The English 2025 Report
The English Adjudicators 2025
The English Gala and Competition 2025 - a non-for-profit event that provided a fun and energetic environment for dancers of all ages and levels to take part while raising funds that go back to dancers through cash prizes, scholarships, training camps and supporting the BCDC.
This three day event was held on for the 3rd time on the 18th- 20th of July starting with a training camp allowing competitors to train and develop together then culminating in a two day competition including a gala night creating a spotlight on some the UK’s bests dancers from Juveniles all the way to Professionals. The Kassam Stadium, the home of Oxford United football club provided the perfect back drop for the plethora of talent on display at this year’s event. Congratulations to Team London and their team captain, Jane Byrnes for winning the annual English Team during the Gala Evening, taking home a cash prize of £600 amongst over goodies.
The English Amateur Latin - 2025
The English Amateur Latin Cup was run over three rounds and showcased some great dancers as captured in the report by John Byrnes.
Before I begin my report I would like to congratulate Mark & Olga Elsbury for running The English Gala. They have created a most wonderful event which has gone from strength to strength since it’s inception three years ago & I look forward to hopefully being a part of it again in 2026.
1st Place: Gustav Skovbon & Ella Perry
They performed beautifully showing that they are a world class act & for me easy winners. Gustav has a lovely softness in his movement. This would be enhanced by producing more strength & torque within his body & being more aware of his personal space to appear more commanding. Ella is a powerful
dancer who is sometimes guilty of over trying, but not on this occasion. Tonight she seemed to trust her technical skills & her feeling for dance which made her performance more appealing. Congratulations to both of you!
2nd Place: Chris Buttle & CeeCee Jackson
They danced with an admirable freedom & explosiveness. I felt it was close on the night between them & the third placed couple. Chris is at his best when he maintains body isolation & cuban motion but these aspect of his dancing are still a little inconsistent in his performance. Ceecee is an admirably powerful, expressive & grounded dancer. She now needs to develop her leg action further to continue her improvement. Well done
3rd Place: Dragos Hepcat & Chloe Blackshaw
For me overall this was one of their better performances. If an adjudicator’s decision was based on how much energy & commitment to a movement a dancer gave in their performance Dragos would be the champion. He is often guilty of over trying & using too much force to complete his movements lacking in finesse & sensing. Tonight I felt he was a little calmer in this aspect which made it all look better. Chloe is a good technical dancer who you can rely on not to do anything untoward but sometimes looks a little too comfortable. Unlucky on this occasion not to be higher.
4th Place: Timurs Cepurnois & Arina Taicher
They danced as well as they ever have. Timur is a talented dancer & seems to have improved his timing. I would like to see less upper body/shoulder movement & more concentration to his core & cuban motion. Arina is a neat dancer who should now work on developing her leg action & finding an inner strength in her body if she is to challenge the girls above her. I know Timur is dedicated to his dancing so hopefully they will make the necessary adjustments.
5th Place: Jakub Dusa & Emily Stockdale
A fairly new couple who have so much potential yet to be realised. Jakub is close to being a wonderful Latin exponent but there is still a lot of development & work to be done. He has an admirable feeling for Latin but this is often reflected by his shoulders rising. He also can appear short legged as his hips are tilted backwards. Emily’s development lies in ensuring that her body is more angular with greater torque. One to watch for the future!
6th Place: Dani Tkachenko & Eleanora Kostileva
Another relatively new couple. They are powerful & attacking dancers with good timings & they know how to spin. Dani has an admirable “body tick”/ rhythm but seems to be unaware of line & unsure where a movement finishes & a new movement begins. Eleanora is an expressive dancer but needs to improve her leg action. Well done for enhancing this final.
The English Amateur Ballroom - 2025
The write up for the Amateur Ballroom English Cup for 2025 was provided by John Wood.
Into first place by winning all five dances clearly, the new partnership of Zorik Moldavsky & Ivanna Tymczyszyn. They are already showing tremendous promise and I foresee them achieving success in the major events over the next 12 months.I was particularly impressed with their excellent musical expression, particularly in the waltz and foxtrot congratulations
Second place went to James Rainford & Xiaosheng Ma who danced very well on this evening but must continue to develop further in order to produce a performance that would challenge the champions tonight.
Third place went to Max Appleby & Niamh Harding. A Tall elegant couple who produced a very powerful and exciting tango which challenged for the runner-up position.
Fourth place went to Rory Pickin & Katy Phelps and for me I personally thought were fortunate to finish in this position. Despite a number of positives they danced with their weight far too high which resulted in a lack of swing in the moving dances. Something they may want to address for competition moving forward.
Fifth position, Josh Chalcraft & Phoebe Cooper who I thought Dance well this evening, a fresh📣 thought of choreography, particularly in tango and quickstep could help further this partnership.
Sixth position Runar Bjoerhovde & Anabelle Parton-Blades who had a very good evening Dancing with musical expression and for me could’ve finished much higher in this competition.
Seventh place went to Paul Miller & Emma Leila Buchanan who danced with a lot of expression and I can see that they enjoyed themselves very much
The English Amateur American Smooth - 2025
American Smooth is continuing to grow within the UK and the event culminated in the Gala evening with 6 couple final in The Amateur American Smooth English Cup reported by Mark Elsbury.
1st place went to Jan Borysiak and Ada Sutton,
A new couple joining the American smooth ranks who have immediately made an impacted in wining this competition. Their movement and smooth transitions were a main feature of their dance style and looked effortless, using the full length of Jan tall frame to full effect. I’m excited to see this couple progress through their Smooth journey. Congratulations on this win which I am sure will be the first of many.
2nd place was taken by Simon Minko and Milena Sheveleva ,
An experienced smooth couple who performed very well today. Milena has a very feminine approach and clear understanding of the body usage, now I would just look at how Simon can complement this better by offering a clearer lead into actions. Congratulations on beautiful a,d very elegant performance this evening.
3rd place went to Josh Chalcraft & Phoebe Cooper,
They have been competing in the American Smooth genre for a few months now and are improving on every showing. Their movement is becoming more natural and seamless, creating greater fluidity between actions. They challenged for a higher position tonight but more body usage would strengthen this claim at future events.
4th in this competition were Finlay Walker and Amelia Simmonds,
They had a strong showing with lots of power, particularly noted in the Tango. Once more time and accuracy is given to this style I can then see them continuing to develop and becoming a couple to watch out for.
5th place went to Runar Bjoerhovde and Anabelle Parton-Blades .
This couple have such a natural and appealing movement to their dancing within any proximity they chose to dance. They looked especially comfortable in shadow position which is unusual with a couple of this experience. Keep applying the time required to this genre and I can only see positive things for your development moving forward.
6th in this final were Paul Miller and Emma Leila Buchanan who travelled all the way from Scotland and I believe are the first Scottish couple to compete in this genre. They used a great balance of syllabus steps and open choreography and portrayed this with lots of emotion and expression. With time I am sure the skills will develop further and I look forward to seeing them lead the way for Scotland in this genre.
