Andrea Roccatti and Marika Odikadze from Israel took bronze in the 10 Dance competition at the World DanceSport Federation World Championship in Elblag, Poland over the weekend.
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In the 10 Dance contest, competitors dance five European dances and five Latin American dances. In two out of 10 dances, the Israeli couple beat Veronika Myshko and Earle Williamson, the former European champions from Ukraine. Russian dancers Angelina Barkova and Evgeny Sveridonov took gold at the competition.
"We are very happy to bring honor to the state and represent Israel with all our might. It's heartwarming to receive a positive response from viewers, especially when they are professionals and dancers who competed against us and gave us credit for our accomplishment. The true victory is to see our flag on the podium and know we were some of the best in the world."
Arik Kaplan, who heads the Ayelet – The Federation of Non-Olympic Competitive Sport in Israel in which the dance field operates in the country, said: "The field of dancesport is making impressive progress, and we expect big things for Marika and Andrea, who have already proven themselves with the impressive achievement at the European Championships. This weekend, we in Israel are hosting the Junior and Under 21 World Championships. Everyone's invited."
"Last weekend an Israeli couple, the association, and the State of Israel reached a new level, and for the first time in the history of our industry, we were privileged to see the Israeli flag flying over the podium at the World Adult Championships. We congratulate the couple and the coaches from the bottom of our hearts and believe that despite this being the first time, we will soon see our flag waving more and more in the near future," Lior Blanki, a sports director in the field of dancesport, said.
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