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Kiril Pandov and his partner Sandra Gavala in 2008 became champions of Greece in Latin dances for the sixth time. Besides being world class competitors they also have their own dancing school “Vivadance Studio”. In an interview for Marina Nikolova Kirl says he is in love with his profession. He is only 25 years old and his star sign is Capricorn.

You became the champions of Greece for the sixth time. Which one of them holds the best memory for you?

Yes we are already six times champions of Greece in Latin-American and ten dance. I was most excited the first time we won. The competition was in Thessaloniki and there were a lot of pairs competing. At that time I had just arrived in Greece and I was competing here for the first time. Before this I had come here as a child on vacation or for various show programs, however I had never come for a professional competition. I was a little nervous and I was thinking whether I would win the first place. There were a lot of couples, but we beat them all. I did not expect at all that they would choose us, as I was new here. And there is a policy of the couples here – which one is older as a couple, which one is more capable etc. Before I came in Athens in Sofia I was seven times national champion in the juvenile group. That is why I had the confidence of a professional, however it was very interesting for me if here as well they will put me in the first place. It was very nice and very difficult.

How did you become a fan of the Latin dances?

I was very young – about five years old. At home my parents were listening to a lot of music and I was raising my hands and jumping. They decided that I am interested in music and dances. When they took me to the neighborhood Latin dances club I didn’t like it at all and I didn’t want to stay. It was full with girls and very little boys. At the beginning I was wondering what exactly I would do there and my parents made me stay. However after the first month it became better. Now my parents had to make me come out of the dance hall. This is my life, it is the only thing I can do. Well, if it is necessary I might start something else, but… (he laughs)

What qualities does a good dancer have to have?

First he has to be a human – to be good and gentle to his partner, to listen, to always be in the position to understand and help the other person because as a couple the two of you have to get along very well. You should never be selfish because otherwise everyone will only look for his own part. However in this sport everyone is selfish. The sport makes us have a certain style – of dress code, of behavior and this makes us look around all the time. Sometimes this stands in the way of many of the couples and becomes the reason for scandals during dances and during practices. We fight a lot. Who pushed who or who made a mistake… However other couples go much more into extremes. At the second place you should have the looks. He should have a nice body, with muscles, should keep a diet in order to be able to dance easily on the floor. For the women it is particularly important because they usually wear short dresses and they really have to have a nice body. And afterwards come all the other details – you have to have money as this sport if very expensive. This is a rather expensive hobby.

Do you have sponsors?

Here in Greece nobody finances the ballroom dances. It is very complicated. Whatever we earn we put it in dancing. Few months ago a Portuguese company “Rumos” started sponsoring us with shoes.

How expensive is your sport?

In order for you to understand what exactly we are talking about – one practice of 45 minutes costs 150 euro. We pay this from our own pocket. Now we will go to England. You cannot go there for 2 – 3 hours because it is ridiculous. We make there at least 10 hours. We have now decided to have 15 hours in order to change some techniques. You add on top of this the airplane tickets, hotel and pocket money. That is why I say this is an expensive sport. However if somebody has it as a hobby, it is different. We just want to grow in the hierarchy. Now in Greece we are first and in the world we are in the top 24.

Do you have a coach in Greece?

No. We have coaches in Germany and England. On Saturday again we are going for practices for four days. However here we are the ones coaching the rest.

How did you and Sandra Gavala meet, how did you like each other and how did you decide that you will dance together?

It is a rather weird story. I was at a championship in Varna. I was 17 years old at that time and my partner and I became first. Sandra had come to find a dance teacher for the school here. She saw me, she liked me and she offered me a contract for employment here in Greece. However not as a competitive couple. She told me I would find myself a partner for the competitions and together we will represent Greece on all the contests. It seemed quite complicated at that time and I was only 17 years old. I generally tend to take risks very hard as I need stability. Then my mother encouraged me. My mother is a person of risk and has a great strength inside and because I am a single child – I don’t have a brother or sister, she backed me up completely and pushed me into the new thing. Sandra was calling me all the time, she sent us the contract… I was very negative towards this change. I was just starting my higher education in the National Sports Academy. Then my mom insisted and the next day we packed and we left. It all happened very spontaneous and very fast. We came here and I started work, however I told Sandra that I want a partner in order to continue my development.

Sandra was dancing, however she had never gone to competitions. While I was an athlete – every Saturday I was going to contests and I was at practices all the time. We were at a very different level, however in the beginning we started dancing together while I find myself a partner. I saw she has a great talent and she could achieve a lot – I liked her style and her behavior. I saw she has potential and we started to work hard. Then we found ourselves a coach, who made us a couple and so we started competing…

How do you combine your business with the competitions in dancing?

It is very hard. We talk a lot about this with her. Our relationship with Sandra is in several levels – we are like managers of the school and we have to be careful on one side that everybody feels good. Second – we have to be ok between each other as a couple because this is our life. We are very good friends with Sandra. However the friendship has nothing to do with work. Very often we fight and we have contradictions. However we manage, we learn….

Which is the country which has the best Latin dancers according to you?

Germans are great. Brian Watson and Carmen until 2007 were eight times world champions. He comes from South Africa and she comes from Stuttgart. She is my idol and it is very strange my idol is a woman. I like her temper a lot and her enthusiasm. She goes on the floor and gives her best. I like this about her – she gives her best! Since recently they are also coaching us.

What does dancing mean to you – work of fun?

Both. I am very lucky to be able to do what I like. And I do it with my heart and soul and with great pleasure.