DanceSport Talk

Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova have brought an end to much speculation about their future direction in DanceSport by announcing that they are turning professional. They said, "After winning our 11th National Amateur Championship title we have decided to join and compete in the professional division starting in January 2008. We are very much looking forward to this new chapter in our lives and eager to enter into a field that we hope brings exciting challenges and amazing experiences. We will finish the 2007 season competing as amateurs and are excited to see those of you attending the Embassy Ball, as this will mark our last open amateur competition in the United States. We wish to thank everyone for your support and guidance these many years past and hope to bring you even more enjoyment dancing as professionals."

I've enjoyed watching this couple progress on the world scene, and wish them the best as they advance professionally. I very much look forward to watching their performance at Embassy Ball this weekend.

Carlos Freitag, the president of IDSF, gave a candid interview with renowned DanceSport correspondent Didio Barrera. The interview was refreshingly free of political rhetoric. Freitag shared a bit about his background as a dancer and his vision for the future of the IDSF.

He explained that his vision is very clear for achieving the goal of being included as an Olympic sport by 2012, which would represent the London summer Olympic games. He explained that the IOC is looking at opening up another 15 sports and he believes DanceSport will be among the top 8 or 10 of those choices. He attributes TV coverage of IDSF events and shows such as Dancing With the Stars for bringing more awareness of DanceSport, creating greater impetus with the Olympic committee. Still, he was candid about the difficulties of making changes in areas such as judging to accommodate the needs of a "sport" label.


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I found it interesting, though not surprising, that the WDC jumped to conclusions in the case regarding the Dutch Open. More on this case in a moment, but the WDC feels it means that the IDSF has abandoned the punishment of athletes dancing in unsanctioned events. Not so fast. There is nothing in this decision which suggests a change of IDSF policy, though it may be the thin edge of the wedge.


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There's a lively discussion currently going on in Dance Forums regarding a review by the DanceSport Council of the proficiency points system.

The current system in the US and Canada is a "Point Out" system. Under this system, competitors dance out of a level when they've achieved enough points. This ensures that competitors in, say, Silver level, don't find themselves forever competing against someone else in Silver who has been there so long that the couple continues to win with no hope for those new to the level.

In pretty well all of Europe and other places like South Africa, DanceSport uses a "Point In" system. Under this system, couples cannot dance a higher level until they've earned enough proficiency points to "earn" the right to dance at that level.

It's an interesting discussion. From my point of view, these systems currently in place make sense for each of the regions using them, largely because the surrounding cultures lend themselves to the reasons why they work well in those cultures. But it's always a good idea to ask whether a change should be considered. The collective wisdom that has been expressed in the discussions is quite helpful to give a broader perspective on all the issues involved.

Dancing With the Stars judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli are starting a new show in which each of the two will try and outdo the other by leading a dance troup through training and competition.

They are preparing for auditions, to be held in September in Nashville, Los Angeles and New York. The idea seems to have come from a similar type of show called "DanceX" which will air this fall in Britain. They are seeking amateur dancers 18 and older. What I found odd is that the casting call indicates they may ask the participants to sing. Why would you want dancers to sing? For details see www.myspace.com/carrieannvsbruno

I was pleased to see that Arunas Bizokas and Edita Daniute responded yesterday to the IDSF's mad rush to revoke their World Championship title. In a press release, the couple announced that they were disappointed in the IDSF actions because they are appealing the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (see DancesportInfo.net as Edita's site is not currently available). The decision appeared to be patently unfair. The banned substance was an unmarked product in a common weight-control product sold in Germany. There was no reasonable way that she could have known it contained the banned substance, and the substance was not in itself a performance-enhancing drug but banned only because it has been, at times, used to mask other drugs. Keep up the fight, Arunas and Edita! We believe in you.