Carolyn looked at further rounds of Professional Rising Star Latin.
PICK OF THE DAY
So who was the PICK OF THE DAY?
41 48 55 62 67 90 152 157 164 191 201
41 Takahiro Nakamura and Erika Nakamura from Japan
Striking yellow fringe dress with a Carmen Miranda head band on. In Paso Doble they were popping up and down as they moved from figure to figure, so they are directing their energy in the wrong way, hence they are not grounded enough.
48 Kirill Nikitin and Jennifer Kanchukova from USA
Nice look and beautiful dress. The girl could look more positive within her approach. The boy has a strong appearance on the floor.
55 Maksim Khodchenkov and Irina Kurbatova from Russia
Over use of muscles in the face, looks in total shock. Please relax and enjoy the dancing, it is not a torture.
62 Artem Dibtsev and Iryna Pysmenna from Ukraine
The boy not clear in his spins or his lunge line in Rumba.
67 Andrey Gorbunov and Karla Gerbes from Singapore
Love this girl, There is something about the top line of the boy that disturbs me a little. It might be too much muscular tension o a tightness. If he could relax more it would be better.
90 Junji Ohta and Yu Matsubara from Japan
Lime dress with heavy stones. Using the floor space reasonable well. Girl does not use her feet well. Would like to boy to be more aware of the inner stretch and muscular tension to produce more frame and design. Struggled a little in Paso
152 Igor Boev and Elena Nesterova from Ukraine
She is a tall girl and very sensual, I always love the taste and style of her dresses. Very much a man-woman approach. Would love to see the man less vertical and learn to be more flexible in his shapes and experiment more..
157 Ji Wang and Pan Jianhui from China
The girl could be less dramatic and handle the space better. Ruslan and Valeriya were next to them and the girl nearly freaked out with a disgusted look on her face. There has always been more than one couple on the floor my dear lady, so handle the situation better. Also looking tired and losing energy
164 Dmitriy Nikishkin and Olena Shvets from USA
Always have an unusual look that stands out. Would like them to be softer and the girl to be less facial, it really is not necessary to make faces. Love the costume changing from black to white. They look better and softer in the white. They have the courage to do something different and loom different. I would just like it to look more professional and not just belting the performance out. If the have could risk doing less, I would think the illusion would be more and less over powering, but a great couple.
191 Francis Lafreniere and Claudia Primeau from Canada
Find the boy heavy in Rumba and at the beginning of Rumba in the 48, could have avoided literally putting his left hand on the girls bust. A little bit of taste and respect for the woman, would go a long way. Leave something to the imagination. I like the girl, has potential.
199 Ilya Maletin and Polina Mayer from Canada
Attractive couple. But something is missing, both need more definition od shape style and design. Excellent piece of basic choreography at the beginning of their Rumba, swivels, alemana’s.
201 Yi Long Xu and Lin Yue Shi from China
Love beginning of Paso, good control, great compact Cha Cha in the 24, good choreography in Paso.
YOU CAUGHT MY EYE
And the numbers for YOU CAUGHT MY EYE
8 23 27 52 86 87 88 102 118 135 137 161 204 218 230 231 234
8 Jean Philippe Milot and Laurence Bolduc from Canada
In the earlier rounds I like them but they do not stand out to really make a statement, but later on in the competition from the 24 on they were attacking (in a good way) to challenge the top places. Love the beginning of their Cha Cha, they man does a good sound lock and an a making squeezing hip action without disturbing his posture, leading and his girl.
23 Sven Ninnemann and Nina Chinju Uszkureit from Switzerland
Nice grooming. Smooth and classy.
27 Giuseppe Esposito and Roberta Lodato from Italy
Should be happy with the semi final. They dance well with actually saying anything. Looks as if they are doing what they are told and not bringing out their own personality, pity because they have a lot to offer. It would also be nice to actually see them enjoying themselves once.
52 Ryan Mcshane and Ksenia Zsikhotska from England
I find them very classy and solid. I classify them as typical British dances, which means sound basic classy fundamentals. Right from the beginning I was sure they would be finalists, in my opinion.They done an excellent competition till the semi and unfortunately they had not enough energy and motivation to bring the best out. Something missing. As I said they have great quality, what I think they should be trying to develop is a PERSONALISED STYLE. They have the potential to make a statement but if they do not realise it then it will not come out or come easy.
86 Daisuke Masuda and Mami Tsukada from Japan
Stressed in Twist turns in Paso, shoulders too high. One of my favourite couples from Japan. I alway like their approach and look. Yellow is amazing on this dance floor. Would be in my final 6. Rumba with good and sound basic principals and choreography.
87 Francesco Bertini and Sabrina Manzi from USA
Right from the beginning a sure finalist. Great from the first round. One thing that it disturbs be and it seems to becoming too popular, done 2 basics at the beginning of the Rumba and both time danced on "1". I may be old fashioned but…. In the end of the day they have made and incredible improvement.
88 Rangel Spirov and Veronika Chernyavska from Bulgaria
Lovely pink dress. Was one of their best performances to date. Had an exceptional day even though the result I thought was a little tough on them. I was sure they would make the semi. But they should be happy about the performance.
102 Stefano Oradei and Veera Kinnunen from Sweden
Standing out from the crowd and looking as being sure finalists. Paso in the earlier round was a little high for my liking but in the semi and the final they mange to come back down to earth and keep their feet and body weight where it should be. Attacking all the way through the competition to make the final, rightly so. Have improved a lot in the last year. I think finally they are on the right road to success.
118 Jakub Rybicki and Nadezhda Martynenko from Poland
Having a great day. Staying soft and competitive all at the same time. Good combination within the partnership. Some really cool moments in their Rumba with intense intension and communications. Also their Paso was good, would like the girl to have more time to shape better. Also this couple was prematurely eliminated, but maybe that will give them more motivation to be even better in the open Pro.
135 Sergiy Samchynskyy and Yuliya Besarab from USA
Amazing dress, but could have though better for something else in her hair. Red stoned net was out of place.
137 Masaki Seko and Chiaki Seko from Japan
I do not think they make a statement when they are competing. Great dancers but not saying a lot. I find them getting lost on the floor or trying to hide. Also finding them a little heavy today. A little like a diesel car, takes time to go and when it goes the dance is finished.
161 Ruslan Aydaev and Valeriya Kozharinova from Russia
They are my winners from the first round. Amazing performance today. They have everything going for them to be in the top open Pro. As I said before I always thought they have been underestimated. I now hope the judges now see their real value.
204 Adam Katona and Bella Gubzheva from USA
Very striking couple in approach and in grooming. 1000's of stones on the boys shirt. Great energy in all dances. Spins like Joanne Leunis (his arms only). One thing disturbs me a lot is his posture. His neck and head is constantly forward, or maybe his shirt is so heavy that it falls back giving the impression that he has bad posture, or simply both. Would check it out.
218 Jinwoo Myung and Yuseon Jung from South Korea
Love the simplicity of the dress, bright halo with flash lightning decorated on it. The lady has an amazingly straight back, but every now and again would like to see the flexibility of it. It would make her look even more womanly. Great rolls in Samba. The man showing a great control on leading his lady in Paso Doble.
230 Wang Bo and Liu Xin Chen from China
Caught my eye for the exaggeration of the dress and over dark make up. Feathers and frills all over the place. Would have been nicer to see who was actually in the dress. One positive thing about it is that it did catch my eye, but when I looked at it more closer it was not what I expected it to be. Black lipstick is a turn off, I simply prefer warm colours for warm dancing. Maybe I am just plain old fashioned and I will not change. Also her attitude was not good in Cha Cha, too aggressive. I like the beginning of their Samba.
231 Giuseppe Nonnis and Sara Zuddas from Italy
Very new couple to the Pro field. Always have liked the boy, but I find that the girl does the minimum sufficiency and does not put in that extra "PERSONAL SELF" to make it look special and it could look special. They have so much potential but it has not been discovered yet. Not always agreeable where they place themselves on the floor.
234 Aleksandr Altukhov and Cheyenne Murillo from USA
I have seem him with various partners since he was a Youth and have alway been a fan, but this time I found them a little lost or not yet connected together. But I am sure with a good working plan they will immerge soon.
GENERAL THOUGHTS AND NOTES
Finding it really weird so many guys are so visually facial…. meaning over use of facial expressions with “UUUUU” “AHHHHHHHH” “EEEEEEE” and “MMMMMM” . Now come on, that is not acceptable at all, I know there is EQUAL EQUALITY today but the men should not be copying the ladies, and, bye the way ladies, Surprise Surprise, you should not be doing it either. It is a total turn off, so fake and anti aesthetics.
So funny to see some couples as they get through the rounds the seemed to be relieved that they are passing into the next round so they are happier and dance better. It would be nice if they had a little more confidence and believe in themselves more, they would automatically give a better performance right from the beginning.
Carolyn Smith
The views and opinions expressed above are those of Carolyn Smith and do not necessarily reflect the views of dancesportinfo
