The New Year has rolled in, bringing with it not only new dreams, goals, and expectations, but also a breath of fresh air for all those who aim to take great strides in the coming months, particularly the athletes of the DanceSport industry. Let’s take a closer look at what the New Year has in store for the dancers, audience members, and World DanceSport Federation as a whole.

A Great Tribute to the Dynamic Standard Duo

Major news came our way at the 2018 GrandSlam Standard Final in Shanghai when 4-time reigning WDSF Standard World Champions, Dmitry Zharkov and Olga Kulikova announced their retirement from the competitive world of dance. It was a breathtaking and heart aching moment to watch, clear as to what this dancing world has meant for these two. The hardships, downfalls, all of the failures that we do not see, what is essentially hidden under the iceberg, leads to the incredible success known by all, the tip of the iceberg – that small tip that marks any awareness of the iceberg at all. Dima and Olga understand this well, a reason the couple is so highly respected and loved by all, especially as idols for upcoming generations of young dancers. After all, they have conquered each event they have danced since the 2017 World Games! Aside from being 4-time World Champions, they are 3-time European Champions and have attained 20 GrandSlam titles, winning the GrandSlam final 3-times. Their experience in this industry, as well as their perseverance and victory,  has led them to be nominated for the 2019 World Games Athletes of the Year.

With the conclusion of the voting process, Dima and Olga ended up placing 6^th out of the 25 candidates in the running. However, the awareness of their candidacy brought with it many emotions and clearings about the couple into the open. How much they love what they do has brought them to be where they are: endless hours of training with sweat and tears for the few minutes to shine on the dance floor is not something just anyone can do – only Champions. Now, with the ending of their career brings a new beginning, or rather opening to the federation altogether. Who will lead the WDSF Standard division now? It becomes intriguing to witness a new era arise.

Transition Leads to Opportunity

With each new year, we can also expect transitions of younger dancers from one age group to the next. Some will be transitioning from Juvenile II to Junior I while others from Youth into the Under 21 and Adult divisions. Each year brings an opportunity to make it or break it. It all comes down to sacrifice.

Technical Changes in the World of the WDSF

Last but not least, we can take a look as to what to further expect of the events to be hosted this upcoming year by the WDSF. The WDSF Sports Commission has announced a few changes to come our way. Not only will these changes affect athletes and coaches in their preparation for competition, as well as the adjudicators that will judge, but also the viewers as to what to expect to see on the dance floor. Such a change announces that the Cha Cha and Jive will be the solo dances for presentations in the finals, while for Standard, it will be the Slow Foxtrot and Quickstep. Furthermore, we know that the Absolute Judging System 3.0 was used starting in the Quarter-Final of World Open Events. Now, the system will only be used to adjudicate the semi-final and final rounds. It will be quite interesting as to what to expect to see on the dance floor as the athletes transition to this new exchange.

All in all, many changes are set to come our way this coming year in the WDSF dancing world. New champions will take their crowns, new stars shall arise and make their marks, and we shall all witness growth in this art and sport as a whole. The wonderful aspect lies in the fact that this DanceSport world is one family – it joins together for the sake of love for dance and competition. FloDance will be further capturing live the adventure this year will be bringing us, starting from the first GrandSlam of the year to be hosted in Bucharest, Romania from March 16 to the 17. To all of the dancers, we wish you great health, happiness, and success to reaching your goals this year. May all of your dreams become a reality! Stay tuned!