We met and talked to Igor Wilczynski and Anna Kapliy, the winners of Amateur Rising Star Latin at the UK Open 2015, in the lobby of the Bournemouth International Centre where the UK Open competition is held every year. They were obviously very happy with the result especially as they dance together for only couple of months.
It is very important that apart from the body movement, there is an idea behind the dance, a story to tell.
Let me congratulate you both for a fantastic result!
[Both]: Thank you very much
Let's start with a typical question: how did you start dancing?
[Anna]: Actually I started even before I was born, because my mother was dancing. Of course, there was no doubt that whether she had a son or a daughter they will be dancing as well (laughing). So when I was 4 years old she tried to get me into dancing but it was too early and I went into gymnastics to stretch and prepare for the real dance in the future. I started dancing when I was six in a little town in Ukraine called Zaporozhya. After six years I moved to Kyiv where I had my main teachers, who are still very involved in my career.
Did you do any other forms of dancing?
[Anna]: No, it was Latin American dancing. I always danced Latin, from the beginning. Of course, I did some other activities to stretch my body and to learn some other techniques.
And then?
[Anna]: Then I moved to Kyiv and my first serious partner was from Kyiv. We were very good friends. We danced both Ballroom and Latin in Junior I.
So what did you do from age six to twelve then?
[Anna]: I practised hard! (laughing)
Did you compete at all?
[Anna]: I competed in Juvenile and Junior, my partners were other kids from my school. I was always very stable with my partners, I like long relationships that come to success. I try to stay as long as possible with a partner to build something successful. I don’t like to change partners very often. Sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want. But that’s life (laughing). With my first partner we danced for four years, with another partner three years and then again four years. Now, I hope, my partnership with Igor will last longer (laughing).
[Igor]: I started dancing when I was nine years old in a little town near Gdansk in Poland called Starogard Gdanski. My first partner was my cousin and we dancing together some six or seven years or so. Then we decided to move to Gdansk where there were better prospects for dancing. I got to the high school still continued dancing together with the same partner there. After a year I changed my partner, and then after another year or two I started dancing with Karolina Urban. We won the Polish Championships last year. After that I met Anna.
How did you meet? Did you have partners at the time?
[Anna]: No, we both split up from our partners earlier.
Ok, so how did you meet?
[Anna]: Well, my teachers were Sergey and Melia for around ten years. When they heard that I split from my partner they told me there was a guy in Poland who they knew and I could have a try-out with. I went fully for it. So we exchanged messages and met in Poland.
[Igor]: It was very much the same for me. I worked with Sergey and Melia for years. So, actually, it was them who created our partnership. Melia texted me then she wrote to Anna, and only then Anna and I exchanged messages.
[Anna]: They have no doubt we should be dancing together, from the first time they have seen our video they had no doubt apparently.
[Igor]: It was funny, because the plan was to have the try-out and then give ourselves time to think about it without committing to anything. But when we sent the video to Sergey and Melia not only we both felt we wanted to dance together, but they were very much sure this was it!
[Anna]: Yes, we did four dances for the video, we worked out the choreography ourselves and Sergey and Melia seen it and were very proud! (laughing)
When you made the decision, why was it Igor, what was special about him?
[Anna]: I liked his personality very much. He is very manly and calm, and that gives me strength. I could feel that from the first try-out we had together. Of course, before I came to try with Igor I have seen his videos and I liked his style as well. I liked the elegance he portrayed on the floor. It captivated me really. There are various styles of dancing but for me it is vital that there is class and elegance. As soon as I met Igor I felt it was there.
Igor, what did you like about Anna? Because you have never danced together before…
[Anna]: Actually, we have never even met before.
[Igor]: First of all, I liked that she had this hunger for work and for practice. I felt, that perhaps because she had the same teachers, it all worked out for us, it was easy, we fitted together from the start. After the first practise session I knew I wanted to dance with her.
As a new couple you must have had differences. It would be understandable after having really long term partners before. If so, what were they?
[Anna]: Actually, no…. We both were brought up, in a dancing sense, by Sergey and Melia and we found out we were both really similar in our approach to dancing, in our habits, in how we practise and prepare our mind and body. The whole system was quite similar. I think this is what makes it really so successful for us.
So no differences at all?
[Igor]: We are actually very different people. We have different personalities. But if we are talking about partnership, about work, we want the same thing and we have the same goals.
[Anna]: But we are very, very different as people (laughing).
[Igor]: But maybe because of this we have a good communication and understanding. If Anna wants something different at the practise I try to go with it. And vice versa.
[Anna]: Many people say that we are in our honeymoon period but it lasts long for us (laughing). From the moment we decided to dance together, we went to the dance camp, we were smiling and it always was very positive. And it still is. I know that some couples fight and argue, but in our case, our positive attitude keep us together. People joke that by now the honeymoon should be over but it is not! (laughing)
[Igor]: We waited for it to be over, but it never happened (laughing)!
Aha, you cannot wait for it to be over! (laughing)
[Anna]: No, no. I like it very much. It is a great feeling.
What is the worst in your partner?
[Anna]: If I was to say one thing about him, it will be that he is late sometimes… (laughing)… often. OK, this is not as much his personality but discipline, I think. Otherwise, I accept him the way he is and there is not a single thing I would like to change.
This is saying he is perfect!
[Anna]: I don’t like the word perfect. Nothing is perfect but maybe I am so open minded that I accept him as he is (laughing). He is great, absolutely the way he should be.
And this is an honest answer?
[Anna]: Yes, absolutely. But ask me again in a year time (laughing).
And for you Igor?
[Igor]: I don’t know what to answer really. I cannot find any fault, thinking about it! I have not yet found anything which I would say is really annoying. Maybe one thing, she is really open with her opinions. She speaks her mind straight away and that may take me aback sometimes. But perhaps, it is not a fault but a good thing.
[Anna]: When we come to practise and spend so much time together, we always focus on excitement about dancing, sharing laughter, rather that concentrate on finding each other faults.
Are you a couple in private life as well?
[Igor]: No
How do you resolve problems and differences you might have during practise?
[Anna]: Of course there are things we need to improve, but it never comes to a fight. We always try to find a solution, and this is what we focus on. Not on who is wrong and who is right, but how to improve things and made them better.
Really? Come on!
[Anna]: I am sorry if this is a boring answer (laughing) but it is true. There are people who fight but we don’t.
OK, there are other ways to resolve the conflict. Some people shout at each other, some run to their teachers, some keep calm…
[Anna]: First of all, we never shout at each other. Second of all, if we have different ideas about something and cannot agree, we leave it to our teachers to make a decision for us.
[Igor]: It is good that we are able to adjust to each other. It is normal, that I want something different sometimes but I really like that Anna is able to go with it. I try to do the same for her. Granted, perhaps we did not have yet a big disagreement or there was not big conflict yet, perhaps I would be more stubborn then, who knows.
You said, you are completely different people. Try to describe each other in few words.
[Anna]: I am very hungry for success, for hard work. I always expect 100% from myself, from my partner, from dancing, from life. Igor is very calm, and very focused.
[Igor]: I am well fed (laughing)
[Anna]: Everything always is no problem for Igor.
[Igor]: Yes, I am like this. I can appear sometimes to be a bit lazy in comparison to Anna. When you watch Anna work you see she doesn’t need any breaks, any rest, she is so focused and determined to get when she wants to get. But I need a day a week to have a break, to do something else, like play video games but she doesn’t need anything like that.
[Anna]: For me, every day is a step forward in my career. So for me it is very important, and I don’t want to waste a single day and want to stay focused.
Any dance you like most?
[Anna]: Yes, Paso Doble. For sure.
[Igor]: I don’t think I have a favourite but maybe Samba. I like the way the body moves…
[Anna]: Yes, it is body, it is always body (laughing)
What is the most important thing for you in dancing?
[Anna]: For me, it is communication and a relationship between a man and a woman that you portray on the floor. It is essential for me and when I see the other couples dancing, the clear definition of the man and a woman is what I am looking for.
[Igor]: For me, of course, is the movement of the body (laughing). But the partnering and togetherness is very important as well to make it a dance together not a one man show.
[Anna]: Also to make it clear in your mind what you want to show on the floor, what you want to portray to the audience. It is very important to me that apart from the body movement, there is an idea behind it, a story to tell.
[Igor]: But the body movement as well! (laughing)
[Anna]: Of course (laughing)
What would you like to do outside dancing?
[Anna]: Fashion. I absolutely love fashion. I like to search for new collections, new ideas. But when it comes to my look on the floor, I completely trust my teacher. I like movies, I like sports, I like football very much.
[Igor]: And this is what is so strange with her!
[Anna]: I am a big fan of Real Madrid, I have the t-shirt.
[Igor]: You aren’t a fan of Real Madrid but Cristiano Ronaldo! And that’s the difference between me and you.
[Anna]: Maybe (laughing) but I really like football. I did some research on it, the way they train, the ways of coaching and I find it useful to take some of it and use it in my dancing.
[Igor]: I’m interested in cars. I like fast and expensive cars and like to watch them race.
Do you have one?
[Igor]: Not exactly what I would like. I have the BMW at the moment.
Fast?
[Anna]: Very fast.
[Igor]: No, it is not that super-fast. But I like to watch and read about fast cars. I also like other sports very much. A car I would love to have one day is Lamborghini…
[Anna]: That orange one, no?
[Igor]: Lamborghini Aventador
[Anna]: And I would like to sit on a passenger seat (laughing).
Do you have friends outside dancing?
[Anna]: I love spending time with people. I love friends, I have many who I communicate with on the internet but I like to be around people.
Are your friends in Ukraine?
[Anna]: I was travelling a lot because I had a Danish partner and was living in Denmark for three years. And for that reason I am not that close with my friends as I would love to be. I communicate with them though and I can feel they support me. Communication nowadays is so easy, I can always use Skype, so I can feel their support and that they are there for me. This is one of the things I had to sacrifice for my career and this is what I did because at this moment of time I have to be focused on my goals.
Any friends in Poland now?
[Anna]: Of course! I find that people in Poland are similar to the Ukrainians, they are open and warm and caring. And I am grateful for that.
[Igor]: Unfortunately we don’t have that much time to meet with friends. We live in Poland and most of my friends are there but it is hard to find the time to meet. I tend to spend time with my friends when there are birthdays or New Year parties or other special occasions. Otherwise, it is phone call or internet….
How are you paying for your dancing?
[Anna]: We mostly support ourselves through work. We teach and it is where our income comes from at the moment. Of course, we have some help from parents.
[Igor]: My parents support me financially but as Anna said, we teach other couples. I was teaching since I was seventeen years old. So we have a good experience and a number of successes as a teachers. Our couples in Poland do well.
[Anna]: I get very involved with the couples I teach. I want to take a good care of all of my students but I feel that now, as it is getting harder and harder, I am not doing enough for them. I love teaching very much. I like to share the knowledge that Sergey and Melia, my teachers, invested in me.
What about your dance costumes?
[Anna]: As I said earlier, I leave the decision with Sergey and Melia.
[Igor]: Melia
[Anna]: Yes, Melia (laughing). We absolutely trust her, 100 %. I of course have many ideas of my own which I can share with her, but the final decision is always with Melia.
[Igor]: We trust them and rely on their judgement how to create our visual image. They make a decision which clothes we wear for the rounds, and what we change for the final rounds. Everything like that is always planned and agreed with them and we keep to it on the day.
What foods do you like?
[Anna]: I like everything. I like sweets, I like pasta, I like chicken. Most of the time I like simple combinations like pasta and chicken. It is my favourite food.
[Igor]: I always ate things like pizza, pasta. But recently I got to like sushi very much and also Thai food.
Foods you dislike?
[Igor]: One thing I don’t like at all is seafood. I cannot even look at seafood, let alone taste it.
[Anna]: I don’t like fast food. Unfortunately, sometimes we don’t have time and cannot avoid going to fast food places.
If you couldn’t dance what other career you think you could choose?
[Igor]: No idea.
[Anna]: I would do something with fashion. Or psychology. I actually have a Master degree from the University in Economy and Management so I could do that as well. But it is not my passion.
[Igor]: I think I would do something connected with sport. Since I was a child I loved sports, Physical Education was my favourite subject in school (laughing). Before I started dancing I played football and did jujitsu. So I think I would do something in sport. Unless I ended up manufacturing Lamborghinis (laughing). Or was a test driver!
OK, so what are your plans for the near future?
[Anna]: To get more. To continue working on our body, our movement and the results will come for sure! In the next couple of months we will be preparing for the Polish Championships. It is in March, so this is our immediate goal. But long term goal it is Blackpool. Now we have the UK Open title, so we will have to defend it in Blackpool. It gives us this challenge.
[Igor]: A bit of pressure
[Anna]: When we came here we had nothing to lose. We needed to do our best and see how people like it. But now we have to prove it in Blackpool.
Would you see you parents any time soon?
[Anna]: I would like to but at the moment it is not a priority.
[Igor]: I actually met them here in England because they live nearby, in Southampton. So, both Anna and I, we don’t see our parents that often while we live in Poland. My parents are in the UK for eight years now, and Anna’s – in Ukraine, in Kyiv. So I usually meet them when I come for competitions to England.
[Anna]: Here it is the first time I met Igor’s parents. They are such warm people and I felt a lot of support from them. And because I learned a bit of Polish we could communicate in Polish as well (laughing).
We wish you all the success and a fantastic, fast car for you Igor. There is a dealership nearby and they sell Maseratis and Ferraris which you might be interested in!
[Igor]: Now I have the dilemma, shall I stay to watch the Professionals or go and look at the cars (laughing)
All the best and see you in Blackpool.
All photos taken on the day by Peter Suba
