[vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1629314969982{margin-top: 40px !important;}”][vc_column_text]And we are back! We travel to Italy as we come to stream live the third GrandSlam leg of the year! To be exact, we will be on the country’s eastern coast in the town known as Rimini. This is the second year that a GrandSlam will be hosted on this seaside community – in a country known for its art, fashion, Vespas, pizza, and pasta, a country also known for impeccable performance in the world of competitive dance.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]

The Annual Supreme Rimini Fair

[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]This Saturday, July 13th, we expect the first group of GrandSlam participants – our Standard couples- to take the Rimini Expo Center floor. The Federazione Italiana Danza Sportiva, or Italian Federation of Dancesport (FIDS), is taking part in what is known as the annual Rimini Fair, an anticipated occasion to make way for over 19,000 athletes and over 200,000 spectators! However, from the 4th to the 14th of July, 11 days of nonstop dance and performance in 4 arenas and two theaters, the Italian DanceSport Championships are only a small part of all of the fun. Therefore, the GrandSlams this weekend claim the final stage of the 12th annual Italian DanceSport Championship, the closing to the grandiose 2019 Rimini Fair.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]165 Standard couples are registered to compete this Saturday compared to 95 couples from 2018 – almost a two-time increase in this event! With the Rimini Fair having taken such major events under its belt as part of the Italian DanceSport Championships, the occasion has only increased its level of success in the number of competitors and the number of spectators with the addition of both the Standard and Latin WDSF GrandSlams.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]

Italy in the Spotlight to Fight for the Top

[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]The previous WDSF GrandSlam was held just last month in Taipei on June 2nd. A total of 61 couples took part. By statistics, it seems that Rimini will be the third greatest GrandSlam in terms of participants of all five GrandSlam legs for this year. Stuttgart will take first, followed by the Moscow GrandSlam (both events which are still yet to come this year), and Rimini will follow right behind with increasing numbers.
[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]Of the 165 registrants, 105 couples are from the hosting country of Italy itself! In addition, we have 13 couples from Russia, six from Poland, and five from Lithuania, from which our anticipated crowning Champions travel – Evaldas Sodeika and Ieva Zukauskaite. Sodeika and Zukauskaite did not participate in this GrandSlam last year, so that the arena will be a fresh sight for them. They anticipate taking the third GrandSlam title of their competitive careers this weekend. However, the game will be tight because we also have Francesco Galuppo and Debora Pacini of Italy in the running. No doubt the crowd will go wild in support of their home country representatives, GrandSlam runners-up after Lithuania in Bucharest and Taipei this year. It will be a sight to see for sure![/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q317NAbZUb4″][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]

Will The Finalists Make Some Changes? Will New Semi-Finalists Come Our Way?

[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]If we take another look back at the two GrandSlam legs that took place this year, we can notice that the final six was identical in both Taipei and Bucharest, looking something like this:[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]We anticipate the final to consist of the same six duos but wonder if any of them will swap places after only a month since their last GrandSlam meeting. The semi-final will be the round to determine which couples have progressed in standing since Bucharest. This and the quarterfinal round are the most intense rounds to watch in battling competition. It will be interesting to see the placement of Edgars Linis and Eliza Ancane of Latvia and Tomas Fainsil and Violetta Posmetnaya of Germany, couples whose placements defer due to the participation of other couples. When various couples do not attend, placements vary from event to event, so watching how the final standings will playout for the Ballroom pairs this Saturday will be exciting.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FuDH3AYwrE”][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]Make your predictions and keep up with us to check in the results to come our way this Saturday, July 13th, 2019! It will be one of the hottest events of the WDSF competitive year so far! Stay tuned, everyone.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][vc_column_text]By Michelle Blank – Consultant & Contributor for FloDance[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]