Od 13. do 17. avgusta se je v Stuttgartu odvijal praznik plesa, kot nekateri poimenujejo odprto tekmovanje German Open Championships.
Z besedami je nemogoče opisati, koliko svetega pomena ima ime German Open Championships. Samo tisti, ki so del čarobnega in nadvse fascinantnega sveta družabnega plesa, ga lahko ne le razumejo, ampak tudi občutijo in imajo od prihajajočega ‘praznika plesa’ kurjo polt. Vsi športniki GOC povezujejo z začetkom nove plesne sezone, zato je to eden najpomembnejših in ključnih turnirjev v karieri vsakega profesionalnega plesalca. Vsako leto v avgustu pride v Stuttgart na stotine plesnih parov iz vsega sveta, da bi se pomerili za naziv najboljšega na svetu in se zapisali v zgodovino tega velikega dogodka.
Letošnje German Open Championships je potekalo od 13. do 17. avgusta, kjer so imeli vsi pari priložnost pokazati svoje plesno mojstrstvo v različnih starostnih kategorijah. Skupno je bilo prijavljenih skoraj 4000 plesalcev iz 59 držav. Žirijo je sestavljalo 69 sodnic in sodnikov iz različnih držav, Slovenijo pa sta predstavljali Alenka Bohak in Tatiana Lahvinovič Galčun.
Seveda niso manjkali niti pari iz Slovenije, ki so dostojno in častno zastopali našo državo. Ena najmlajših slovenskih predstavnikov sta bila mlajša mladinca Artem in Daryna Kotiusko, ki sta tekmovala v vseh plesnih stilih. Zasedla sta 37. mesto v kombinaciji, 38. mesto v standardnih in 56. mesto v latinskih kategorijah. Pri mladincih sta za Slovenijo tekmovala dva para, Denis Nali in Julija Markovič Halik, ki sta zasedla delitev 25.-26. mesta, le nekaj korakov od četrtfinala v kombinaciji, 19. mesto v standardu in 50. mesto v latinu. Zhang Jianing in Zhang Lufang sta bila 49. v kombinaciji, 90. v standardu in 22. v latinu.
Čeprav se standardni in latinski plesi štejejo za ples v paru, obstajajo možnosti za solo tekmovanje na številnih tekmovanjih. Solo kategorije so priljubljene predvsem med mlajšimi starostnimi kategorijami, saj je na žalost velikokrat veliko več punc, ki želijo plesati. Solo tekmovanja imajo za mnoge plesalce poseben pomen – kljub težavam v plesni besedi, kjer je težko najti pravo osebo za uspeh, lahko posamezniki še vedno blestijo na parketu, izpopolnjujejo svoj ples, zabavajo občinstvo in zmagujejo. Zato iskreno čestitava Dariji Saraykini za dovolj poguma, da se je udeležila tako prestižnega tekmovanja in zasedla delitev 33.-34. mesta v kategoriji pionirji solo ženske.
Jako Bračko in Venera Spasova sta prvič plesala skupaj na tako visokem turnirju. V kategoriji pod 21 let sta bila v latinu uvrščena na 34. mesto, v standardu pa sta bila korak do polfinala in sta zasedla 13. mesto. Odločila sta se preizkusiti tudi med bolj izkušenimi pari in dosegla delitev 57.-60. mesta v kategoriji članov vzhajajočih zvezd v latinu ter 61.-63. mesto v standardu. Glede na to, da sta s skupnim tekmovanjem začela šele spomladi, je njun rezultat odličen. Želimo jima veliko sreče in še več odličnih rezultatov prihodnje leto.
Še en svež starejše mladinski par – Dan Hude in Iza Vidergar je plesal v petih različnih kategorijah na letošnjem GOC. V standardnu sta osvojila 59. mesto, v latinu 73. in v latinu pod 21 let 77. mesto. Poleg tega sta nastopila v višji kategoriji med vzhajajočimi zvezdami in jima je prineslo 97. mesto v standardu in 128. mesto v latinu. Teh 5 dni na tekmovanju je bilo zelo intenzivnih in seveda čestitamo Danu in Izi, da sta jih prestala z dodatno vzdržljivostjo in strastjo.
Najbolj huda konkurenca je bila kot vedno v kategoriji Grand Slam člani, kjer sta slovenska državna prvaka Akim Pekunov in Maša Kastelic zasedla delitev 38.-39. mesto med več kot 200 pari v latinu. Po vrnitvi s svetovnega prvenstva v latinu na Kitajskem, kjer sta Akim in Maša zasedla 42. mesto, sta nadaljevala s treningi z večjo vnemo in predanostjo, da bi na GOC pokazala svoj najboljši ples in občinstvu dala neprimerljiv občutek zagona in veliko pozitivnih čustev. Lani sta zasedla na tem tekmovanju delitev 51.-53. zato je opazen izjemen napredek in prepričana sva, da bosta naslednje leto Akim in Maša zelo blizu četrtfinala.
Drugi slovenski par v kategoriji Grand Slam latin je Stefan Chiari in Neža Colja, ki sta se uvrstila v 3. krog in končala na 94. mestu, v kategoriji Grand Slam standard pa sta zasedla 95. mesto. Poleg tega sta sodelovala tudi v kategoriji vzhajajočih zvezd in zasedla 56.-59. mesto v standardu in 28.-29. v latinu. Pomembno je omeniti, da je za ta par prvo tekmovanje German Open, kjer nastopata v kategoriji članov. Lani sta nastopila v kategoriji pod 21 in zasedla 23. mesto v latinu in 21. mesto v standardu. Začetek prvega leta v novi kategoriji je dober in zanimivo bo spremljati njun razvoj v tej plesni sezoni.
Za Brina Ravterja in Moniko Kocbek je bilo to prvič, da sta se udeležila German Open Championships. Ker sta iz kombinacije prešla na samo standardni ples, sta nastopila v kategoriji Grand Slam in vzhajajoče zvezde, kjer sta zasedla delitev 115.-119. in 64-70. mesto. Kot je par omenil na svojem Instagramu, je bila to njuna neverjetna prva izkušnja na tem dogodku. Zahvalila sta se vsem parom, da so delili parket in ju motivirali, da sta še boljša, ter priznala odlično vzdušje v dvorani med tekmovanjem.
Najbolj pa je odmevala novica v članski kategoriji , da sta ljubljenca občinstva in večkratna prvaka Marius-Andrei Balan in Kristina Mošenska, oznanila konec kariere in ze iz članske kategorije preselila v kategorijo profesionalcev. Zaradi te odločitve so se rezultati spremenili in zdaj sta absolutna prvaka med člani in najboljši par prvenstva postala Charles-Guillaume Schmitt in Elena Salikova. Ne smemo prezreti atraktivnega para v kategoriji GrandSlam Standard Alekseja Gluhova in Anastazije Glazunove. Ta par je prvič osvojil naziv najboljšega na GOC. Dolgo časa sta se močno trudila doseči svoj cilj in končno dočakala tisto, kar sta si dolga leta želela.
German Open Championships je res velik dogodek v svetu športnega plesa. Če si bil tam vsaj enkrat sva prepričana, da se boste želeli vračati znova in znova, da bi izkusili nepozabne občutke veličine in lepote, ki jih ponuja to tekmovanje. Da bi vse to doživeli pa le ostanite en dan več po tekmovanju in si ogledate zgodovinski Stuttgart. Misliva, da ni naključje, da sta ta dogodek in to mesto med seboj povezana in tako blizu.
P.S. Članek sta napisala plesalca Anastasiya Lendel in Denys Kulakovskyi, ki prihajata iz Ukrajine, v Ljubljani živita in študirata že nekaj časa. Plešeta za Slovenijo v kategoriji profesionalcev. Kot poznavalca športnega plesa sta obljubila, da napišeta vsak mesec vsaj en zanimiv članek na temo športnega plesa. Dobrodošla na Paradinem portalu.
In English!
It is impossible to put in words how much sacred meaning is embedded the name German Open Championships. Only those who are part of the magical and very fascinating world of ballroom dance can not only understand it, but also feel it, and have goosebumps all over their body from the upcoming “celebration of dance”. All athletes associate GOC with the start of a new dance season, which is why it is one of the most important and pivotal tournaments in the career of any professional dancer. Every year in August hundreds of dance couples from all over the world come to Stuttgart to compete for the title of the best in the world and to write their names in the history of this great event.
This year’s German Open Championships were held from 13th to 17th August, where all couples had the opportunity to show their dance mastery in different age categories. In total, there were almost 4000 dancers’ registrations from 59 nations. The panel of judges comprised of 69 judges from different countries, with Alenka Bohak and Tatsiana Lavinovich Galchun representing Slovenia. Of course, there were also couples from Slovenia who represented our country with dignity and honor.
One of the youngest participants representing Slovenia were Artem and Daryna Kotiushko, who competed in all dance styles as Juniors I. They took 37th place in Ten Dance, 38th place in Standard, and 56th place in Latin categories. In Juniors II there were two couples competing for Slovenia, Denis Nali and Julija Markovič Halik, who took 25-26th place, just few steps away from quarterfinal in Junior II Ten Dance, 19th place in Standard, and 50th place in Latin; and Zhang Jianing and Zhang Lufang, who were 49th in Ten Dance, 90th in Standard and 22nd in Latin.
Although Ballroom and Latin dancing is considered as a couple dance, there are opportunities to compete in solo on many competitions. Solo categories are popular especially among younger age categories, because unfortunately, there are often far more girls than boys willing to dance. Solo competitions have a special meaning for many dancers – despite any difficulties in the word of dance, where it is hard to find a proper person to reach success with, individuals can still shine on the floor, improve their dancing, entertain the audience and win titles. So, we would like to sincerely congratulate Daria Saraykina for being brave enough to take part in such a prestigious competition and take 33-34th place in Juvenile II Solo Latin female category.
Talking about the youth couples, we would like to start with Jaka Bračko and Venera Spasova, who danced together for the first time at such a high-level tournament. In Under 21 Latin they were placed 34th, and in Under 21 Ballroom they were one step away from the semi-finals, taking 13th place. They also decided to try themselves among more experienced couples and reached 57th-60th place in Adult Rising Start Latin, and 61st-63rd place in Adult Rising Star Standard. Considering that they only started competing in the spring, their result is great. We wish them good luck and more great results next year.
Another fresh Youth couple – Dan Hude and Iza Vidergar, in 5 different categories at this year’s GOC. They earned 59th place in Youth Standard, 73rd place in Youth Latin, and 77th place in Under 21 Latin categories. Besides, they took part in higher category for them, and it resulted in 97th place in Adult Rising Stars Standard, and 128th place in Adult Rising Stars Latin. Those were very intense 5 days at the competition, and of course, we congratulate Dan and Iza for passing it through with extra endurance and passion.
As always, the fiercest competition happened in the Adult GrandSlam category, where Slovenian Champions Akim Pekunov and Maša Kastelic took 38th-39th place out of more than 200 pairs on Grand Slam Latin. Having returned after the World Championship Latin in China, where Akim and Maša took 42nd place, they continued training with more enthusiasm and dedication to show their best dance at the GOC and give the audience an incomparable feeling of drive and a lot of positive emotions. As this dancing couple took 51-53rd place on GOC 2023, there is a remarkable improvement, and we are sure that next year Akim and Masa will be very close to the quarter finals.
Another Slovenian couple competing in the GrandSlam Latin category was Stefan Chiari and Neža Colja, who got qualified into the 3rd round and ended on 94th place and took 95th place in GrandSlam Standard category. Moreover, they also participated in Adult Rising Star Standard, where they took 56th-59th place, and 28th-29th place in Adult Rising Star Latin. It is important to mention that it is the first German Open competition for this couple, where they compete in Adult category. Last year they competed in Under 21 category and were placed 23rd in Latin and 21st in Standard. It is a good beginning for the first year in the new category and it will be interesting to track their development in this dance season.
For Brin Ravter and Monika Kocbek, it was the first time they attended German Open Championship. As they switched from combination to dancing only Standard, they competed in GrandSlam and Adult Rising Stars category, where they took 115-119th and 64-70th places. As the couple mentioned in their Instagram, it was their amazing first-time experience at this event. They thanked all the couples for sharing the floor and motivating them to be better and admitted the great atmosphere in the hall during the competition.
In the most recent news about the top couples in this federation, the favorites of many dance lovers and multiple champions in the Adult category, Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska announced the end of their career in the Adult category and moved to the Professionals category. Due to this decision, the results have changed and now the absolute champions and the best couple are Charles-Guillaume Schmitt and Elena Salikhova. We should not ignore the beautiful couple in the Adult Ballroom category Alexey Glukhov and Anastasia Glazunova. This couple won the title of the best at the GOC for the first time. For a long time, they have been striving hard to reach their goal and finally got what they wanted for many years.
The German Open Championship is a truly great event in the world of ballroom dance. Once you have been there at least once, we are sure you will want to return again and again to experience the unforgettable feelings of greatness and beauty that this place offers. To enhance the effect and more vivid emotions, it is highly recommended to stay at least one day to see historic Stuttgart. We think that it is no coincidence that this event and this city are interconnected and so close to each other.
