Adjudicators and Officials

  
Barbara Ambroz Adjudicator -
 

Ilya Barmotin Adjudicator -
 

Inna Brayer Adjudicator - NY   
    NDCA+USA Dance+WDSF - A+ B+ C+ D+ E+
Inna Brayer, a native of Moscow Russia, is the 3 time United States National Ten Dance Champion and a National Certified Adjudicator holding fellowship level accreditation from the N.A.D.T.A. As an ambassador and World Team Member representing the United States she has been ranked as high as ninth in the world, competing in six World Championships. Inna participated as a dancer on Season 7 of ABC-TV’s “Dancing with the Stars” and was partnered with actor Ted McGinley. In 2008 Inna represented USA Dance, Inc. when she was featured on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America” discussing the upcoming National Championships and the benefits of ballroom dancing. She also served as the choreographer for the Rutgers University Ballroom Dance Team performance on Season 9 of “Dancing with the Stars.” As a coach her students have achieved high placements in many national and international competitions including winning Junior Latin National Championships. Off the dance floor she is actively involved with USA Dance as a DanceSport Delegate, member of the Governing Council, and DanceSport Council. Outside of dance she holds a B.A. in English and Education from the Hunter College Quest School of Education. 

Dmytro Dmytrenko Adjudicator -
 

Viktoriya Drubetskaya Adjudicator - Brooklyn, NY   
    USA Dance+WDSF+WDC - A+ B+ C+ D+ E-
Viktoriya Drubetskaya was a 1999 UK Open Professional Rising Star Finalist, 1999 USA Professional Rising Star Champion. 2001-2002 US and World Mambo Champion. 2002 US Professional Rhythm Finalist. As an amateur, she was a 1996 USA Amateur Latin Finalist as well as a Junior 10-Dance Finalist in Moldova. Since 2002, she has been learning about human body movement in depth in Laban Institute of Movement Studies, has studied Dance Notation via Language of Dance and Kestenberg Movement Profile. She has also been certified as Eric Franklin Level 3 movement educator. She has used her knowledge successfully, creating BESSI (Body, Effort, Shape, Space, and Imagery) to train top level junior, youth and adult competitors who were US representatives to many world championships. As of Jnauary 2016, Viktoriya became a WDSF Technical Examiner. 

Shawn Fisher Adjudicator - Idaho   
    USA Dance+WDSF - Chair+ A+ B+ C+ D+
Shawn Fisher is a Professor of dance for the Brigham Young University Idaho Theatre and Dance Department. He has coached youth and collegiate ballroom teams for 32 years winning many national titles as well as Blackpool. He has toured extensively both in the United States and around the world as the director of the BYU Idaho Dance Alliance performing company.

As a competitor he was a bronze medalist in the World Latin Formation team championships. Holds four national Formation titles and was a U.S. finalist in Standard, Latin, Smooth, and Rhythm. Shawn was formerly the Sr. Vice President of USA Dance as well as an adjudicator with the NDCA.

He is currently a WDSF adjudicator, both level A and professional, a USA Dance Chairman, National Adjudicator, and a national examiner in all four styles for DVIDA. He and his wife Janie direct the Idaho Ballroom Academy and are the proud parents of seven lovely children. 

Vladimir Karpov Adjudicator - Brooklyn NY   
    USA Dance+WDSF - A+ B+ C+ D+
* WDSF World Latin American Freestyle Champion
* Two times WDSF World Cup Amateur Latin Champion
* European Cup Amateur Latin Champion
* World Dance Sport Games (Latin American Freestyle) Champion
* European Championship Amateur Latin Finalist
* Russian National Champion in the Latin American Freestyle
* Multiple times Winner of the Russian National Championship
* Russian National Champion in the Professional Division Latin
* Runner Up at the World Championship Professional Division Latin 

Roman Kytskiy Adjudicator -
 

Alessandro Maggioni Adjudicator -
 

Patricia M Panebianco Adjudicator - So. Farmingdale, NY   
    NDCA+USA Dance+WDC - A+ B+ C+ D+ E+
Patti’s dynamic energy & charisma has allowed her to become a sought after adjudicator & invigilator for numerous NDCA & USA Dance competitions as well as being the former treasurer & national committee member for the US Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. She is the recipient of numerous championship titles in both Int’l Latin & American Rhythm styles. She has choreographed & performed in various stage, TV & movie productions, throughout the world including A Tribute to Gershwin, Wallflowering, Marconi Brothers, All my Children & Yo’Yo Ma’s Soul of the Tango.
Working with children brings joy to her soul; she is a former Teaching Artist & Educational Liason with Dancing Classrooms Long Island. And has recently volunteered her time judging The Colors of the Rainbow Team Match for DCLI.
She holds licentiate certifications in all styles of dance and is a popular trainer for professionals & amateurs for their national certifications with the U.S.I.S.T.D
For the Past 17 years she has been the founder & owner of NY Dancesport Centre on Long Island where she currently resides with her husband Anthony and her two rescue cats Dolly & Puca. She enjoys touring the country coaching, adjudicating & sharing her joy & knowledge of Ballroom dance.
Patti is a passionate fundraiser encompassing such causes as Ballroom Barks! & Roll Call Wheel Chair Dance. To contact Patti for further information visit her website:
www.nydancesportcentre.
 

James Prouton Adjudicator -
 

Yuriy Shelkovyy Adjudicator -
 

Lesya Sinitsa Adjudicator -
 

Kimberly Smith Adjudicator - Birmingham, AL   
    USA Dance+WDSF - A+ B+ C+ D+ E+
Kimberly Smith has been teaching dancing for 43 years and has owned and operated Dr. Dance Studio, Inc. in Birmingham, Alabama for 36 years. She has enjoyed a fulfilling career as a professional competitor, pro/am competitor, teacher and currently coaches amateur and professional couples. Kimberly holds both Memberships and Fellowships with the North American Dance Teachers Association and Licentiates with The American International Dancers Association (AIDA) formerly the United States Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. She continues to proudly serve the association on the National Committee as Treasurer. As an adjudicator, Kim is a WDSF A 3.0 AJS certified adjudicator and has had the honor of judging the 2022 IWGA World Games Standard & Latin, WDSF Sr. I World Latin Championships, as well as many Open WDSF Championship events. Kim serves the WDSF as a member of the Sports Event Planning and Promotion Committee and is Co-Organizer of Christmas in Dixie Ballroom Challenge. 

Arto Tsaturyan Adjudicator -
 

Tomas Vasicek Adjudicator -
 

Yuehwern Yih Adjudicator - Indiana   
    USA Dance+WDSF - Chair+ A+ B+ C+ D+
Chair of Judges - World Dancesport Federation (WDSF) and USA Dance.
Certified Adjudicator - World Dancesport Federation (WDSF)
Championship Certified Adjudicator by North American Dancesport Teachers Association (NADTA) and USA Dance
Certified Scrutineer by National Dance Council of America (NDCA), recognized by USA Dance

In addition to judging and chairing, Yuehwern and her partner, Daniel, spend most of their time being the head coaches of the Purdue Latin & Ballroom Dance Team. Yuehwern founded this college team in 1995 and it has been highly ranked in the USA Dance collegiate national events. In 2010, the Team was invited to compete on Season 10 of Dancing with the Stars on Fox, and placed second in collegiate formation team competition at the finale.
Yuehwern was vice-champion in USA Dance National Dancesport Championships and later finalists in professional events in a span of 15 years. Throughout her dancing career, she is passionate about learning; teaching, and helping students find their pathways to success on and off the dance floor. Over 20 years, the competition team she works with is an incubator of many Dancesport competitors, professionals, and lifelong dancers. Each year Yuehwern is also the key person to organize the Purdue Ballroom Classic, which attracts more than 400 collegiate competitors from 20+ universities in the Midwest area for the last two decades.
Yuehwern studied ballet and performed with the Lafayette Ballet Company before learning ballroom dance. Besides dancing, she completed her B.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering, specializing in smart operations and system engineering. She is currently a Full Professor in Industrial Engineering at Purdue University, the Academic Director of LASER PULSE (Long-term Assistance and Services for Research, Partners for University-Led Solutions Engine) Consortium, and the Associate Director of Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering. 

Lee Fox Adjudicator - Ft. Lauderdale, FL   
    USA Dance - A+ B+ C+ D+ E+
Lee Fox is originally from Georgia but now calls Fort Lauderdale, Florida his home. He is currently the president and examinations chairman of the National Dance Teachers Association of America (NDTA) and serves on the Invigilations Committee and the Championship Criteria Committee of the National Dance Council of America (NDCA). He has been teaching Ballroom, Latin, and Disco since 1978, and Country/Western since 1991. A former professional and pro-am ballroom competitor, he has judged many competitions in the United States and abroad including the United States Dance Sport Championships (US 

Daniel Calloway Adjudicator - Bethesda, MD   
    USA Dance+WDSF - Chair+ A+ B+ C+ D+ E+
* WDSF World Championship, Grand Slam and World Cup Adjudicator
* WDSF Chairman of Judges
* WDSF A Adjudicator
* WDSF PD (Professional Division) Adjudicator
* Chairman of Judges: North American and United States Championships
* Professional of the Year and Top Teacher

Dan has been competing professionally, coaching and judging for over 40 years. In 1985 Dan was the youngest dual fellow in the world with highly commended fellowships in the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, the London-based society, which embodies the worlds acknowledged leaders of the dance profession. Dan is also the DanceSport coach for the competitive DanceSport teams at Georgetown University and the University of Maryland, as well as serving as guest coach at numerous other universities, congresses, and dance camps, including moderating the professional discussion panels at key events in the United States. Dan has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Religion and a Master of Arts degree in English Literature. 

Renata Shvarts Adjudicator - NY, NY   
    USA Dance+WDSF - Chair+ A+ B+ C+ D+ E+
WDSF and USA Dance Chairman of Judges
WDSF Amateur / WDSF Professional Division World Class Adjudicator
National Judge
WDSF World and Grand-Slam Adjudicator
Member of USAD, WDSF
Founder and Co-owner of Basic Ballroom Dance Studios and Ballroom Hub
Co-organizer of `Islanders Dancesport Championships` 

Benjamin Soencksen Adjudicator -    
     - Chair+ A+ B+ C+ D+ E+
BENJAMIN SOENCKSEN is originally from Germany, and comes from a family of competitors and judges in the world of DanceSport. He competed successfully for about 30 years in International Style Latin and Standard throughout the world in mainstream and same-sex dance competitions. For about 25 years, he has managed several different dance studios and departments within dance studios in New York and New Jersey (19 years at Stepping Out Studios). As part of his decades of experience as a dancer, he studied all styles of partnership dancing and its history. In 2007, he started DAGE (Dancesport Alliance for Gender Equality), a network of social and competitive same-sex dancers in the Tri-State area with each other via a yahoo group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dageonline/). Since 2009, he has been serving on the Board of Directors of the North American Same-Sex Partner Dance Association (www.nasspda.org), first as Secretary and currently as President, and had been instrumental in writing NASSPDAs Competition Rules. At the 2018 April Follies the prestigious Richard Lamberty Community Service Trophy was awarded to him for many years of volunteer work in the same-sex dance community. As the delegate from NASSPDA to the Federation of Gay Games, he is a member of the FGGs Sports Committee and has been elected as the Sport Coordinator for DanceSport. 

Daniel Calloway Chairman - Bethesda, MD   
    USA Dance+WDSF - Chair+ A+ B+ C+ D+ E+
* WDSF World Championship, Grand Slam and World Cup Adjudicator
* WDSF Chairman of Judges
* WDSF A Adjudicator
* WDSF PD (Professional Division) Adjudicator
* Chairman of Judges: North American and United States Championships
* Professional of the Year and Top Teacher

Dan has been competing professionally, coaching and judging for over 40 years. In 1985 Dan was the youngest dual fellow in the world with highly commended fellowships in the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, the London-based society, which embodies the worlds acknowledged leaders of the dance profession. Dan is also the DanceSport coach for the competitive DanceSport teams at Georgetown University and the University of Maryland, as well as serving as guest coach at numerous other universities, congresses, and dance camps, including moderating the professional discussion panels at key events in the United States. Dan has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Religion and a Master of Arts degree in English Literature. 

Guest Deck Captain Deck Captain -
 

Ricky Semlitz Emcee - Maryland
Ricky Semlitz is an Open-level Amateur dancer who began his ballroom career at the University of Maryland, College Park. Ricky started singing in middle school and high school through choir and musicals where he discovered his ability to tap dance. Ricky found the Ballroom at Maryland team where his mediocre tap skills transferred well into standard and latin dance. Ricky has been an avid ballroom dancer ever since having organized DC DanceSport Inferno for eight years and Dance Legends in New York City for three. Ricky continues to MC events like DCDI, the MAC, Metropolitan DanceSport, and Summer Sizzler. 

Robert Friedman Music Director -
 

Daphna Locker Registrar - New York   
    USA Dance -
I am a member of the USA Dance Greater NY Chapter #3004, was the Co-President of the Chapter with Janine D’Andrea from 1998 through 2002. In 2002 I moved to Denver, CO with my wife Julie and became a member of the Denver Chapter. In 2007 we moved back to NY and I once again joined the NY Chapter. I was voted for a third-time to be President of the Chapter in 2014, and continue in that position to this day.

While living in Denver, in addition to serving on the local board, I became the DanceSport Delegate for Region 5 and in that role worked on many revisions of the Dress Code and rulebook. In 2005, I ran for National Secretary and I was elected for 2 terms. Upon my return to NY, I resigned from that position to become the Chair of the National Organizing Committee for Nationals 2008-2014.

I currently serve as the Registrar for the ‘National Collegiate DanceSport Championship,’ am on the organizing committee for the NQE ‘The MAC,’ and am the registrar for all three of the NJ DanceSport Classic competitions, ‘Fall Frolic’, ‘Spring Fling’ and the NQE, ‘Summer Sizzler’.

I have been a competitive ballroom dancer for many years, starting as a Pro/Am competitor making the Pro/Am Adult Open Championship finals at the United States Dance Sport Championships in Florida. After reaching that milestone, I started dancing Am/Am and worked my way up the ranks from Bronze to being a finalist in the Open Standard Senior I at the USA Dance National Championship in Minneapolis. I currently compete in the A level in same-sex competitions.

When not working in some capacity or other in the ballroom world, I’m a full-time Psychologist working in an inner city hospital on the Psychiatric Unit with people with serious mental illnesses.  

Daniel Dilley Scrutineer - Indiana   
    USA Dance+WDSF - Scrutineer A+ B+ C+ D+
National Judge, USA Dance registered; Certified by the North American Dancesport Teachers Association (NADTA) and World Dancesport Federation (WDSF); Certified Scrutineer (by NDCA) with extensive experience, and enough equipment to run O2CM wireless judging for 30+ judges. Professional Rhythm Competitor. Finalists in many US competitions; Daniel is the head coach of the Purdue Latin & Ballroom Dance Team, which has about 125 members each semester, requiring competitive coaching in all levels from Newcomer to Champ. Daniel also co-organizes the annual Purdue Ballroom Classic Competition, which attracts more than 400 collegiate ballroom dance competitors each year in the Midwest.