2023 Edition Winners

1st Place (Follower)

Sylwia Węgorzewska

I have been involved in dance since I was 4 years old. I tried various styles and competed in tournaments in Poland and abroad. In 2019, bachata stole my heart. Why did I try this style? Because I grew up with choreographed routines, and it was incomprehensible to me that people could meet for the first time and dance together all night, improvising. I have won several gold medals e.g. World Bachata Meet Up’23, elSol’23, Jack&Jill’22 and reached the finals in bachata competitions. I value connection and having fun in dance. You can meet me in Wrocław, where I teach Bachata.

1st Place (Leader)

Wojciech Pasek

Before his first steps on dance floors he devoted his entire youth to playing ice hockey as a goalkeeper. His dance journey started with Bachata and it’s still his main style. As a dancer he prefers accurate leading, dynamic figures and a lot of fun in social dancing. Rivalry and taking part in competition for him is great opportunity to check your current skills, find out what to work with and get inspired by other participants.

Dasha Kovalenko - 2nd Place (Follower)

It’s hard to remember, what my life was like before I started dancing. For almost 10 years, dancing has inspired me, given me new friends and allowed me to do what I love.

Maykel Fidel - 2nd Place (Leader)

Maykel Fidel is a danish dance instructor with roots in Argentina and Nicaragua. He has been working as a dance instructor for several dance schools and at multiple international dance festivals since 2017. Maykel has multiple achievements in international competitions including Poland, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Czech Republic and France.

Klaudia Kundera - 3rd Place (Follower)

Klaudia Kundera, a professional tournament dancer with a dance class "S," specializes in salsa and bachata. She owns Caramelo dance school in Kielce and runs Sara Panero's international bachata project in Poland. A multiple Polish Champion in Salsa solo, Bachata solo, and Caribbean show solo, Klaudia won the Bachata Social Competition 2023 in Warsaw. She has also participated in TV shows like "Got Talent" and "World of Dance," performs at international festivals, and conducts workshops.

Michael Messiha - 3rd Place (Leader)

Michael is an active and energetic person. He started doing Karate and martial arts when he was eight years old. He have been also dancing breakdance, and doing parkour in the streets. He likes to inspire others and be inspired. Michael also believes in facing fears and overcoming challenges, always showing that anything is possible with determination, effort and thinking outside of the box.

Julia Zatserkovna - 4th Place (Follower)

Julia is Ukrainian and been living in Krakow, Poland for 11 years. On a daily basis, she works in a digital marketing. Her dancing journey started with ballroom when she was 8 years old. After a long break, in 2019, she discovered social dance. Started with salsa, then fell in love with bachata. Now dancing is big part of her life.

Oyun-Od Batdavaa - 4th Place (Leader)

Made in Mongolia, living in Cracow, Poland. To me, dancing means honestly expressing yourself. I refrain from the pursuit of outshining others in the dance, instead embracing the never-ending journey of surpassing my own performance, a perpetual contest of self-against-self.

Fanni Mravik - 5th Place (Follower)

I started my dancing career with ballet and ballroom dancing. I discovered Bachata in 2017 as a member of D-Dance Company. Bachata was love at the first sight and have meant happiness to me for 6 years.

Since then, I've been trying to constantly improw myself, studying and competing in teams and couple, I fell into social competiton more than a year ago. I managed to achieve several results in the last year, I won the All stars Bachata Marathon Social Competiton, the Fusiontown Bachata Jack'N Jill Social Contest in Lyon and the Bachata Social Competiton 2023 of Budapest.

2023 Edition Semi-Finalists

Magdalena Rajska

Magdalena - dancer and choreographer with many years of experience. She started her dancing adventure when she was 13 years old. Initially, she danced hip-hop and jazz. Then it was time for salsa, bachata, reggaeton, kizomba and zouk, but it was bachata that finally stole her heart. Magdalena combines dance styles to create her own and unique fusion style.

Giuseppe Cucinotta

Giuseppe is an Italian living in Belgium. In love with smooth moves and musicality, he would define his style as a fusion of all the bachata styles, with a focus on the interpretation of the music. His dances involve Dominican, modern but also some sensual steps, which makes him a truly unique dancer.

Sarah Grotz-Sonntag

Sarah is an Australian dancer, lawyer and plant mom. After dancing African dance, ballet and jazz as a child and teenager she discovered bachata in Germany in 2019. Since then, she became addicted to the bachata bubble - a world she can no longer imagine life without.

Sylwia Ogórek

She has been involved with dance since childhood. Incredibly aware of her body and its capabilities, which she owes to many years of work as a personal trainer and fitness instructor. During the dance she values lightness of guidance, positive vibe and wide-ranging connection in a couple.

Antonina Debogorska

Multi-medalist of Polish and foreign social competitions. Instructor of the Loftodance school in Krakow. She started with salsa at the age of 16 and grew up on social dance floors, passing through mambo, kizomba and tango, up to her beloved bachata. In dance, she focuses on breathing together and surrendering to the music. She has a hot temperament and is not afraid of improvisation.

Michał Kostarz

Long story short Michał loves to dance, as well as sports, stand-ups and pizza with beer :)

Yuna Cherniavska

I was born in Ukraine (Dnipro city), finished there school, university and got my Bachelor Degree in Law. During pandemic I had the honour to be a part of the Ukrainian Stand-up Team in Cracow (Poland), a little bit later I discovered bachata. Since 2022 I have been dancing bachata and, to be honest, can't imagine my life without it, as a result, I started to teach 1.5 years ago. I am open-minded, funny and kind person. I like traveling, discovering new places, talking a lot about bachata and, last but not least, make people and myself happy.

Szymon Budyn

I took my first steps on the dance floor in 2017. My dedication to Bachata grew so strong that two years later, I became an instructor at LOFToDANCE school in Cracow. In Bachata, what I love the most are the endless possibilities for growth and the space it provides for expression and creativity. In the daytime, I'm nabbing financial criminals on the stock exchange, but in the evening you'll find me embracing lively and sporty side of life.

Paweł Dyjach

Warsaw Bachata Teacher with many years of experience. You can meet him at most events in Warsaw, Polish and foreign festivals or local practises. He will dance with you no matter how long have you been dancing and he will surely invite you to join the fun at the dance floor. When dancing, he pays special attention to leading&following, musicality and contact with his partner. Although he is still fascinated by the sensual style of Bachata, including elements of Brazilian Zouk, his style can be called diverse - he believes that the way we feel and hear the music should reflect the way we dance.

Dominik Kostrzewski

Bachata instructor from Warsaw, started learning dance in December 2017 and has been dynamically developing his career since then. Thanks to his constant work and passion, Dominik has achieved significant successes in the international arena. In 2024, he won the world title in the Bachata Social Fusion Couple WADF category. His impressive achievements also include first places in the El Sol Social Competition in 2023 and 2024. Dominik is an example that determination and love for dance can result in exceptional achievements. Now he shares his knowledge at festivals in Poland and abroad.

Gadir Al-Saadi

Strong believer in the joy, connection and bonds that social dance builds between people. Gadir is still exploring all that dance has to offer and loves to teach and share his insights along the way. He is the creator of the ‘Train Bachata Like a Dancer’ concept. He trains and inspires his students to own all aspects of their dance in order to express and share meaningful moments on the social dance floor. He also found his way to social dance competitions a year ago and has been a medalist in several.

Kevin Zembrano

Born in Venezuela, living in Netherlands. Originally from Venezuela, engineer by day and bachata instructor in love with social dance by night.

Rafał Tolak

I've been dancing bachata for over 5 years and I really love this style. It gives me so much freedom in terms of a variety of moves, stylings, and tools for music interpretation. Definitely social dance is my favourite part of it. In my free time I like watching some good movies or series, playing video games, and doing some other sports activities. See you on the dancefloor!

Patrycja Piecz

After many years of dancing various styles, especially ballroom dancing, I finally got to know and fell in love with bachata. I really enjoy the connection, social dancing and the music interpretation. I share my passion as an instructor in La rosa Negra Wroclaw.

Mariia Ruchaeva

Hey there, I'm Maria. When I'm not dancing, I work as an analyst at an IT company. My dance journey began when I was 7 years old, attempting to imitate the moves of Jennifer Lopez and Shakira right on the carpet in my living room while watching TV. Only in 2016 I've started exploring bachata, salsa, and kizomba, and my heart was entirely stolen by bachata. I see this dance as an infinite space for personal growth, self-discovery, and new adventures!

Krzysztof Zięba

Dance bachata since 2020 making his life more joyful. Bachata instructor in Loftodance in Kraków. In his bachata dance he focuses on gentle leading, creating full connection and musicality.

Veronika Malyshko

Photographer and content creator. Fell in love with dance from a young age and over the years moved into social dance styles that I absolutely love the philosophy of.

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