Michael Malitowski & Joanna Leunis Honour Dance & Interview! UK Open 2015

Enjoy this clip of Michael Malitowski & Joanna Leunis and their exhilarating honour dance along with a clip of their Interview with DSI TV from the UK Open Championships 2015. Watch their record breaking performance at the UK Open now on DVD here dsi-london.com/...

[@yolandastepien723]

Michael and Joanna. 👌.👋👋👋

[@joetesta3352]

So precise and articulate in everything they do. Their attention to detail, grooming, presentation technique is faultless. Not to take anything away from them, they deserved every one of their victories but I just always wonder had Slavik remained on the floor wether they would have achieved all that they did. Now that would have been a rivalry to end all rivalries. Joanna could easily have matched it with any female But Slavik I think would have presented a more than serious challenge to Michael, especially in the charisma and floor presence department. Being a multi world champion in anything is sometimes a matter of circumstance and fortunate timing. But that question can never be answered and at the end it is how it is. A truly phenomenal dancesport couple.

[@aidepaul534]

Well, Slavik couldn't keep a partner because of his terrible ego. You can't win without a partner.

[@joetesta8754]

@@aidepaul534 Slavik was never really without a partner, infact he had the absolute very best lined up to dance with him. Slavik in case you aren't aware holds the record for the fastest rise to the top of the professional ranks of any dancer in history. Only 11 years. That's almost half the time of anyone else. What do you attribute that achievement to, ego? As a dancer he was deeply passionate and driven with an unyielding self belief and those things i think were both his weapons and his enemies, not ego. Add to that a degree of immaturity, trying to deal with all that success so quickly and at such a young age. No he didn't win a pro world title, but he and Karina as a partnership are as revered, loved and respected as any world champion, perhaps even more so. Not because they won and were world champions but because of the astonishing quality of memorable dance masterpieces they created and have left as their legacy which for some of us are worth far more than titles and winning.

[@TheBeenec]

@@joetesta8754 May I ask, where did you find the information about the fastest rise to professional final? Do you also mean 11 years from the absolute first steps on the floor?

[@joetesta8754]

@@TheBeenec Yes, i mean from the fist time he entered his very first dance lesson. Slavik began dancing at age 11 and by 22 he was ranked No 3 pro in the world with Karina. From memory there is reference to this fact in the movie THE DANCER they made about his dance career and I think there is reference to it in an interview. Also It's a well know fact among old timers like me that have been around dancesport for decades and followed his career very closely. His style influenced so many guys and still does and will; continue to for many years to come.
He is generally regarded by most as a prodigy and the most naturally gifted male dancesport dancer ever. He has often been referred to as dancesports equivalent to the great Rudolf Nureyev in terms of sheer Natural talent and artistic creativity. For me slavik remains my absolute idol as a dancer along with Donny Burns, Surgey Surkov, Allan Tornsburg and Brian Watson. These guys In my opinion are without equal and have contributed to the development and influenced the style of dancesport Latin over the years more than anyone.

[@TheBeenec]

@@joetesta8754 Wasn't he 24 though, when he won Amateur Latin in 2000 with Joanna?