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‘It’s a Lovely Community’: Ukraine Native, Ballroom Dancing Champion Settles in New Canaan

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The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Carriage Barn Arts Center. Ukraine native Dmytro Pankov, 36, decided at the age of 14 that he wanted to be a professional dancer. This was 22 years ago. 

Since then, he has achieved several accolades in ballroom dancing, from becoming a national champion in both Ukraine and Hong Kong, to winning third place in the Blackpool Dance Festival, a prestigious dance contest in England. He also serves as a judge for the World Dance Council, he said. “We all have some passions in life, and for me, for my wife, it’s something that was our passion,” Pankov said.