Latin legends
What does it take to become the best dancers in the world?
Battling Latin superstars Michael Malitowski and Joanna Leunis
and Riccardo Cocchi and Yulia Zagoruychenko share
the secrets of their success with Marianka Swain
I
t’s one of the most exciting
contests in ballroom history.
This month, at the Royal
Albert Hall’s International
Championships, all eyes will
be on Michael and Joanna,
and Riccardo and Yulia, whose
exceptional talent and intense
rivalry has taken Latin to new
heights. So how did they fall in
love with dance, and what inspired
them to make it to the top?
Photographs © Ron Self
“I never dared to
dream we could
become world
champions”
Both had caught the ballroom
bug at an early age. “I’ve wanted
to dance since I can remember,”
says Michael. “I started learning
in Poland when I was eight, and I
had great support from family and
friends, but I pushed the most –
I’ve always been self-disciplined.”
Right, Joanna Leunis
and Michael Malitowski
During their nine years
at the International.
together, Michael and
Opposite, at Blackpool
Joanna have enjoyed an
Dance Festival
astonishing run of success:
Polish Professional Latin
champions since 2003,
Blackpool Dance Festival
champions since 2008, and
International, UK Open and World
Cup champions since 2005.
Joanna recalls the origins
of their perfect partnership:
Dancing was in Joanna’s
“I knew Michael’s dancing
blood: “I danced around the house
from competitions, but we’d
with my dad or my granddad, and,
never met personally. When
age seven, I started jazz and ballet
we had our tryout, it felt really
classes at school. When I was
nice and I could see great
ten, I was introduced to ballroom.
potential straight away.”
It wasn’t popular back then, but I
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fell in love with it. My first partner
was my dad, because there wasn’t
another option at the time!
“My parents never needed to
push me, as I knew dancing was
what I wanted and my dream was
to become great at it. I overcame
a serious blood disease when I
was a child, which taught me to
fight for what I want and made me
realise how lucky I am to do it.”
However, Joanna had to
travel to fulfil her ambitions:
“There wasn’t any support
for ballroom, so I had to
train abroad. I’d love to
see ballroom taught in
schools in Belgium, as it
is in other countries.”
Michael was fortunate to
have good group classes at
his disposal, “plus dedicated
teachers and a wonderful
first coach, Wojtek Olszak. All
my subsequent teachers have
inspired me in different ways, as
have the top dancers.” He admits
ballroom requires sacrifice, “but
no pain, no gain! You have to
work for it every day.” Joanna
adds: “It’s never truly felt like a
sacrifice, because I love doing it.
Plus all the hard work is worth it
when you’re pursuing your dream
of becoming world champion.” ➤
October 2011 \ DANCEToday \ 33
dancechampions
“I overcame a serious blood disease when I was a child,
which taught me to fight for what I want and made
me realise how lucky I am to do it” – Joanna Leunis
Joanna longed to follow in the
footsteps of Louis Van Amstel
and Julie Fryer, “who were
coached by Dr Ruud Vermeij,
so I decided I’d do anything to
be coached by him – I was then
14! Ruud has been my coach
ever since, and I couldn’t have
achieved what I have without him.”
When Michael began dancing
with Joanna, he knew they were
a great match, “but I had no
idea how far we could go – I
didn’t think we’d even reach
the finals. I never dared
to dream we could
become champions
of all the majors”.
Joanna
attributes their
success to
compatibility: Joanna and Michael
dance at the British
“We click
Open, in Blackpool,
professionally
in June this year
and privately. I
knew straight
away Michael
was right for me
and I trusted his
intentions. His will to
work was clear to see.”
Michael notes
they have different
backgrounds, “so
we’ve learned a
lot from each other”.
Joanna believes that, with
the globalisation of ballroom,
international partnerships are the
norm, “and that difference is very
inspiring when you’re trying to
create something unique. We now
represent England, which is a real
honour given how prestigious it is
in the dance world, and as we’ve
been living here for the past five
years, I feel closer to it than any
other country in some ways.”
For Michael, the most important
part of choosing a base is
sufficient privacy for practice:
“It can be anywhere, as long as
we have space to work and put
ideas into our bodies. One of
the best things about dancing
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is the opportunities it gives
you – without it, I wouldn’t be
able to see the world.” Joanna
adds: “I actually get restless if I
stay in one spot for too long!”
They believe such opportunities
are the reasons strong dancers
are coming out of countries like
Russia and China, “but it really
comes down to the individual,”
notes Joanna. “Wherever you are,
whether or not you have amazing
facilities, you have to want it.”
Michael agrees: “Money is
not the most important
thing. Where there’s a
will, there’s a way.”
They are currently
working hard in
preparation for
the Internationals,
one of their
favourite
competitions.
“The Albert
Hall is like my
second home. I
always get a kick
out of performing
there,” says Michael.
Although the pressure
is tremendous, he’s
focused on “doing my
best, every time I perform.
If what people see helps
them in any way, that’s
great. I can’t ask for more.”
Joanna is proud of their “unique
personal style” and wants people
to “find pleasure in watching
us. I hope we inspire the next
generation to believe in themselves
and find their own style too.”
dancechampions
“The competition is
tougher than ever”
Coming from a family of
dancers, ballroom has always been
Riccardo’s life; his parents ran a
studio in Terni, Italy. “They instilled
in me a love of dance. I started
when I was five and continued
non-stop until I was19. I then took
It’s just four years this month
since partners Riccardo Cocchi
and Yulia Zagoruychenko
burst onto the competition
scene, but, looking at their
list of achievements, it seems
far longer. Their titles include
two-time World Professional
Riccardo Cocchi and
Latin champions, World
Yulia Zagoruychenko
Professional Showdance
dance at the British Open,
champions and threein Blackpool, this year
time US Professional
Latin champions,
but there’s
more to come,
promises Yulia:
“We’ve had
some great
moments in
our career,
but our focus
is on creating
the next major
highlight.”
Riccardo
is used to life
at the top after
winning World
Amateur Latin titles
with previous partner
Joanne Wilkinson, and
Yulia caught his eye while
becoming US national champion
with Maxim Kozhevnikov. “I
saw Yulia dancing and decided
a two-year break to study physical
then that my future partner
education and physiotherapy,
had to look and dance like
which brought another dimension
that woman,” recalls Riccardo.
to my dancing – it altered my
“Well, I had to wait five years,
approach and ultimately made
but my dream came true!”
me more professional.
“I was also incredibly inspired
by the champions of the time.
They were like gods to me –
their skill and elegance drove
me to practise, hoping that, one
day, I could inspire others.”
Yulia was an active child “who
loved music and dance, so my
mother took me to the Russian
national folk dance school when I
was four. At seven, I switched
over to ballroom. I fell in
love with it and never
thought twice about
pursuing it”.
Yulia moved to
the US to dance
with Maxim
and Riccardo
then made
the States
his base to
dance with
Yulia. “At the
time, people
would dance
under any
banner as long
as the partnership
showed promise, but
Yulia and I have really
found a home here. The
appreciation and support
we receive from the American
dance community is incredible.
There’s a place in our hearts for
our mother nations, but ultimately
we view dancing as belonging to
us, so it’s not a difficult transition.”
Riccardo feels they’re the
perfect pair to represent the
US: “We, like most Americans, ➤
“I saw Yulia dancing and decided then that my future partner had
to look and dance like that woman,” recalls Riccardo. “Well, I had
to wait five years, but my dream came true!”
October 2011 \ DANCEToday \ 35
dancechampions
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dancechampions
“The appreciation and support we receive from the American dance
community is incredible. There’s a place in our hearts for our
mother nations, but ultimately we view dancing as belonging to us,
so it’s not a difficult transition” – Riccardo Cocchi
programmes in Russia and
are foreign people with deep
China, “although due to political
passion for our craft, drawn
issues, in the past, many of their
here by opportunity. It’s the ideal
dancers never left the borders,”
place to take our careers to the
observes Yulia. “Now the world is
next level and contribute to a
a bit smaller and a lot freer, the
wonderfully diverse society.
“We also benefit from the
lessons we bring from our
respective countries, so the fact
that we’ve experienced different
things, lived different lives,
natively speak different
languages and even
prefer different food
is what allows
us to bring a
unique product
Right, Riccardo and Yulia
to the floor.”
dance at the British Open last
Yulia adds:
year and, opposite, this year
“We also
constantly learn
from each other.
We keep each
other honest
and support
one another as
teammates should,
building a level of
trust and connection
few people can claim.”
T
he pair would
love to see more
countries and
governing bodies developing
young dancers, especially given
how expensive it is for families.
“When we get there, I really
think ballroom will jump up a
level,” notes Riccardo. They
are impressed by the national
international flavour of ballroom
can be better experienced.”
Riccardo feels he and Yulia
“bring renewed life to the
true spirit of Latin by paying
homage to the foundations: the
rhythm and core movement.
We develop our individual
style by studying the technical
action of everything we do, as
well as being open to different
interpretations of ballroom steps
and other forms of dance. We
also explore various ways of
training our bodies, always with
the goal of improving our ability
to deliver great dancing.”
Yulia credits their
teachers, “who give
us so much and
constantly deepen
our understanding.
Ballroom has
intricate styling
and complex
technique, and
they help us
develop both.”
Their ambition
for the future
is simple, says
Riccardo: “This
season, like every
season, we hope to
win every competition.
The circuit is gruelling
and the competition is
tougher than ever. There’s
a myth that once you
get to the top, it’s easy
staying there, but with the
amount of talent, we need to
work harder than ever to contend
for the top spot. In the end, we
really just hope to do our best,
improve the quality of our dancing
and make our fans proud.” l
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