Neighbor News
Fred Astaire Southbury Takes Home Big Wins At 47th New England
Fred Astaire Southbury wins Super School Award and students won many championships.
Awards and honors were pouring in for Fred Astaire Southbury students and instructors at the 47th New England Dancesport Championships which took place March 8th to March 11th at the Mystic Marriott Hotel and Spa in Groton, CT.
The studio delivered a series of dazzling dance performances in all categories, garnering top placements and special awards. Fred Astaire Southbury pulled in the coveted 1st Place “Super School” Award”and was also named one of the Top Studios.
Southbury co-owner, Christian Lange, and partner/Hamden Studio instructor Anastasia Barhatova, won 1st Place in the Open American Smooth Division. Their superlative dancing and impassioned performances in tango, foxtrot and waltz blew away the judges and had the crowd cheering. Lange is renowned worldwide for his ballroom prowess and has several distinguished titles to his name including 2017 Fred Astaire World Championship Silver American Smooth Closed; California Open Rising Star Smooth Champion; German 10 Dance Champion and North American Rising Star Smooth Champion. Barhatova’s titles include Fred Astaire Championship Open Ballroom Finalist and 2016 & 2015 Open Ballroom & Latin Finalist; Tri-State Championship Finalist Ballroom & Latin and Commonwealth Classic Championship Latin Champion.
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Fred Astaire Southbury’s students and instructors also swept the Mystic competitions with several outstanding dances that them earned top awards.
Student Awards
Find out what's happening in Southburyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
1st Place Awards: Karen Gagnon/Vladimir Serbulenco (Social Bronze Closed Smooth 3-Dance Championship); Susan Holms/Vladimir Serbulenco(International Bronze Ballroom); Linda Landry/Bill Falkner (Amateur Couple Social Bronze Closed Smooth 3-Dance Championship); Vera Maltsev/Christian Lange (International Silver Ballroom); Vera Maltsev/Christian Lange(Open Smooth Championship).
2nd Place Awards: Susan Holms/Vladimir Serbulenco (Advanced Bronze Closed Smooth 3-Dance Championship); Shirley Jakobowski/Christian Lange (Open Rhythm); Vera Maltsev/Christian Lange (Open Rhythm); Kevin McCann/Ivana Strancaric ( Social Bronze Closed Rhythm 3-Dance Championship).
3rd Place Awards: Southbury resident Lori Nespoli/Vladimir Serbulenco (Social Bronze Closed Smooth).
Professional Awards
In addition to Christian Lange and Anastasia Barhatova’s big win, Studio instructors Vladimir Serbulenco and Ivana Strancaric were among the top professional finalists earning an impressive 3rd Place in both Open American Smooth and Open American Rhythm Divisions.
Saturday’s big gala evening featured a very special a fund-raising event, “Dancing With Our Heroes, sponsored by all of the Fred Astaire Franchised Dance Studios in New England. The event featured general dancing, a sit-down dinner, a silent auction, and the “Dancing with Our Heroes” competition between our military heroes who were each partnered with a professional dance instructor. Each participating Fred Astaire Dance Studio provided instructors, dance shoes and free lessons to help the heroes prepare for the competition. Winners were selected by audience votes and a panel of celebrity judges.
The proceeds of the event were donated to The Friends of Fisher House Connecticut in support of The Fisher House on the grounds of the West Haven VA. Fred Astaire Franchised Studios New England’s two previous events for this cause raised $280,000.
“We want to congratulate all of our Fred Astaire Southbury students and teachers who performed so well at the recent Mystic Competition”, said Fred Astaire Southbury co-owner Paulo Jorge. “Everyone involved made such an overwhelming effort to excel beyond anything we could have imagined. We are so impressed with what they achieved and extremely proud of each and every one of their shining performances and excellent placements in all dances. In addition, we would like to acknowledge and thank our military heroes for getting out there on the dance floor and showing us what they can do. They were all absolutely terrific!”
“What a great weekend this was for Fred Astaire Southbury.” added co-owner Lange. “Thank you all for making the 47th New England Dancesport Championships such a rewarding and memorable experience!”
Fred Astaire Dance Studio is located at 316 Main Street South, suite F & G, Southbury, CT 06488
You can contact us by calling (203) 267-7600 , email at southbury@fredastaire.com , or visit us at fredastaire.com/southbury
