Kristyn Burtt
Mar 26, 2018
Updated: Apr 29, 2020
Dancing With the Stars doesn’t premiere until April 30th, but 75 dance enthusiasts kicked off their spring season with the first-ever Pro Dance Camp. Gleb Savchenko, Artem Chigvintsev, Alan Bersten and Britt Stewart created a fantastic weekend of ballroom boot camp for dancers of all levels at a resort in Palm Springs, California.
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Each day consisted of a warm-up, three one-hour classes along with private lessons with the pro of your choice in the afternoon. Kids, adults, friends and mothers and daughters had the opportunity to learn from some of DWTS’ best dancers.
What was most striking about the weekend was the camaraderie. Everyone came together with two common interests— dance and DWTS. Pro Dance Camp allowed them to not only grasp the basics of dances like Paso Doble, Cha-Cha, Jive and more, it also gave the attendees one-on-one opportunities that no VIP DWTS tour package could ever deliver.
The Saturday evening gala culminated in a performance with the pros showcasing duets, a male group number and young students of Pro Dance LA, Lev Khmelev and Sofia Sachenko.
The duo is studying under Savchenko and his wife, Elena Samodanova. Khmelev is familiar to So You Think You Can Dance audiences from his Academy Week appearance on Season 13 and the duo was featured on Little Big Shots.
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The gala event also showcased a Q&A with the pros where fun nuggets on the upcoming DWTS season were revealed. The pros go back to work in two weeks. They will get three weeks of rehearsal before the four-week season.
Chigvintsev also shared his three favorite contestants, including Lea Thompson, Patti LaBelle and Nikki Bella. The conviviality amongst the DWTS group is evident, even if they like to tease Bersten about his youth, energy and his signature move, the shimmy.
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Pro Dance Camp is aiming to do the event in other locations in the future, but the next project on Savchenko and Samodanova’s plate is the opening of their Pro Dance LA studio. They are aiming to officially open in the next two-to-three weeks.
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