INTERVIEW WITH ALEX AND VILHELMINA LAVROV

 

Alieksandr and Vilhelmina Lavrov started dancing together in January 2018 in Youth and they currently dance for Sweden. They are the Swedish vice champions in WDC and WDSF and are ranked as the number one couple in both federations. A young couple dancing their last year together in the U21 category, they became romantically involved after one week of dancing together and very soon, got engaged 3 months later.  

Now a young husband and wife in love, sharing their passion for dance and determined to be the best they can be, here is a fascinating insight into the young dancing duo...  

 

  

 

How has your year been so far? 

After our New Year celebration with our families in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, we had an intense start with the Kiev Winter Training Camp and then we went directly to continue practice in England, where we competed at the UK Open Championships. Right after the UK, we went to the Milano Grand Ball. We were so happy to become the best couple from the Nordic countries in Amateur Rising Star at the UK Open and also reached the semi-final in the U21 at the Milano Grand Ball. 

 

Congratulations! What are your plans for the rest of the year? 

Right now we are preparing for the Starlight Grand Prix Cup, this is one of the biggest competitions in Ukraine, and we will also attend their preparation camp. After this we will compete in Stars of Tomorrow in Stockholm in February and then we will devote March to competitions in Sweden. In April we will compete at the Gothenburg Spring Ball in our home town, and then we plan to go directly to the European Championships in Blackpool, one of our favourite venues!  

May will be full of dance! In the beginning of May we will compete in Sweden and at the end of May we will compete at the most loved competition of the year, The Blackpool Dance Festival! This will be our last Blackpool in the U21 category. After this we have two important competitions, the Swedish Championships in WDSF and WDC. In the beginning of the summer, Alex will complete his Bachelor in Dance- and Physical Education Teaching Program and enter the Masters Program. Later in the summer we will spend our dancing time in Asia, we will for sure dance at the Indonesia Open and we are considering some more competitions in Asia! So far this is our plan for the next five months!  

 

  

 

Where did you both grow up? 

Vilhelmina: I grew up in the city of Gothenburg in the South West part of Sweden. We lived very close to the ocean :) 

Alex: I grew up with my family in Ukraine in the city Zhytomyr, about 2 hours from the capital Kiev. We all lived in a one-room apartment! 

 

How did you meet one another? 

Our teachers were good friends and Vilhelmina's dance teacher saw that Alex’s teacher Maxim, put on his Facebook that Alex was searching for a dance partner. We are both tall so we decided to have a try-out. Vilhelmina came to Kiev and we had a very intense two days full of dancing, and on the second day Alex decided that he would move to Sweden to begin our dancing career as a dancing couple :)

 

How long were you dancing together before you became a couple? 

We became a couple only one week after Alex moved to Sweden. We were both very sure of what we wanted and everything felt totally right. It was a quick decision but a very good decision :) 

 

How long were you a couple before you proposed? 

Alex proposed exactly three months after we became a couple, but we started to talk about it much earlier. Vilhelmina just wanted to wait for the perfect moment :) 

 

So how is married life? 

Alex: Much better than being single! I like to wake up next to the person I love and see my wifes smile :) I also like it when she makes breakfast for me (haha). We are together 24/7 and I never become tired of her!  

Vilhelmina: I agree. I like to fall asleep on his shoulder and I always have his endless support. I like it when he makes Ukrainian "borsch" for me ;) He always pushes me to do my best and he really does bring out the best in me :) 

 

   

 

How long have you been married for? 

Almost seven months. 

 

How did you pop the question? 

It was Easter and Vilhelmina and her parents were in Ukraine celebrating at Alex parents house. They have a traditional game where you "fight" with decorated eggs: you each have one egg and you hit them against each other, and the egg that cracks first loses and you have to eat it. Nobody likes to eat the egg but everyone likes to fight. Alex had made a special egg for Vilhelmina because he put the ring inside. Vilhelmina lost the egg fight and started to peel her egg, She noticed something strange with the egg and found a ring inside! And at the same time as Vilhelmina noticed the egg Alex came with a big bunch of flowers and asked "Will you marry me?". Of course she said yes. It was an amazing day with our families. It was a surprise for everyone as only Alex and his mother knew what was happening. 

 

  

 

Aww how romantic! Tell me about your special day? 

We got married in our closest church in Gothenburg, and the priest spoke in Swedish, English and Russian which we are so grateful for. We were surrounded with our closest friends and family. After church we had classic Swedish "fika" with sweets, baked goods and coffee. There we opened some gifts and danced the first part of our wedding dance (the serious part). After this we had a party in our house and we had dinner with a mixture of Ukrainian traditional food and Swedish traditional food. We danced and had a lot of fun games. We also danced our full wedding dance, serious and funny part. We ended late and everyone left with a happy face :)

 

      

 

Sounds like it was a beautiful day! Where did you honeymoon? 

It was amazing, our honeymoon was also fantastic! Firstly we flew 24 hours with an airplane to Honolulu, Hawaii, for eight days.Then we came back to Sweden and travelled by ferry to Germany. It was the start of our road trip through Germany, Austria and ended in Italy. We really had an unforgettable honeymoon :) 

 

 

When did you start dancing? 

Vilhelmina: I started dancing  when I was two-three years old. When I was eight, I started at a bigger dance school and danced a lot of different styles. I danced ten dance, disco, hip-hop, contemporary and jazz. I started to compete in both disco and ten dance when I was about nine years old. But to be honest I thought ten dance was boring so I stopped dancing it and competed only in disco for about four years, and I actually became Nordic Champion in Group Disco Juveniles!  

When I was 14 years old the owner of my dance school suggested that I should try solo Latin and Carribean and I liked it so much! I became the undefeated Nordic Champion in all solo dances and I was in many World Championship finals.  

In one competition I was competing at in Gothenburg, I watched Ballroom dancers dancing beautifully in competition and I wanted to try it so so much. I started looking for a partner and I began to dance Ballroom and Latin again only 3 years ago. I worked very hard to become one of the best in Sweden but after this I wanted to dance internationally too, and that is when I started to dance with Alex. Now I only dance Ballroom and I am so happy with it. 

 

Alex: I started to dance when I was five years old. My parents sent me to the dance school after my successful dancing in kindergarten. A lot of people were impressed by my movements and also my parents thought I would use my energy in the dance school instead of making trouble, since I had so much energy lol! The first year of dancing I was not very serious and I made a lot of jokes, funny faces and sometimes trouble instead of listening to the teacher ;) Eventually as I grew up I was really interested in dance and became the best in my age category, so I went up one age category. I danced ten dance until I was 16 years old and competed mostly in Ukraine, but sometimes in Poland and Belarus. When I was 16 I moved to Kiev to study in the university, I started to dance only Ballroom to present day. With Vilhelmina, I started to compete more internationally. 

 

    

 

What is your favourite dance? 

Alex: My favourite dance is the Tango because it's full of adrenalin and character! 

Vilhelmina: I like every dance, but my two favourites have to be Tango and Slow Foxtot. 

 

What are your highest achievements? 

Milano Grand Ball Under 21 semi-finalists  

Best Couple from the Nordic Countries in UK 2019 Amateur Rising Stars     

Best Scandinavian Couple 2018 in Amateur WDC AL 

Fred Astaire Cup Under 21 (first place) 

Fred Astaire Cup Amateur semi-finalists  

Dutch Open Youth Under 21 semi-finalists 

Helsingborg Trophy Adult (second place) 

Imperial Championships U21 semi-finalists 

Nordic Championship Adult Finalists 

Swedish Elite Dance Autumn Adult (Second place) 

Two times Swedish Amateur Vice-Champions 

Quick&Quick Trophy Adult (second place) 

Riga Dance Festival Amateur (first place) 

Premiere Amateur (first place) 

 

 

What is your proudest dancing moment? 

We both felt very proud the last day in Paris when we won the Fred Astaire Cup Under 21, and had good results in WDC Amateur League. It was a long day with a lot of finals and rounds but we were still very happy with our result. 

 

What is your favourite competition? 

Alex: My favourite is the UK Open Championships. First of all, I like the location of the competition in Bournemouth. It has very highly educated judges, nice floor and great audience. I love to compete on the same floor as the best Amateur couples in the world. 

Vilhelmina: My favourite is the Blackpool Dance Festival. I love the atmosphere of this competition and I love the hall at the Wintergardens. I also like to visit the different exhibitions if we are not dancing. 

 

       

 

How do you prepare for a competition? 

We dance a lot of practice finals which really helps to build our energy levels and fitness, which in turn gives us great stamina for the long and hard days. 

 

How do you relax after competition? 

We relax on the airplane home (haha). When we come home we continue to practice, we usually feel even more motivated to practice after a competition! 

 

Vilhemina what is your dress style? 

I love shading  and more classical silhouettes with interesting patterns of crystallization. 

 

  

 

What colours are you most drawn to? 

I really like red, all types of red! I also likes pink and blue but my favourite is definitely red! 

 

Do you have a signature look? 

I usually have strands of crystals going down the body of my dress. I love how the Chrisanne Clover couture designer Joseph, designs the crystal patterns on the bodice! 

 

Whose dress style do you admire? 

I really love Liis Ends dresses, especially her black and yellow dresses. 

 

  

What do you love about Chrisanne Clover? 

We love that Chrisanne Clover supports us! Everyone that works at Chrisanne Clover is very friendly, helpful and really interested in their customers. We always feel welcome and get a big support from them, they treat you individually and really make you feel happy and content. We also love their couture dresses and practice wear, they are so beautiful and such great quality, also very comfortable to dance in. 

 

 

What Chrisanne Clover stock dresses do you like the most? 

 I love Nataliya's feather dresses and Monica's couture. Here are my top picks...

  

 

What is your favourite dancewear? 

My favourite practice dress is the Lilianna Ballroom Dress from the LBD collection. It is very beautiful and feels great to dance in, very comfortable and light. 

 

    

 

What is your favourite Chrisanne Colour? 

I love Hot Red, Cobalt and Red. Alex likes Sassy Yellow, Electric Pink and Tropic Lime.  

 

Who is your most respected dancing opponent? 

Oleksandr Bezkrovniy and Mariia Savchuk. They really work hard and achieve high places. 

 

Who are your dancing idols? 

We both admire Lukasz and Aleksandra Tomczak. We like their energy and power on the parquet, in life they are very open and motivating people. We look up to them also because we have a similar body structure, both tall and slim, and they really show how to use it to benefit the dance. 

 

Who are your dance trainers? 

Our main dance trainers are Maxim Bulanyy, Katusha Spasitel, Stas Portanenko and Nataliya Koliada. 

 

What do you do in your spare time to relax? 

Vilhelmina: I like to cook food or bake, and of course eat it (haha), and I like to see my family’s reaction. They always say it's good. I also like to take baths and watch a movie and drink tea. 

Alex: I like to relax in an active way. I like sport games, but if I really feel tired I watch movies and give points on my story on instagram, a lot of people like to see my points. 

 

 

What food do you love the most? 

Vilhelmina: I love Italian food, especially pasta. I also really enjoy Ukrainian cherry vareniki. 

Alex: I like everything that has meat, I am a meat lover! 

 

What is your favourite music? 

Alex: Seven Nation Army in any version, they even have a Tango version. 

Vilhelmina: I like any music that I can sing to lol! 

 

What is your favourite film? 

Alex: 1+1/The intouchables. It's a French comedy based on a true story. 

Vilhelmina: I really like Forrest Gump, it is an amazing story! 

 

What would your career be if it was not dancing? 

VIlhelmina: I think it would be something in music or musicals. I like to sing and play piano. I study music and enjoy it. 

Alex: It's impossible without dance, I am addicted to dance! 

 

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? 

We will probably have just finished our competitive career and work as dance trainers. We will have children and have our own dance studio and be adjudicators :) 

 

 

 

Interesting facts: 

 Alex: I was very good in school but my favourite subject was Chemistry, I loved making experiments :) 

I love animals and the answer to the question - dogs or cats? is unlike most boys, cats. 

I like adrenalin, to climb on mountains, to dive deep or drive quick on the bike. 

 

And what about Vilhelmina? she likes avocado! She puts avocado everywhere, salad, soup, sushi etc.

She watches her figure, so she does a lot of exercises to look the best she can be. She likes to sing in the car, even if it's a Russian song, she knows all the words in the song but doesn’t know what it means (haha)! 

 

Inspirational quote? 

"Success is not by chance. Success comes from hard work, perseverance, learning and studying, sacrifice and above all, love for what you do." 

 

 

 

Any advice for young dancers? 

It is important to focus on yourself and your own improvement. Get plenty of sleep and eat good healthy food, you will then perform and absorb information much better in practice.  

 Keep an open mind, have faith and then only the sky is the limit!