What sets the GrandSlam Latin Final in Shanghai, CHN, apart from the rest of the top-tier competitions on the DanceSport calendar are three factors. It is the most strictly invitational competition there is, with entry reserved to the 12 top couples in the GrandSlam Ranking, couples having danced in minimum four out of the five regular legs in the Series. It is also the shortest and most compact competition. Extending over only three rounds, it starts at 7:30 p.m. with the first and concludes not even three hour later with the last round and the awards presentation. Finally, it is its place in the calendar: for virtually all the participating couples it is the last competition of the year. A fact which brings about a special atmosphere – more relaxed than elsewhere – even though the fight is about the highest prize money awarded in the Series. In addition to the 12 couples from abroad, the organisers get to invite the best couple from China as a wild card, making it a contest between the best Latin dancers of the world’s most populous country against the best of the rest of the world. In the not too distant future, and if current tendencies should prevail, China could eventually keep the upper hand. The defending GrandSlam Champions did not make it to Shanghai. Gabriele Goffredo and Anna Matus , MDA, notified WDSF and the organisers of their decision not to dance the Final this year. Reasons were not given. Nobody among the other finalists knows what could have led them to withdraw. Maybe – after Gabriele’s history-making marriage proposal on the floor at the 2017 World Latin in Vienna, AUT, three weeks ago – they decided to elope. To make their story even more wildly romantic! Who knows? In any case, if they should be on their honeymoon somewhere, we hope they will enjoy it. Their absence opens new perspectives for the other couples here. First for Konstantin Gorodilov and Dominika Bergmannova, EST, who got a last minute-invitation to take the place of Gabriele and Anna in this year’s “Final Showdown in Shanghai.” But then each and every one of the 13 Latin couples could stand to benefit, one way or another, from a shoo-in places available in the semi-final, in the final and on the podium. Here they are – in the alphabetical order of the man’s last name: Anton Aldaev - Natalia Polukhina, RUS
Marius-Andrei Balan - Khrystyna Moshenska, GER
Umberto Gaudino - Louise Heise, DEN
Konstantin Gorodilov - Dominika Bergmannova, EST
Andrey Gusev - Vera Bondareva, RUS
Timur Imametdinov - Nina Bezzubova, GER
Edgar Marcos Borjas - Alina Nowak, POL
Paul Moldovan - Cristina Tatar, ROU
Charles-Guillaume Schmitt - Elena Salikhova, FRA
Andrea Silvestri - Martina Varadi, 
Armen Tsaturyan - Svetlana Gudyno, RUS
Bangbang Yan - Jing Zhu, CHN
Timur Yusupov - Sofia Kharina, RUS An 8-camera production in High Definition covering the decisive stages of the GrandSlam Latin Final. With full graphics but without commentary. The programme is made up of four parts: the full-length semi-final, interviews with the finalists, the full-length final and interviews with the medallists. Approximately 90-minutes running time. Produced by the WDSF Communications team in collaboration with the host broadcaster and the Chinese DanceSport Federation.
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