Dancers seek place to hone their skills (From The Argus)

Dancers seek place to hone their skills

5:00pm Thursday 22nd February 2007 in News By Lawrence Marzouk

They may hail from a little-known Russian sea port, but two teenage dancers from Hove are now making their mark in the world of ballroom for Great Britain.

Stanislav Wakeham, 15, of Godwin Road, Hove, is ranked 16th in the world for the dance popularised by the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and has represented Great Britain in a series of international competitions.

And with partner Julia Skvortsova, who is also 15, he hopes to become world champion in Blackpool this April.

Both have danced day and night since the age of four, learning the steps which has seen them climb the international rankings.

After emigrating to England from Krasnodar, on the Black Sea, the pair moved to different parts of the country but have continued to train for up to six hours a day and have now been reunited, as dancing partners.

Stanislav's father Peter said that both sets of parents are faced with a huge financial burden and difficulties in finding places to train.

He said: "To enable these children to receive training, coaching and to enter competitions every week it has become a priority that they train as often as possible but the parents are every week faced with enormous expenses, coaching, travelling, make up and eventually their shoes and costumes that all costs many hundreds of pounds.

"With dedicated training, these two beautiful children can achieve so much more.

"Although they dance for England, they receive no financial support."

The pair are trained by professional coaches in London, Southampton and Bournemouth, while also cramming in hours of practice in Hangleton, Brighton.

Mr Wakeham, 50, said the children were completely dedicated to dance and Stanislav had been given time off school to concentrate on his dream.

He said: "We have received lots of support from Stanislav's School, Portslade Community College - they have been 100 per cent behind him.

"If they want to be champions they need to work at it even if it is very demanding.

"It is just a shame they have to travel often because there are so few dancing halls in Brighton and Hove - it is very sad."

Dawn Barnett, ward councillor for Hangleton, believes the pair have great promise and is appealing for businesses and hall owners to come forward and help the children.

She said: "These young children are extremely talented and train between four and six hours a day.

"They will be representing Great Britain and are great role models for other children."

If you are interested in helping the dynamic duo email Mr Wakeham on pwakeham@btinternet.com