Gregory & Petukhov?

[DancinDiva]

Anyone here a fan of this pair? Or have you seen them live? I only saw them on TV at National last year but I really like them and would like to see what others think about them and get to know more about this dance team.

[Trillian]

Well, if you want more info, here's a link to their USFSA bio. :)

http://www.usfsa.org/team/dance/gregpetu.htm

It includes info about their previous competitive partnerships. Melissa was a U.S. junior champion with James Shuford; he retired in late 1998 and she didn't come back to competition until she paired with Petukhov. (She did train with someone for a while, but IIRC they spent most of that time trying to get him up to her level because he'd only competed in novice dance prior to that.) She hasn't necessarily been regarded as the most naturally talented of her contemporaries among the U.S. female dancers over the years, but from what I've heard she's certainly one of the most driven and hardest working. That counts as much as natural talent, if not more, sometimes.

As for Petukhov, he was successful at the junior level with Oksana Potdykova but their climb basically stalled once they hit seniors. They split not long after they were bumped from the 2000 Russian world team in favor of Romaniuta & Barantsev, who had never competed internationally at the senior level at that point. He came to the U.S. later that year for a tryout with another U.S. girl, that didn't work out, and he ended up with Melissa instead.

[Jess-ka]

personally i think they are both wonderful people and very nice dancers, and they are wicked nice and friendly and yeah i like them:mrgreen: