Wow! Aida Champions had a very action packed week at the 2018 Millennium Dancesport Championships. As usual, Michael Chapman did not disappoint with any aspect of the event. The theme this year was "Heroes among Us" and the ballroom was decorated with all kinds of superhero memorabilia. There was everything from statues of Wonder Woman and Superman to rotating masks of Iron Man and Batman to clips from the original movies on the big screen. Ilia made it to the big screen in his Deadpool outfit too. His life is now complete. Comic books featuring the words "Boom" "Pow" "Zap" were all over the place. The competitors also got to enjoy a variety of snacks, unlimited water and a large practice floor. If you have never been to Millennium, it is well worth the trip. 

We had many Aida competitors take part in Millennium. The first event of the week was the Professional Rising Star category. Our couples dominated the field with Ivan and Ksusha winning the Rising Star Latin and Vlad and Annie coming in 2nd. Ilya and Tara also came in at an impressive fourth in the very strong Rising Star Smooth field. 

Pro Rising Star Smooth

-Ilya Abdullin and Tara Barkov - 4th Place

Rising Star Latin 

-Ivan Kudashev and Ksusha Sokolova - 1st Place

-Vlad Astafiev and Annie He Xiao - 2nd Place

The next events were the Professional Latin and the Professional Smooth, which took place on Friday night. It was a tough field, but our Aida champions pulled through and also ended up dominating these fields. In both Latin and Smooth, an Aida champion won! Congratulations to Nick and Viktorija for winning the Smooth and to Mykhailo and Anastatiia for winning the Latin.

Professional Smooth

- Nick Cheremukhin and Viktorija - 1st Place

- Sergey Samchinsky & Yuliya Besarab - 5th Place

- Ilya Abdulin and Tara Barkov - Next in to the Semi Final

Professional Latin

*Manuel Favilla and Natalia Maidiuk made it to the semi-final, but had to withdraw due to injury. Feel better guys! 

- Mykhailo Bilopukhov and Anastatiia Shchypilina - 1st Place

- Francesco Bertini and Sabrina Manzi Bertini - 2nd Place

- Sasha Altukhov and Cheyenne Murillo - 5th Place

Semi Final

- Vlad Astafiev and Annie He Xiao - 7th Place

- Rangel Spirov and Veronika Chernyavska - 8th Place

The final night was filled with American Rhythm and Cabaret. It was an exciting night especially for Alberto and Jessa as they made the Professional Rhythm final for the first time at Millennium. You could see how excited they were to finally have all of their hard work pay off. Special congratulations also goes out to Shane and Shannon, who were able to take their win at Blackpool Dance Festival and bring it back to the States, performing a spectacular Cabaret number and winning the cabaret. It's nice to win on your birthday! Happy Birthday Shannon!

American Rhythm 

- Shane Jensen and Shannon Jensen - 5th Place

- Alberto Cortes and Jessa Mae Briones - 7th Place

Semi-Final

- Ilya Abduliin and Tara Barakov - 8th Place

 Cabaret

- Shane and Shannon Jensen - 1st Place

- Craig Smith and Andrea Harvey - 5th Place

Although not actually danced, the nine dance was a category at Millennium. It was a combined score from the placements in the Smooth and the placements in the Rhythm. It takes a lot of stamina and energy to do all nine dances, so this was no easy feat. Congratulations to Ilya and Tara for coming in 2nd in this tough field. 

 Nine Dance

 - Ilya Abduliin and Tara Barkov - 2nd Place

As for us, we had a good time vending, helped hundreds of clients, and offered 1 new sponsorship to a Rhythm couple, so stay tuned for that. Hotel was very nice, and it was a pleasant change of scenery from the usual Orlando spot. Michael sure knows how to pick his hotels. All vendors were in the practice room, and as a result some lost visibility, including us, but it didn't stop us or our enthusiasm. This event was handled by Ilia Kolosov, Emily Hines, and Masey Turpin. If you missed us somehow, don't hesitate to reach out now!

Millennium was not an event to be missed and all of our Aida couples had a spectacular week. Congratulations to Michael Chapman for this awesome event and to our couples for your superb results. Also congratulations to Craig Smith and Andrea Harvey for launching they videography company at Millennium. Its now official! Get your videos at: https://motioncapturedance.com/millennium-2018-info

In addition, we want to mention our good friend Alex Rowan with Dancesport Photography for providing most of these dope shots! Check out ALL Millennium photos at: http://www.dancesportphotography.com/mill18 and use code "AIDA" for 50% off all your photos!

The next stop for the Aida team is Manhattan Dance Championships. See you there!