The top Latin couples of the World DanceSport Federation are set to take the floor in Rimini, Italy, for the first time this Sunday as they battle for a prestigious GrandSlam Series title and more than 17,000 euros in prize money.

This weekend’s event kicks off the third leg of the WDSF Latin GrandSlam Series, with competitors from 18 countries entered to dance Saturday in Standard and a day later in Latin at the Rimini Expo Centre. 

Watch the 2018 WDSF GrandSlam Rimini LIVE on FloDance!
Standard (July 14) | Latin (July 15)

A total of 86 Latin couples have currently registered, out of which 45 of them (more than half of the registrants) represent the competition’s hosting country of Italy. 

Top 2 Latin Battles To Watch

WDSF GrandSlams are the doorways to some of the most exciting moments in the competitive DanceSport world. The tension will be high among the top seven WDSF World ranked couples dancing this weekend in Rimini, as placements constantly shift in the semifinal and final standings. Let’s look at who might battle it out in Italy for those crucial points of adjudication:

Armen Tsaturyan - Svetlana Gudyno (RUS)
vs.
Marius-Andrei Balan - Khrystyna Moshenska (GER)

The energized competition between these two couples is an undeniable one. Currently, Armen Tsaturyan and Svetlana Gudyno are ranked first in the World and GrandSlam rankings lists. 

Unbeaten in 2018, they are making their way competition after competition, win after win, focusing on taking home the grand title of world champions in Ostrava, Czech Republic, this October. However, Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska are right on their tails. They stole a major victory from the Russian couple in December of last year at the GrandSlam finale leg in Shanghai, winning three out of the five Latin dances (samba, rumba, and jive).

Because reigning WDSF World Latin champions Gabriele Goffredo and Anna Matus turned professional at the beginning of this year, the World Championship title is officially up for grabs. This means that every single dance is important to conquer.

A quarter-point shift in a scoring can determine the outcome of any single event. As a result, the loss of just one dance can determine first place from second in the final placement. Let’s see what will happen between these two couples at the third leg of the Latin GrandSlam Series!

Charles-Guillaume Schmitt - Elena Salikhova (FRA)
vs.
Andrey Gusev - Vera Bondareva (RUS)

Another never-ending rivalry exists between the French couple of Charles Schmitt and Elena Salikhova and the Russian couple of Andrey Gusev and Vera Bondareva. The placement of these two couples is never certain! 

Looking back at the first leg of the WDSF Grand Slam series of this year, which was hosted in Helsinki, Finland on March 4, Charles and Elena took home the bronze as Andrey and Vera just missed the pedestal, taking fourth place out of 78 couples. 

However, Charles and Elena lost their pedestal placement in the second leg of the Grand Slam series on June 30 in Taipei, Taiwan, taking fifth place right after Andrey and Vera, who placed fourth again out off a total of 49 couples. 

Looking at the World ranking list, Charles and Elena lead in third place with 5,334 points while Andrey and Vera trail behind in sixth place with 4,847 points.

In the GrandSlam rankings, both couples are locked in a tied for third place, each with 1,938 points. The intensity of competition between these two couples is on full blast. The importance is who will triumph in Rimini this time. 

Overall, the Latin standings are much more unpredictable from event to event than the standings of Standard couples. Semifinals and even finals can change dramatically after each competition, even if those events are only a few weeks, or even days, apart. This is where we see the hunger emanating from these competitive dancers—from their drive to be the absolute best.

Make sure to check back here on FloDance as we live-stream it all! Who do you think will prevail this time?