Athletes of the Month: Nino Langella and Khrystyna Moshenska (Ita)
Congratulations to Nino Langella and Khrystyna Moshenska, IWGA Athletes of the Month for October 2014.
The Latin Dance couple won their latest World Champion title on 5 October 2014 in Ostrava / Czech Republic.
After their successful competetion, Nino and Khrystyna surprised the international DanceSport community by announcing that they would dissolve their partnership and pursue their careers independently, each with a new partner.
In a way, winning the title in Ostrava closed a circle. The couple achieved their first top-tier finish by coming in third at the 2010 European Latin Dance Championship in Ostrava. From there they went on a four-year conquest that led them to three consecutive World, two European and two GrandSlam Champion titles, and to a winning streak that extended over 18 months and 20 international competitions.
Nino Langella and Khrystyna Moshenska started dancing together in January 2010. He came off two consecutive partnerships that were deemed very successful by international standards. She, at the age of only 20, was considered an exceptional prospect for top places – but without having attained one at the time! Both were young and looking for something big to happen in their promising careers.
The rest was good matchmaking by their coaches and the talent scouts. Nino was the Latin dancer that made it all look incredibly easy; Khrystyna was the perfect counterpart that made an excellent dancer look even better on the floor. Training at a renowned performance centre near Bologna, they continued the tradition of Italian standout couples in the Latin dances.
That they did not compete in The World Games 2013 Cali had to do with the fact that Khrystyna maintained her Ukrainian citizenship despite taking up permanent residence in Italy. The rules of The World Games allow just couples with the same citizenship to compete in this event.
Learn more about DanceSport on The World Games Channel.
Photography and Video © WDSF – Helmut Roland