The 2026 dance sport year began in Baden with a «double championship» - the Swiss champions in the standard and ten-dance disciplines have been crowned. Davide Corrodi/Maja Kucharczyk (TSCZ) added two more gold medals to their collection. There were «double champions» not only in the main category, but in all three junior classes. The larger starting fields compared to previous years ensured a large audience in the Trafo Hall, which created a great atmosphere on both days.
Corrodi/Kucharczyk, who had already claimed all three Swiss championship titles last year, dominated the first two 2026 championships as expected. The fourth-placed team at the 2025 European Ten Dance Championships once again demonstrated their versatility and polished skills in the Trafo-Halle Baden. The international judges consistently ranked them first in all dances on both days, with standard gold on Saturday followed by ten-dance gold on Sunday evening. Now the seemingly untouchable TSCZ couple will be aiming for another triple at the Latin championships in Sion on 26 September.
Her toughest challengers were physically handicapped this time, but still managed to surprise; after a knee operation and only three weeks of training, Yulia Dreier won silver twice alongside Vova Kasilov (DUZ). Despite a sore knee, the Bernese skater didn't let it show and flew across the floor as usual, which was honoured by the loud DUZ fanbase and others with great applause. In particular, Sunday's eagerly awaited Latin ten-dance premiere astounded insiders with its creativity and passion. Will we now even see the four-time standard champions at the SM Latin?
The bronze medal in Standard went to Andrea Boldrini/Sofiia Khant (TSBE) for the second time. In the ten-dance category, Arjan Steuer/Aroa Martin (HDB) secured the longed-for podium place at their premiere in the main category thanks to their remarkable progress and thus also rewarded the organisers for their commitment.
New and familiar faces
A touch of world class could be admired in the seniors; Andrea Bencivenga/Anna Drukarov (TSC), world championship silver medallists in October 2025, not only shone with their standard technique, but also with charisma. They remained untouched in the Senior I category. Beat Künzi/Barbara Kaufmann (TSBE/Seniors II), Jürg Briner/Katharina Egli (DUZ/Seniors III) and Beat Schmid/Monika Schmid (TSBE/Seniors IV), who all successfully defended their titles from the previous year, have been seen on Swiss dance floors for some time. Pierre-Yves Richoz/Audrey Etter (GKDC) also confirmed their senior title in the ten-dance event.
There were «double victories» in all three junior categories. In the youth category, the audience was struck by a completely unknown pairing; on their debut on Swiss soil, the Prague-based pairing of Krystof Benes/Laura Schmid (TSB) astounded with two victories straight away. Thanks to their dual citizenship, they have Swiss licences and are therefore entitled to compete for Switzerland in international competitions in the future.
The other junior titles went to Mihail Novikov/Elizabeta Podojnika (DDZ/juniors) and Marc Soldatenkov/Sofia Novikova (TSCZ/DDZ/students).
A total of 6 clubs shared the 13 championship titles, with Dance Drive Zürich (DDZ), founded in 2025, being the most successful club with three gold medals. There were even 8 clubs on the podium. Dance Unlimited Zurich (DUZ) proved its breadth with a total of 11 podium places, which were rewarded with gold, silver or bronze.
Against 30 hours of dance sport
It was a «big fight weekend», especially for the busy organisers, the Happy Dancers Baden. They celebrated the 20th anniversary of the popular Trafo Cup with great dedication and integrated two Swiss championships into the otherwise normal Trafo programme. Of course, they were surprised by the large number of registrations for the Swiss Championships, which had recently become less popular, and the Trafo Cup also attracted many Latin couples from Switzerland and abroad. As a result, there were around 30 hours of dance sport to marvel at in Baden over two days. Even if this is a pleasing development, which also had a positive effect on the number of spectators, many also reached their limits.
Text: Martin Zinser, Pictures: Reini Egli
