In-Depth Interviews | 2016 GrandSlam STD Helsinki

The stage is set for another dance-off over supremacy in Standard. It is the first GrandSlam Standard of the Series in 2016 – at long last! And it comes after three months of top couples staying clear of one another as they compete rather selectively and opt for those floors where they don’t necessarily coincide with their opponents. The two couples that dominated last year’s GrandSlam Series – as well as the World and European Championships – come off a major break. They last danced against each other in December’s “Final Showdown in Shanghai.” Dmitry Zharkov and Olga Kulikova, RUS, kept away from international competition for eleven full weeks – until they reappeared in the Bassano Open on 27 February. Simone Segatori and Annette Sudol, GER, danced only national competitions during the same period and selected this GrandSlam for their return to the global scene. What we can be sure of is that both couples have worked intensely in the studio ever since Shanghai, getting ready for yet another face-off between them. Their roles seem reversed from when they slugged it out in Helsinki in March 2015. This time the Germans are the challengers – and the Russians have to defend their newly acquired supremacy. But Helsinki is certainly more than just a duel between the two odds-on favourites. Virtually all couples in the top 25 of the WDSF World Ranking dance the first Standard leg in Helsinki. They have prepared themselves just as diligently since Shanghai. But some went about it differently! Evaldas Sodeika and Ieva Zukauskaite, for instance, entered five World and International Opens – and won them all. A 9-camera production in High Definition covering the decisive stages of the GrandSlam Standard Helsinki.
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 YLE and the Finnish DanceSport Federation. Music by casa-musica.de