there was more in store! This Saturday, May 11, 2019, will not only be the date of the WDSF Standard European Championship, but also the WDSF Latin European Cup! 

These are two of the highlighting events of the 9th Annual Salaspils Open International DanceSport Competition to be held at the Salaspils Sports Hall in Latvia. We are anticipating 26 couples from 26 countries to be in attendance for the Latin segment. Because this is a European Cup, only couples who represent European countries get the chance to participate. Also, as you may have already noticed, only one couple per country gets the opportunity to take part and compete for the grand title. 

Just as mentioned for the Standard European Championship, each European WDSF member country determines its own rules about which couple it will select to represent it in the European Cup. Some countries chose the couple that took the bronze in the national championship, while other countries select their crowning champions to go and compete. Let’s take a look at the top candidates to win this event.

Estonia for the Glory

Konstantin Gorodilov and Dominika Bergmannova of Estonia are the current highest ranking couple qualified for this year’s WDSF European Latin Cup. They are ranked eighth in the WDSF World Ranking List and placed 10th in last year’s WDSF World Latin Championship that took place in October. They have also recently won the WDSF World 10 Dance Championship and as reigning Estonian national champions are here to battle for yet another title in Salaspils. As a little side note, Gorodilov and Bergmannova won the European Cup in the 10 Dance division, back in 2016.

Italy vs. Germany for the Silver

Vito Coppola and Oona Oinas of Italy are also in the entry list, as the Italian National Champions of 2019. They are currently ranked 22nd in the WDSF World Ranking List and placed 18th in the 2018 WDSF World Latin Championship in the quarterfinal. Most likely they will be securing the silver in their first European Cup together as a couple. Coppola and Oinas have only been dancing together since June 2017 and have quickly made their rise as a star couple of the World DanceSport Federation. 

Battling them for the second place will be Cseke Zsolt Sandor and Malika Dzumaev of Germany, ranked 17th in the WDSF World Ranking List. In the previous GrandSlam held in Bucharest in March, Coppola and Oinas finished in 14th, while Sandor and Dzumaev took 27th, so this will be an interesting event to witness in terms of finishing placements for both couples. Who will you be rooting for? Will Germany take over, or will Italy rise to the occasion?

The Chance of a Lifetime

What is fantastic about events such as the European Cup is that the participants may vary greatly from year to year! The competition becomes unbearably exciting and the anxiety is top notch. Many dancers receive the chance of a lifetime to take part in a European Cup, and may never receive that chance again. For example, none of the top six final couples of last year’s Latin European Cup that took place in Moscow, Russia, on May 8, will be in attendance this weekend! Such an event is the perfect opportunity for any couple to make their mark in history and advance their position in WDSF competition placement and ranking.

And so the countdown begins! Just a few more days until a jam-packed session of streaming from Latvia arrives to the small screen! Grab your popcorn, throw on some sweats (or jammies if you prefer), and get ready to experience some fantastic performances of the best and upcoming stars of WDSF. It will surely be an event to witness—from the crowning of new champions to the exhilaration of the arena itself, stay tuned for an invigorating time!