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Ketterdam Telegraph

Dancing with the Grishaverse Stars will be back in October

The new season of the hugely popular TV show Dancing with the Grishaverse Stars will start on its usual schedule, however, there will also be a few surprises, and moreover, the show’s production team has decided to come up with something new this year, as it is its 20th season. “That’s why we need a proper celebration,” said Baghra Morozova, who has been a judge for most of the past seasons but has recently decided to step back and become one of those who make decisions and participate in the overall production.

“We know the last two seasons weren’t the most successful,” Morozova admitted. “But this year it will be different because we are bringing back some of your most popular dancing couples.” According to a press release, the new season will feature five new couples and five favourites from previous seasons.

The DWTGS fan page already revealed that fans can vote for who they want to bring back, choosing from all previous seasons with one exception. Only Jesper Fahey will not be able to take part in the competition. Voting will close in four weeks and the names will be announced after that.

The trees around were covered in fresh green leaves. It hadn’t rained in days, which itself could be considered a miracle, because spring was always very rainy in Ketterdam. As was autumn and winter. And summer as well. Kaz had been sitting on a bench for a few minutes with his laptop on his lap, planning to have some work done, or at least a little bit, because he knew his daughter all too well. As expected, Bea had other plans than to let her father work. She soon lost interest in digging a hole in the sandpit, and she called her Da to help her make a sand cake.

Kaz sighed, putting his laptop aside. Maybe if there had been other children around, Bea would have enjoyed watching them play, no matter how old they were, but since they were alone, there was no one else to entertain her but Kaz. The other parents probably considered the weather not good enough for their offspring to play outside. Kaz, having spent most of his days outside in all sorts of weather as a child, didn’t think there was any weather that wasn’t suitable, even if it was in Ketterdam and not on a farm near Lij.

The park surrounded by buildings was large enough for a huge playground and a quiet spot with benches at the very edge to rest. All of the buildings belonged to Kaz. The one on the left had his family’s apartment on the top floor, and only they and their neighbours on the lower floors could use the park and playground. Kaz had checked them all out, of course, and knew every detail of their history, their present, even how much tax they paid and what brand of toilet paper they preferred. The security of the building was the best in the city. There was no way he would let anyone dangerous near his daughter.

The other two buildings were rented to companies he could trust, and their employees had no access to the park. The far side of the yard was a high wall that protected it from the canal.

“Da! Come!” Bea exclaimed impatiently.

“I’m coming.”

Kaz sat down on the wooden edge of the sandpit in his perfectly tailored suit. He had come straight from a meeting to take Bea over from Inej so she could go to dance class, and he hadn’t even had time to change yet. He didn’t really mind getting a little dirty, but explaining in the laundry how it was possible for a businessman as important as Kaz Brekker to have a suit full of sand could be fun.

“So what are we making?” Kaz asked.

“Chocolate mousse cake,” Bea said confidently. Her pronunciation wasn’t perfect, but it was still very good for a three-year-old.

Kaz chuckled. “Aunt Nina gave you a lecture?”

Bea looked at him with her head cocked slightly. “Chocolate is the best.”

“For sure.”

Another thing his daughter had inherited from him, besides her brain always working, was her love of chocolate. Inej didn’t like to give their daughter sweets when she was only three, but Kaz thought a piece of the best dark chocolate couldn’t be so bad, especially since Bea didn’t eat it very often and only as a threat when she was being particularly good.

Once the sand cake was ready, they pretended to eat it, and then Bea ran to the climbing frame. Kaz hurried after her. There was nothing she wouldn’t try to conquer. When she started crawling on her stomach and then on all fours, Kaz and Inej realised that she couldn’t be stopped, so all they could do was keep her safe. Arati had laughed at them as they tried to secure everything in the apartment to avoid Bea getting hurt. Arati said that Inej was the same age at that age and that she would find a way no matter what. She was right in the end, because even though they were sure Bea wouldn’t get anywhere, she was there in no time, climbing bookshelves, knocking over a laundry basket, and jumping from the couch onto pillows spread out on the carpet. She was literally everywhere, always most interested in heights, and completely lacking any sense of self-preservation.

Kaz had a suspicion that she might try to play an acrobat, because he’d caught her hanging upside down from her bed two days ago. When he asked if she was a bat, Bea had been offended. Of course she was an acrobat, just like her grandparents and mother.

Bea giggled as she climbed up, and Kaz stood right behind her with his arms outstretched, ready to catch her if needed. She was wearing orange trousers and a lime green jacket, both gifts from Jesper. Kaz had wanted to get rid of them, but unfortunately Bea loved them and wanted to wear them all the time. At least they were quite practical.

Bea’s black braid swayed from side to side as she moved. Kaz had braided her hair himself that morning, and it still looked good, which pleased him quite a bit.

“Catch!” Bea called, letting go of the railing, falling back-first into Kaz’s arms.

As a child, Kaz had been quite adventurous, too, but he had always had a sense of self-preservation that Bea clearly lacked. Genya had claimed she would grow out of it, but Kaz doubted it.

“I’m an acrobat!” Bea said proudly, never considering that if Kaz hadn’t been right behind her, she would probably have hit her head at best. “Just like Mama.”

“You’ll be even better, but don’t tell her,” Kaz winked at Bea.

He knew she would tell Inej immediately as soon as she got home from dance school. Bea always revealed everything and Kaz pretended to be hurt by her lack of secrecy. In fact, he was fascinated by her pure soul and was willing to do anything to protect her from all the bad things in the world.

Kaz glanced at his laptop. There wasn’t much he needed to finish. During the day, Bea was in a private day care (the one Kaz had started, obviously). She was in the multilingual class, because she grew up in a fairly multilingual environment. For now, she spoke mostly Kerch, but she could understand Suli and Ravkan as well. Plus, there was a good chance she would know a little Zemeni and Fjerdan.

“Did you play with Even today?” Kaz asked, putting her back on her feet.

Bea nodded and started climbing again. Even Helvar, who was the same age as Bea, went to the same day care and was Bea’s best accomplice. Just a few days ago, the two children had played robbers, stealing a few toys and hiding them so well that even the teachers couldn’t find them. Kaz suspected that Vika had been helping them, but there was no evidence of her involvement. She might only be two years old, but she was a fast learner, especially when it came to mischief, and strangely enough, the children were able to understand each other very well, even though some of them had their own language, just like Vika.

At that moment, Bea climbed onto the bench and walked across it as if it were a high wire. Kaz got his laptop to safety at the last moment before she could step on it. Bea turned and walked back, and Kaz played the role of audience member as best he could, cheering at the right moments and gasping at the next, while Bea looked very smug and content.

“Now you!” she said, climbing back down to the ground.

Kaz looked down at his leg, which was quite stiff from sitting in a meeting for so long, and wondered what that would say about this activity.

To hell with it.

“Will you catch me if I fall?” he winked at her, and Bea began to explain very seriously that he was too big for her.

Kaz stood on the bench, spread his arms out to the sides as if he were really high in the air, and slowly walked to one end. It took him three steps to get there. He wondered if the Ghafas had shown Bea any photos of Inej’s acrobatic beginnings before they set off on their travels with the circus again. They probably had, because Bea had been very eager to learn more about the circus lately, and who better to introduce her to the world of acrobatics than her grandparents, as it turned out, Ghafas not only didn’t need a net, but also retirement. Fortunately, Bea was still too young to attend any of the shows, or she would have thought of something far more dangerous than walking on a bench.

“I can now say that I’ve seen everything in my life,” said a male voice.

Kaz carefully jumped off the bench before turning to the newcomer. He wasn’t a resident of the house, but he still had full access to the park. He stood there in his perfect and overly expensive clothes, with that typical grin of his. By his side stood a girl with hazel eyes and black hair pulled back into two short ponytails with blue ribbons at the ends. She was dressed in more modest clothes than Bea, no colours that could damage one’s eyes if looking at them for too long. In fact, she looked like the perfect doll that girls liked to play with, but Kaz knew better.

“Looks like our date is here, Bea,” Kaz turned to his daughter. “Take Vika to the sandpit. I’m sure she’d like to make something for her father.”

“Sand again? Really?” Nikolai shook his head in disbelief. “Last time I couldn’t get rid of it for a week. How come you always find it in the most unlikely places?”

“Come on, or they’ll start eating the sand,” Kaz warned, as the two girls were already sitting right on the sand, throwing it everywhere.

“Not in the hair!” Nikolai lamented.

“Time for dinner,” Kaz announced after half an hour.

“Oh yes, dinner, that’s why we came here,” Nikolai remembered. “To pick you up.”

Kaz cocked his head. “You seem to have forgotten.”

Nikolai shrugged. “We still have time before our wives get home from work.”

Kaz rolled his eyes. The way Nikolai said it almost sounded like they were both housewives, and he protested vehemently. After all, he was a very successful businessman with too many interests for just one person. He was doing great, and so was Inej. Her dance studio, now owned not only by her and Genya but also by Zoya, had grown so large that they needed to hire other dance teachers because the three of them couldn’t handle it on their own.

“Will you cook?” Kaz asked challengingly.

“I can take you to a good restaurant,” Nikolai said, brushing sand off Vika’s jacket.

“The only good restaurants in the city are mine.”

“Of course they are,” Nikolai rolled his eyes.

They made their way across the park to the back entrance of the house. Kaz looked Bea up and down, pouring sand from her hood. Unfortunately, there was no tear in the fabric, so the set had to stay with them. Inside, Kaz placed his card at the electronic lock by the elevator and again inside, so that it took them to the top floor, which was only available to their family.

“I’ll cook,” Kaz announced. “You know it’s not good to eat in restaurants all the time?”

“Why not? It’s fun.”

“Ghezen, you don’t even know what a homemade meal tastes like,” Kaz shook his head in disbelief.

The two girls were talking to each in their own language, which no adult understood, and Kaz knew they shouldn’t take their eyes off them once they arrived at the apartment. Viktoria might be a year younger than Bea, but she never wanted to miss any of the mischief Bea and Even were up to. Once they were all together, anything was possible.

“Can you cook?” Nikolai asked suspiciously.

“Of course I can. Ask Bea.”

“I won’t, because you probably paid her to agree to everything you say.”

“Wait, that’s not a bad idea,” Kaz smirked.

He had only done it once, when he got stuck in a very important meeting longer than he was supposed to, which meant he picked Bea up half an hour later than planned. It wasn’t a big deal, because after all, the day care was his and was supposed to be open for another hour, plus Bea wouldn’t even know if he hadn’t revealed himself in a weak moment, but he knew Inej would use it to make fun of him in the future, so he bribed Bea not to say a word. Of course, that was the first thing she told her mother when she got home. And of course, she showed Inej the money Kaz had given her for her discretion, how proud she was of it.

The apartment smelled amazing, and Inej was hungry before she even had time to take off her shoes. It had been a long day for her, with several meetings at her foundation in the morning and dance classes in the afternoon.

“Saints, I’m hungry,” said Zoya, who entered the apartment right after Inej, and together they followed the nice smell into the kitchen.

They had agreed to have dinner together, but no one seemed to be around and Inej wondered where Kaz, Nikolai, and their girls were. Usually she would have followed the sound of giggling, but this time there was a suspicious silence everywhere.

“Who do you think killed who? I bet the girls won,” Zoya remarked.

Not that Kaz and Nikolai had no chance against a two- and three-year-old girl, but they were perfect examples of fathers who had a soft spot for their daughters. Sometimes Inej wondered what kind of father Kaz would be to a boy, but usually she forbade herself such thoughts because they were still too painful.

First Inej and Zoya looked into Bea’s room without success. It looked too tidy, so it had to mean only that Bea hadn’t been there since morning. Then Inej suggested the bedroom. She still remembered fondly one day when she had come home late to find Kaz sleeping peacefully on their bed with a children’s storybook on his chest, while Bea was happily playing alone in the kitchen with pots and pans. Fortunately, they had everything dangerous secured, so she couldn’t get to it, no matter how hard she tried. Inej couldn’t imagine something like that happening when two adults were supposed to be on guard, but since Kaz and Nikolai were those adults, no one could be sure. Sometimes they behaved worse than little children, and Bea seemed like the more mature of them.

Finally, they arrived at Kaz’s study, which was usually Kaz’s sanctuary, where no one was allowed to enter so as not to disturb his well-thought-out order. All four of them, two men and two little girls, were there, squeezed under the desk. Bea and Vika immediately jumped up and ran after their mothers, ruining everything Nikolai and Kaz had in mind.

“Dinner, now, I’m hungry,” Zoya said impatiently.

“Bea, come wash your hands with Uncle Nikolai,” Inej kissed her daughter on the cheek and hurried her to the bathroom.

When only Inej and Kaz were left in the room, she leaned in and kissed him slowly and deeply.

“I missed you,” she whispered.

“Dinner!” Nikolai’s head appeared in the doorway.

“Fuck off!” Kaz snapped.

“Manners, Brekker,” Nikolai smirked.

At the table, Vika immediately began separating the individual parts of the meal and examining them with a very distrustful expression. Bea, on the other hand, sat quietly and ate everything as usual. Kaz and Inej always wondered where the hell they got a child who liked to eat. Maybe she learned it from Even.

“I have news,” Nikolai announced.

“How does this concern me?” Kaz asked suspiciously, noticing the look on Nikolai’s face.

Nikolai shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t know if it does, but there’s a new season of DWTGS in a few months and it’s season twenty, so they’ve come up with something special.”

“It’s season twenty already?” Inej wondered. “It seems almost impossible.”

“Don’t say we’re old, because we are not,” Zoya said firmly.

She seemed to really enjoy the meal, and she didn’t even know Kaz had cooked it. Inej wondered if she would even tell her. Probably after the meal, just to tease her a little.

“The special thing,” Nikolai continued, as if no one had interrupted him, “is the cast for the new season. The fans have already started voting on who they want to see back.”

Kaz started coughing and had to take a sip of his wine. Bea looked at him curiously before returning to her dinner, unimpressed. Vika, on the other hand, used this as an excuse to stop eating.

“No,” Kaz said when he was able to speak again. “No, definitely not.”

Inej looked at him with amusement. “Aren’t you a little too cocky, my love?”

“Don’t worry, Kaz, they won’t choose you,” Zoya said calmly. “Do you know how many stars they’ve had over the years?”

“I can tell you the exact number,” Kaz muttered. “Anyway, how do you know, Nikolai?”

“I read the news.”

“And?”

“And maybe I’ll be there too.”

Kaz sighed. “Of course you will. Since Jesper left the hosting role two years ago, of course you’ll be back.”

Nikolai took a sip from his glass to hide a smile.

DWTGS official

Voting has been closed, so stay tuned, we’ll be announcing one couple each week.

Simply.me: I can’t wait!

Dancelover: If there won’t be my favourites, I’m not watching!

Cloudy13: Please bring Kanej back, please! I’m begging you!

Nousername: How long do we have to wait? I need to know now!

a.b.c.d.: It’s such a shame Jesper won’t be dancing. 😢 He was the best.

Kaz had been pacing the room for half an hour while Inej sat on a stool at the bar, watching him, half amused, half exasperated. She had received the phone call from the studio and rushed home to talk to Kaz first before someone else broke the news to him. She wanted to know what he thought. Yes, she expected it wouldn’t be good, because she already knew his opinion on the matter, but she really hoped he could change it, because it would be great to be back.

“I’m not doing this,” Kaz repeated at least a hundred times. “I’m not doing it again.”

“Sure, because the first time was a disaster,” Inej teased him.

Kaz glared at her. “You know what I mean.”

Sure, their season of Dancing with the Grishaverse Star wasn’t without its problems, but in the end it had brought them together, thanks to the show they were now family and had so many close friends around them. Their season might have been one of the “most scandalous”, as the press would occasionally point out anytime the new season approached, but at the same time, there was no other season that would bring most of the contestants together as friends (after all, only Dunyasha Lazareva had never been in touch with them since she was eliminated, while the others met very regularly and still, after nine years, had their own group chat and used the same nicknames as back then).

“Maybe it’s not such a bad idea.”

Kaz stopped and stared at her. “You can’t be serious. Are you seriously thinking about going back to that madness?”

Inej shrugged. “Maybe I am.”

Kaz snorted and started pacing again. “Not me. I’m too old for that. You can do it without me.”

Inej rolled her eyes. “Kaz, you’re in your early thirties, just like me. Do you want to know how old the oldest contestant was?”

“Not really.”

“Besides, it’s not like I could do it without you.”

Kaz shook his head stubbornly.

“Kaz, listen to me,” Inej said firmly. “You’re in great shape. Probably even better than you were nine years ago. You’re doing martial arts all the time, and you have your own gym, for the Saint’s sake!”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“I’m my own boss in my gym, unlike in theirs. No one’s forcing me to do something I’m not good at, and there’s no audience staring at me! It would eat up all the time I have, and all the time I don’t have.”

Kaz threw up his hands in frustration. Inej stood up, walked over to him, and hugged him.

“If you don’t want to do it, that’s fine, Kaz, really. It’s either the two of us or neither of us. I understand that performing isn’t really your thing.”

“It used to be back when I competed in martial arts, but this is something I can do,” Kaz muttered, but this time more quietly, as he melted into Inej’s arms. “I’m not a good dancer.”

Inej snorted. “Kaz, you won season eleven.”

“Inej, any sane person knows you won season eleven. I was there just by coincidence.”

She sighed at his over-dramatization. He was very wrong, of course. He had won the season the same way she had.

“Okay, think what you want, but Jesper might be a little disappointed.”

“What does Jesper have to do with it?” Kaz asked suspiciously.

“He’s a big fan of yours, remember?”

“I don’t play these games, darling Inej.”

We will see about that.

Dance Magazine

Cast for the new season of Dancing with the Grishaverse Stars announced

The Grishaverse channel has started introducing a new cast on its social media, beginning with those we haven’t had the chance to see dance before.

The first star to join the show is Naten Boreg, a Kerch politician who held a government position for several years but decided to quit and focus more on his personal life. According to him, he has no real experience with dancing, except for the balls where he was “forced” to dance with his wife. His dance partner will be Nadia Zhabin, who won the sixth season. “It’s been a while since I was on the show,” Zhabin said. “But I can’t wait to enjoy the chaos again.”

The second star is Mayu Kir-Kaat, a successful athlete and Olympic medallist in the high jump. She ended her career two years ago after a few minor injuries that prevented her from continuing her training as she used to. As she is familiar with hard work, the training load for the show will not be anything new to her. Nestor Maksimov, an experienced professional dancer who has participated in DWTGS several times (for example, he replaced Adrik Zhabin, who had to withdraw due to an injury, and became a partner of the famous baker Nina Zenik).

Paja Soboleva, a scientist who is most active in the field of medicine and biology, is the first female scientist to participate in the dance show. She said that she will enjoy the whole process, no matter how far she gets. Joran Strand was chosen as her dance partner. He has been participating in the show for the past three years and has never made it beyond the night five. He hopes to improve on his previous score this season.

A lot is expected from the next star, Aleksander Darkling, a famous actor whose participation in the show has been requested by fans for several years. This year, Aleksander, whose real name is Morozova, finally agreed. “Let’s just say my mother (editor’s note: Baghra Morozova, a former judge and current producer of the show) plays a big role in it,” Darkling said. His dance partner will be Fruzsi, a professional dancer who has collected quite a bit of success in professional competitions but has never been on DWTGS. “I’m here to win,” she said confidently.

The last but certainly not least addition is Nikolai Lantsov, who hosted the show for several years and was very popular. “I know the backstage all too well, so that might be to my advantage,” Lantsov said. “But at the same time, I feel like a crazy man for agreeing after everything I’ve seen. All the hard work, the blisters, and the blood, yes, the blood, I should have stayed away, but I guess it was too tempting.” Lantsov’s life partner is professional dancer Zoya Nazyalensky, who left the world of professional dance a few years ago to become a dance teacher. According to Lantsov, she will not share her experiences with him because she wants to “enjoy watching his suffering”. His dance partner Imogen Leeuwenhoek is no newcomer to the show. She was Tolya Yul-Bataar’s dance partner nine years ago and has been an integral part of the dance group The Dregs ever since.

The show’s spokesperson promised to reveal the next five stars in a few weeks. All the couples have already been contacted and signed contracts.

Chapter Text

It was late Saturday morning when a rather large group of people entered one of the most luxurious cafes in Ketterdam. All the staff present just stood there, staring as they all sat down at a large table made up of several smaller tables pushed together. Some guests changed places several times before they were satisfied with their seating. This group was definitely not what they had expected when they got a phone call about a reservation for twenty people. There they were, the famous actress Alina Starkov and her husband, professional dancer Mal Oretsev. Right next to Alina was Genya Safin, a dancer from the older season of Dancing with the Grishaverse Stars, with her husband David Kostyk, who engrossed in conversation with Tolya Yul-Bataar, the poet, and another dancer, Adrik Zhabin. Nina Zenik, the famous pastry chef, was already checking the menu and peering at the desserts on display, while her husband, the Fjerdan hockey player Matthias Helvar, was engrossed in a conversation with Wylan Van Eck, a musician with the Kerch National Orchestra, and his husband, Jesper Fahey, a comedian and host. No one could fail to notice the rock star Anika, and next to her, Pim Schouten, the leader of the dance group The Dregs. Then there were the other dancers, Leoni Hilli, Nestor Maksimov, Imogen Leeuwenhoek, Madeleine Michaud and Zoya Nazyalensky, all familiar to anyone who had ever heard of DWTGS. At the head of the table sat Nikolai Lantsov, the former host of the show and businessman, with businessman Kaz Brekker and dancer and former acrobat Inej Ghafa.

It took the waiters, waitresses and baristas a while to get used to serving such stars. Not that they never had any, but to have so many of them at once was quite extraordinary. However, every single person at the table was very nice, forthcoming, and none of them showed any signs of arrogance. Zoya Nazyalensky might have been a little stricter than the others, and Kaz Brekker could be intimidating, but that wasn’t anything a good tip couldn’t solve.

“We should have gone to one of my establishments,” Kaz said bitterly. “No one would have stared at us there.”

“With that many of us? I bet they’d stare anyway,” Nikolai chuckled and Kaz gave him a disapproving look.

Inej leaned closer to her husband and touched his hand under the table. She was very well aware of how tense Kaz had been the past few days, and knowing that it was her fault didn’t make it any easier. However, she knew that sometimes Kaz needed a little nudge to get to the things he would eventually enjoy.

“So, Kaz,” Jesper asked, as the chaos that had been flowing around the table like a great, wild river subsided a little, “tell me what Inej promised you to change your mind?”

Suddenly everyone calmed down completely, listening intently so as not to miss a single word, as they were all more than eager to know what had gotten into Kaz that he had finally agreed to be on the new season of DWTGS.

“Why do you think she had to promise me something?” Kaz raised an eyebrow.

Leoni laughed heartily. “We all know she had to promise you something.”

“Otherwise you would have stayed as far away as possible,” Imogen added.

“I think it’s a miracle the fans chose him,” Zoya said.

“He’s the winner, after all,” Alina shrugged. “You’re just upset that he was better than you.”

“Nobody is better than me,” Zoya rolled her eyes.

Inej just sat there, looking smug and confident. She only brought her little smile to the conversation, which of course brought her even more attention from the others, but she didn’t say a word about it. With Kaz being more mysterious than ever, everyone was sure that there was some kind of agreement between the two. However, they were disappointed because they couldn’t get the truth out of them.

“Leave them alone, brunch is here,” Nina announced, bouncing on her chair as the waiters began bringing out coffees, waffles, omelettes and more, all to suit the customers’ tastes.

“Do you think you can make them talk on a full stomach?” Matthias asked.

“Everything is better on a full stomach,” Nina objected.

“That’s true, but not investigating those two,” Jesper pointed out, glancing at Kaz and Inej.

“That reminds me of something,” Kaz said, sipping his black coffee. “Why aren’t you part of this madness?”

“Me?” Jesper asked innocently.

“Yes, you,” Imogen called from the other half of their table. “They didn’t put you in the voting.”

“They’re right,” Leoni said. “How could you deserve to be left out?”

“Maybe they don’t want to see him anymore since he stepped down as host,” Pim thought.

Jesper chuckled. “On the contrary. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, please pay attention.”

Jesper stood up and clinked his spoon against a mug full of something probably terribly sweet with just a hint of coffee.

“I have an announcement,” he said, when everyone’s attention was focused on him. “I’d love to introduce the new host of the show, which is… me.”

There was applause at the table, but Kaz remained uninterested. Then he turned to his wife.
“You knew.”

Inej smiled innocently. “You know Jesper. He’s the worst at keeping secrets.”

“I kept it a secret from everyone else,” Jesper protested. “Except Wylan, of course.”

“That’s because I had to kick your leg every time you almost gave yourself away,” Wylan remarked.

“Yeah, my leg’s pretty bruised now.”

“But I wasn’t there when he talked to Inej,” Wylan explained.

“I promised not to tell anyone, and I kept my word,” Inej said. “Kaz didn’t know either.”

“And we’ll talk about this betrayal at home, darling.”

Kaz took another sip of his coffee again as the conversation picked up again, this time mainly about Jesper’s role as host and Nikolai as the star contestant, which meant that they would switch their roles considering season 11.

“While we’re in the mood for announcements,” Genya said, standing up as well. “I have something too. I’m replacing Baghra as a judge this year.”

“Wow, that’s great!” Alina exclaimed.

“Isn’t that a conflict of interest?” Kaz asked.

“Let me think,” Genya pretended to be lost in thought for a moment. “I have twelve friends among the cast of this season, plus one of them is my colleague. Nope, I don’t see any conflict of interest.”

“Would you rather see Baghra judging her own son?” Nikolai turned to Kaz.

“She can still give him the best costumes,” Imogen said.

“I don’t think she would,” Genya shook her head. “She’s quite fair and strict about these things. I think it’ll be fine.”

She looked encouragingly at Alina, who had previously dated Aleksander Morozova, known as Aleksander Darkling, and their breakup had been far from peaceful and civil. But nine years had passed since then, and she was married to Mal. Still, everyone suspected that it would be strange for her to see Darkling so often, when she had taken every opportunity to avoid making any films with him ever since.

“Does anyone know what the first dances will be?” Leoni asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin because she had finished eating.

“A waltz and a samba,” Jesper replied, looking at Genya questioningly. “Am I allowed to say that?”

Genya shrugged. “I guess not, so be careful now.”

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t about to say who had which dance,” Jesper protested, and quickly added, “I don’t even know.”

“I hope we don’t end up with a samba,” Inej sighed.

She remembered very well what a disaster their first samba had been. It was the first dance she and Kaz had ever performed, and Kaz had messed it up so badly that they had finished bottom of the judges’ rankings, and only the fans’ votes had kept them in the competition. It wasn’t until much later that she discovered that Kaz had done it on purpose, because he was afraid that he would start to develop feelings for Inej, and he thought that if they were eliminated, he could stop it. It turned out that it wasn’t that easy.

Inej turned to Kaz. Just the look he gave her reassured her. He wouldn’t do anything like that this time. After all, they were partners, in life and in everything else, for better or for worse. And this, despite Kaz’s opinion on this, their new adventure would be great.

Dance Magazine

The fan cast for Dancing with the Grishaverse Stars has been revealed!

The Grishaverse channel has unveiled the rest of the cast for the new season, all the couples we have seen before and who are clearly the favourites because they were chosen by the fans.

Singer Kuwei Yul-Bo participated in season 10 with Madeleine Michaud. They did a great job and made it to the finals, but did not make it to the top spot. In season 11, Michaud’s dance partner was Jesper Fahey, with whom she finished second, losing to Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa. Michaud continued her journey on the show, but never made it to the top spot. Kuwei Yul-Bo released a very successful new album last year and is planning a big tour next year.

Another singer-professional dancer couple is Anika and Pim Schouten, who made it to the night eight in season 11, only to be eliminated just before the finals. It is no secret that they have been a couple in their private lives ever since, and recently announced their engagement.

Fans have also chosen Nina Zenik, a famous pastry chef, and Adrik Zhabin, Nadia Zhabin’s younger brother, and both will be part of this season. Zenik and Zhabin were part of season 11, but Zhabin was replaced by Nestor Maximov due to his injury. This time, they are back and ready to change their unfortunate dance history.

Season 11 was the most popular thanks to the great selection of stars and their coexistence with professionals. The added drama only made the whole show that much more engaging. How good a job the production did in the selection process is proven by another real-life couple who met during the show, actress Alina Starkov and her husband, professional dancer Mal Oretsev. Both are returning this season and say they want to get further than the night six they were eliminated last time.

No one can be surprised by the last couple, the winners of season 11, businessman Kaz Brekker and dancer Inej Ghafa, who opened her own dance studio a few years ago and runs it with Genya Safin, who will be one of the judges this season, and Zoya Nazyalensky, who has been hired as a choreographer for the dance-off, which is likely to take place sometime around night five. Both Kaz Brekker and his wife Inej Ghafa are very secretive about their private lives, however, it is known that they are the parents of a daughter.

The judges for the new season will be Heleen Van Houden, Genya Safin and Botkin Yul-Erdene. Jesper Fahey has taken over as the host. With this lineup, we can expect great things.

Since the final cast announcement, Kaz had been living in a world of chaos. First, there was the press, the reporters who wanted to know his statement, the photographers who chased him around to get the best shot. Inej was going through the same thing, although she didn’t seem to mind at all.

They got a call from her parents asking if they were crazy, so at that point Kaz left Inej to deal with what she had gotten them into. If it were up to him, he would have been perfectly happy watching the show from the comfort of his couch with a glass of wine in his hand and Inej snuggling up to him. There would be no sweat, no cursing, no blood, no pain. He knew it all too well, and it had taken him years to shake off the nightmares of completely messing up a dance and getting zero points, or, in the worst-case scenario, arriving on the dance floor not in his costume but in his pyjamas. He wasn’t sure what Inej had told her parents, but they had promised to return to Ketterdam to be with them and, more importantly, to take care of Bea when her parents were busy elsewhere. Still, some of the first few attempts at dancing had ended with them and Bea in the gym, which wasn’t the best idea at all.

“That’s why you do this before you have children,” Kaz muttered unhappily as they tried to babysit not only their own child but also Helvar’s two children, as Matthias had an important match and Nina had a practice session with Adrik, who wasn’t willing to change the schedule he had put together in the slightest.

“Nina promised to take care of them next time,” Inej said apologetically, but Kaz didn’t think she sounded convincing enough.

Overall, it had taken them far too long to start practicing seriously, and by that time, despite Inej’s promises that everything would be fine, Kaz was extremely nervous. How could that be? He had agreed to dance again for Ghezen-how-many people. He, the businessman, the husband, the father, who was just beginning to enjoy a simple life without worrying about losing his freedom and the chance to see his daughter grow up, because until recently he had always looked over his shoulder for some new disaster coming his way. His life was too good to be true. But it was. He was this happy, so why? Why make it more complicated?

Kaz knew the answer. He loved Inej, and Inej loved dancing, and for some strange reason she was convinced that he could dance and that he was actually good at it. Where she had gotten this misguided idea from, Kaz wasn’t sure.

Then came the first real day at the gym, when Inej was babbling about the routine she had already established, and Kaz just stopped doing everything, smiling like an idiot. That was how he began to get to know her, this was the side of her he had seen first and fallen in love with. His beautiful, talented dancer with the best and most unique ideas, trying to kill him with her hard routines, or seduce him. Either was possible.

“Why can’t we just dance the same routines we did before?” Kaz asked.

Not that he remembered them all, he just hoped his body did. They used to dance their favourite ones on special occasions, like wedding anniversaries, but that was more of an exception.

Inej gave him a long, searching look, trying to understand if it was a joke or he was serious. Finally, she sighed loudly.

“Kaz, you can’t keep doing the same routines.”

“Why not?”

“Because! First of all, it wouldn’t be fair to the new ones, who have no previous routines. Second, the fans chose us not to dance the same routines as before, but to show them something new. Third, the judges expect us to surpass the expectation, which we can’t do with our old routines. We need something big, something new. Then…”

“I see, Inej, really.”

Without instructions, Kaz began to warm up. Their time was limited, unlike the first time they had almost all the time in the world, so there was no time to waste. At least Inej seemed happy about it and put on some music to get them off to a good start.

“How’s my favourite couple doing?” Jesper’s head appeared in the doorway.

“Out, or I’ll throw something at you,” Kaz threatened.

“Fine, you’re my second favourite couple now,” Jesper corrected himself.

“Who’s first?” Kaz asked.

“Anyone who’s nicer to me.”

With that, Jesper slammed the door and Inej decided it was time to start with the basics of the waltz and samba, since those were supposed to be the first dances. Kaz really hoped they’d get the waltz, because he didn’t have the best memories of the samba. If they were eliminated this time and the samba was the culprit, Inej would start to hate the dance and Kaz would be the culprit.

“Stop thinking so much,” Inej admonished him, trying to force him to move his left foot while he kept confusing it with his right.

“I’m not doing anything.”

“You’re thinking so much, you don’t even know which is left and which is right anymore.”

Kaz snorted, but then closed his eyes and did his best to clear his mind. There was no work needed to be done, no charity activities he had planned, no meetings, no taxes, no accounting, no busy schedule when he wanted to spend more time with Bea…

Inej deliberately stepped on his foot and he began to cooperate.

“Much better,” she smiled and kissed his nose. “Time to start to take it more seriously.”

By the end of the session, Kaz was sweating profusely and feeling muscles he had forgotten he had. Luckily, his leg wasn’t protesting, which was a good sign. Since he had already agreed to be on the show, he wasn’t going to be eliminated by injury. That would be truly humiliating.

DWTGS Fan page

The show starts in a few days! Are you as excited as we are? Let us know in the comments. The first dances will be a waltz and a samba!

Kanej4ever: I can’t wait to see my darlings again!

Pimikashipper: Pim and Anika for the win!

Shadowdaddy: Nah, Darkling will be the king of this season.

Ema222: @Shadowdaddy Darkling? Really? He only got there thanks to his mother.

Shadowdaddy: @Ema222 Go cry to the pillow. No one here is interested in your pointless speculation.

Donut456: I wish I could be there when they have Nina! I’m sure she’ll stock them with amazing desserts.

They were back in the hustle and bustle of preparation since morning. This was what every Saturday would be like for them for the next few weeks. Final costume checks, a final rehearsal where they had to know where to stand, where to go and where to wait, what to say, and then of course makeup, hair, and putting on their costumes for the night. Irfan and Arati had brought Bea to see the preparations, and as they were about to leave, Bea burst into tears and demanded to be there the whole time. It wasn’t possible because the show wasn’t supposed to start until the time she usually went to bed, but Bea wouldn’t understand that she was too young to be awake that long. Kaz had almost let her stay, or worse, promised her some kind of bribe if Inej didn’t intervene, and after a long conversation, she convinced Bea that it would be better if she and her grandparents played outside before dinner and then went to bed at the usual time.

“I’ll be there in the morning and make you breakfast, okay?”

“Promise?” Bea sobbed.

“I promise,” Inej kissed Bea on the forehead and hugged her. “I’ll let you watch how your Da and Mama danced tomorrow, okay?”

Bea nodded and hurried to Arati, who was waiting to the side.

“You’re terrible in crises,” Inej teased Kaz when Bea left without further protest.

“I’m great in crises!” Kaz protested.

“Not this crisis, you can’t keep bribing her.”

Kaz crossed his arms over his chest. “Why not?”

“Because it would soon cost you a lot. Bea is very smart. Guess who she’s after?”

Kaz rolled his eyes. He was already dressed in a dark suit and white shirt for their performance and looked so much like himself that Inej couldn’t resist, pulling him closer and kissing him. Thanks to the Saints, they got the waltz, which was a much better dance for Kaz than the samba, and not just because of the costumes. Given how Kaz usually dressed, he was more of a standard dance person.

“You’ll be great,” she assured him.

“Not as great as me,” came Nikolai’s amused voice.

Rolling his eyes once again, separated from Inej, and glared at Nikolai, who was leaning against the door leading to the dressing room, from where Nina’s loud laughter had just come. Nikolai was also wearing his costume, smugly showing off his bare chest.

“Can you just button it up?” Kaz asked.

Nikolai shook his head. “No, I’m already getting into my role, so you’ll just have to live with it. Besides, there are no buttons.”

“How convenient,” Kaz snorted. “In that case, I’ll take a break. Darling?”

Kaz turned to Inej and winked at her. Inej knew what Kaz meant without him having to explain. Their favourite spot on the roof, where they had first talked to each other nine years ago, awaited them. After all, Kaz had been right. They needed a little rest in their private bubble before the chaos began.

Ketterdam Telegraph

Who performed the best dance on the very first night?

Saturday night brought the first episode of this year’s star-filled and highly anticipated season. Since it was announced in advance that this night would be nonelimination, the couples were able to start in a slightly more relaxed mood, which could help the newcomers get used to the atmosphere and all the stress and chaos of live broadcasting. The first dances were the samba and the waltz. How did the couples cope with it? Let’s take a closer look.

The night started in style with rock singer Anika and Pim Schouten. Their samba was praised by all three judges in the following order: Heleen Van Houden, Botkin Yul-Erdene and Genya Safin. They appreciated the complete understanding between the dancers and the use of modern elements. For this “one big party”, as Safin called it, they were awarded 20 points (6+7+7).

The first waltz of the night was performed by scientist Paja Soboleva and Joran Strand. The dance was affected by great nervousness on Soboleva’s part. The judges praised her excellent muscle memory, but her posture was tense and the steps were not executed correctly. This new couple received 11 points (3+4+4).

The samba performed by Kuwei Yul-Bo and Madeleine Michaud received 17 points (6+6+5) due to its precise execution, but the judges did not like the routine and claimed that the music did not suit it.

“Thanks to you, Mal, Alina looked like she was flying,” Genya Safin said about the waltz by Starkov and Oretsev. They also positively assessed the harmony with the ballad and the grace of the movements. Both dancers were satisfied with the score of 19 points (7+6+6).

Aleksandr Darkling and Fruzsi performed a perfect waltz that almost left the judges speechless. “The level was very high for the first night,” Yul-Erdene said. “We have to consider that we still have some points to save for the next nights,” joked Genya Safin. The judges awarded them by 22 points (8+7+7).

Nina Zenik and Adrik Zhabin’s samba was wild and unbridled, as Heleen Van Houden said. “But it was too fast for Nina,” she added. Still, the couple earned 18 points (6+6+6).

The highly anticipated couple Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa came in seventh. According to the judges, their waltz was elegant and perfect, with finesse on both sides. “I appreciate that you looked like equal partners,” Yul-Erdene said. Their total score was 21 points (7+7+7).

Athlete Mayu Kir-Kaat and Nestor Maksimov’s samba was a bit too cautious and sometimes off-beat. The judges gave them 11 points (4+3+4).

The last waltz belonged to the politician Naten Boreg and Nadia Zhabin. Although Naten Boreg looked very elegant, he was very stiff and did not make the right impression. The judges rated their performance 12 points (4+4+4).

The final couple of the night were Nikolai Lantsov and Imogen Leeuwenhoek with their bold samba, which brightened the night with the most cheerful mood. “You start in a big way,” Genya Safin noted, looking significantly at Lantsov’s exposed chest. “You looked like you were enjoying it a lot,” Yul-Erdene added. “Anyway, Imogen did not make the routine easy for you at all.” The couple received the highest rating of the night, 22 points (7+7+8), as did the couple Aleksandr Darkling and Fruzsi.

The dances for next week are the same, samba and waltz, only the couples who performed the samba this time will get the waltz and vice versa.

DWTGS Fan page:

Scores by the judges:

Breaking News

After the first competition night, Aleksander Darkling declared that no one without a clean record should be part of a show of this type, characterised by nobility and good manners. Although he did not name anyone in particular, it is clear that he was referring to the case of Kaz Brekker, who even spent some time in prison before being released and declared innocent. Brekker subsequently succeeded in suing everyone involved in the case against him, receiving a public apology and financial compensation.

Chapter Text

“I told you he was an idiot,” Alina said, leaning against the door frame. “A conceited and arrogant idiot. You can’t expect anything good from him. Once he decides he wants to win, he’ll play dirty.”

“If he wants to play with fire, he should try harder,” Kaz said.

He sat on the floor, stretching his legs, while Inej prepared the music for their afternoon training session. Their plan was to fine-tune the samba for the next competition night, and probably the tango for the next, since Baghra had personally told them that they had no plans to disqualify them based on old and false accusations. A few weeks ago, Kaz would have been glad to leave the competition before it even started, but now his mind had changed. He wanted to show Aleksander Morozova that he wasn’t afraid of him in the least, and that he didn’t have to hide from his past.

“I see Kaz is in his fighting mode,” Mal pointed out with a grin.

“Just be careful,” Alina said, worried. “When we broke up, there were some nasty articles about me in the tabloids. I’m not sure if it was him, but who else?”

“We’ll be careful,” Inej promised. “Don’t worry anymore.”

Kaz wasn’t going to be intimidated that easily. After all, such a cheap move couldn’t disconcert him. No, it would have taken much more. His time in prison had been one of the darkest moments of his life, but there had been worse, and the press had already used those when he first attended the show, so they couldn’t find anything more this time.

At that moment, the door on the other side of the corridor opened and Nikolai danced out in smooth loops and continued down the corridor, humming some kind of melody and keeping his arms up in the correct waltz position.

“Oh, come on!” Imogen ran out of the same gym that Nikolai had just left. “This is not helping.”

Nikolai paid her no attention, dancing to the end of the corridor and back. Imogen folded her arms and sighed in resignation. 

“Does anyone know what to do with that lunatic?” she asked desperately.

“Maybe we should call Zoya,” Alina suggested, trying her best to suppress her laughter. If anything, Nikolai’s performance had clearly lifted her spirits. “She must have some kind of tricks up her sleeve, or she wouldn’t be able to live with him.”

Nikolai just made another loop and tried to grab Alina to dance with him. She was laughing so hard she couldn’t take proper steps. Mal didn’t waste a second, fishing his phone out of his loose tracksuit trousers and recording a video.

“Stop it, you idiot!” Imogen shouted in a voice that faithfully resembled Zoya’s sharp tone.

Nikolai stopped mid-movement, his hands hanging stupidly in the air.

“Fine,” he muttered, and without further instructions, he returned to the gym.

Mal patted Imogen on the shoulder. “Good job, but don’t do that again, it was pretty scary.”

“Back to work,” Inej announced, as she finally set the right music, then gently pushed Mal, who was leaning against the door frame, into the corridor and closed the door behind him, leaving only her and Kaz in the room.

“Finally some privacy,” Kaz sighed in relief.

“Don’t celebrate yet, we have to practice samba.”

Kaz looked at her irritably. They had already finished their morning training session and had only allowed themselves a short break for a healthy, light meal that would keep them dancing without having to wait any longer, and they ate it together on the gym floor. The empty food boxes were neatly stacked in a corner of the room.

“I know you actually enjoy it,” Inej pointed out.

“Maybe if you chose something at a speed that a human can do, but this… my head is spinning just thinking about the routine.”

Inej shook her head in amusement. “Fine, let’s try tango? Will it be better?”

Kaz jumped up in horror. “No, no, I don’t mind samba at all.”

Inej smiled triumphantly. She knew very well that her tango was far from relaxing, because she took very seriously the fact that they needed to exceed expectations. Kaz wouldn’t mind exceeding just a few of them, not all of them, which was exactly what Inej was doing.

“Let’s start with the middle part,” Inej suggested. “You still have some rhythmic problems here.”

“No, darling, the music has a problem with me, not the other way around.”

“Oh, come on,” she grabbed his hands and arranged him into the correct position.

They danced the same part over and over until Kaz was sweating and called time off just so he could finally catch his breath. Inej handed him a bottle of water, which he gratefully accepted. At that moment, Inej’s phone started ringing and she went to the window to answer it.

“Hey Mama, we’re just in the middle of… Oh no… How’s she doing? … We’ll be right there… No, no problem at all. Tell her Mama and Da are coming.”

“What’s going on?” Kaz asked, already imagining a series of dark scenarios, like Bea falling off the climbing frame and breaking her head, or Bea running after her grandparents and jumping into the middle of the road just as a car was coming…

“Bea’s sick, it’s not a disaster, Kaz, don’t worry,” Inej assured him.

She already knew he used to panic and his mind could immediately conjure up the worst possible options, probably as the aftermath of the car accident had taken his parents and brother’s lives.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, her temperature is a little high and she’s asking about us, so Mama thought it would be best to call us.”

“Should we take her to the hospital?”

“It’s not that bad,” Inej shook her head. “We’ll wait and see. Mama already gave her some medicine, she knows where we keep it and what we usually use. So I think it’s time for a family cuddle on the couch. Let’s hope it’s nothing contagious for adults and it’s just some children’s illness that will go away soon.”

“If not, we’re screwed,” Kaz summed up.

They definitely didn’t need to be sick right now, because it would ruin their training schedule, and if they were to be out any longer, they wouldn’t be able to participate in Saturday’s competition night. However, Bea needed them, and that was the most important thing at the moment. She was still young and her parents were her safety.

Barrel Gossip

Troubles accompany the start of the DWTGS!

The show only started a few days ago, and one couple is already facing some pretty serious problems. According to our sources, Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa have cancelled their training sessions without any replacement. They haven’t been seen anywhere near the show’s gyms for two days. It seems some kind of injury or illness has prevented them from preparing for the second night. Rumours say that Brekker’s previous leg injury may have recurred. Will he be able to continue, or does this mean the end of their competing journey soon?

DONKEY: Hey Kaz, are you okay?

MERIDA: Hey, that wasn’t very appropriate.

DONKEY: Why? I just want to know. Don’t you?

MERIDA: Sure, I do, but there’s a better way to ask than a group chat.

DONKEY: 🙄

DONKEY: I asked in our private chat, but no answer.

LARA: You really don’t believe what the tabloids say, do you?

DONKEY: Of course not.

MERIDA: Imogen will be happy to have one less opponent…

LARA: If I win, then only fairly.

PETER PAN: Did you just mention winning?

DRAGON: She wasn’t talking about you.

MEGAMIND: Don’t you all have anything better to do than spam our group chat?

By the end of the week, Kaz had survived one day of a cold, one day of a cough, and one day of fatigue, which was his usual maximum. Inej had never understood how he could get sick so rarely, and when he did, he was fine again in three days, while she couldn’t shake off a common cold in less than a week. Even now, when Bea was completely fine and running around with her usual ferocity, Inej had to take one pill after another to get rid of the headache and to keep her body functioning at all. She didn’t like taking too much medication, but sometimes it was unavoidable, especially when she didn’t want to give up their role in the show. Kaz would have done it, mostly because he didn’t want her to ruin her health like that, but Inej was stubborn enough to keep going. This show was very precious to her, as were all the memories of the one season she had been a part of. She didn’t just want to show that she and Kaz still had what it took, she also wanted to experience everything again, the hard work, the endless time at the gym, the quick lunches with their friends, the jokes, the teasing, the friendship she knew from before.

Inej knew that it wouldn’t be the same as nine years ago with a cast that wasn’t exactly the same, but she hoped that it would be a great journey for everyone. She didn’t really like Naten Boreg who could be charming, but she lacked some sincerity that she didn’t feel from him. It was much better with the others. Mayu was very honest and hardworking. Paja was much more tentative, and since Inej already knew David, she wasn’t surprised, but at the same time Paja was open and friendly as she got used to their team. Although she didn’t have any great illusions about her possible success in the show, she worked very hard on herself.

Then there was Kuwei, who wasn’t a complete stranger to them. Anika knew him, even though their musical styles were completely different, and Jesper had some history with him that Wylan didn’t like to mention, so it had obviously become a favourite topic of banter.

The best addition was of course Nikolai, who they felt belonged with them back when he was “just” a host. He was very competitive, but he also took things easy, sometimes too much so that it annoyed Imogen, his dance partner. Zoya would pop into the gyms every now and then to check on them, as her role was not only to choreograph for the upcoming dance-off, but also to act as a sort of consultant, ready to help them out if needed. Inej hadn’t used this option yet and probably didn’t want to, as she was happy with her routines and knew that Kaz would not appreciate anyone talking to their “business”.

Then there were Aleksander and Fruzsi, a great pair from a production perspective. They were both extremely competitive and didn’t seem to want to make any friends. They came and went without speaking to anyone, and they were extremely careful not to let anyone know what music they had chosen for their dances, and even Jesper, who usually attended some of the training sessions, was forbidden from attending theirs. This made him very suspicious.

Saturday came faster than Inej would have liked. She wasn’t entirely sure about how good their routine was, as they had had to reduce their training load and even skip one whole day. Yes, they had practiced the dance before the show started, as well as a few others for future competition nights, because they had had many weeks of training over the summer, but it didn’t seem like enough. It made her nervous and she couldn’t sleep properly, and the fact that Bea had slept in the bed with them didn’t help matters much, because she was like an analogue clock that kept rotating while she slept, so one time she kicked Kaz in the head, another time she kicked Inej in the stomach. She had been extremely clingy since she was sick, so none of them had the heart to carry her to her own bed once she fell asleep.

“It’ll be okay,” Kaz whispered in her ear.

Inej sat in front of a huge mirror while a makeup artist took care of her makeup for the night. For now, she was wearing a dressing gown, because the costume would come later. Kaz hated those gowns and ignored them just as he had before, insisting on his favourite black tracksuit trousers and hoodie, which the makeup artists didn’t like at all because he could ruin his makeup when he took the hoodie off over his head. The same went for the hairstylists. Kaz always somehow managed to get into costume without any damage, and no one understood how he did it.

“I’m not nervous,” Inej lied.

Kaz cocked his head. “Try harder.”

At that moment, Nina appeared carrying a huge box, followed by Matthias with three more boxes.

“First aid is here!” she called loudly, to drown out the general noise and creaking of chairs or the music coming from the main hall.

Her words worked like magic, as most people, including the crew, stopped whatever they were doing and hurried over to her. Inej soon spotted a cameraman and a lighting technician walking away with both hands full of…

“Saints, she brought éclairs,” Kaz slid down from the table he had been sitting at until now.

Before Inej could say a word, he was gone. Inej chuckled to herself and smiled at the makeup artist.

“He loves the chocolate ones, and they’re always the first to run out.”

Kaz returned soon after, his cheeks suspiciously full, which could only mean he’d already polished one on the way, and his hands full.

“Something for you, darling,” he announced as he placed two of the pastries wrapped carefully in paper on the table in front of Inej. “Passion fruit ones.”

Inej beamed at the sight of her favourites. She glanced apologetically at her makeup artist.

“Just enjoy it, we can fix your makeup when you’re done,” the woman waved her hand calmly.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Kaz handed the make-up artist two more éclairs in a paper. “One pistachio and one apricot.”

The woman opened her mouth in surprise and only when she recovered did she take the dessert from Kaz.

“Thank you! How could you possibly know…”

“He knows everything. Don’t try to find out how, it’s impossible,” Inej said, smiling lovingly at her husband.

Of course he knew what their make-up artist preferred. He was always a great observer and no piece of information seemed too small for him.

“I’m sure he wants the best make-up tonight,” pointed out Jesper, who had joined them, chocolate smears visible on his mouth.

“He will have the best one,” promised the makeup artist, taking a bite of an apricot éclair with a satisfied sigh.

Kaz had said it would be okay, and Inej believed him. In the end, it really was okay, more than that, and Inej couldn’t believe they were able to dance like this after all the struggles the week had brought, including the false rumours about Kaz’s injury that fans kept asking about on the official DWTGS social media. She didn’t like the situation at all, especially since she didn’t know how the tabloid had found out about their cancelled training schedule. For now, all was forgotten as she and Kaz stood in front of the judges – Heleen Van Houden on the far left, Botkin Yul-Erdene, the only man, in the middle, and Genya, always smiling, on the right. Inej was sure that she would smile even if they did a bad job, because she would want to support them no matter what.

Kaz and Inej were the third couple of the night, which was a good thing, because they didn’t have to wait too long for their turn, and they weren’t the ones opening the night. Since they had to be ready to dance, they couldn’t watch Alina, Mal, or Mayu and Nestor perform.

“You’re a samba boy, after all, Kaz,” Genya said with an amused smile. “How could you hide it for so long?”

“He’s good at hiding things,” Jesper interjected. “See my bow tie? It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

He turned to the nearest camera and pointed to his brightly coloured bow tie, which must have absorbed every colour in existence.

“It took me two days to find it,” Jesper continued. “Only because Mr Brekker thinks it’s too bright for his poor eyes.”

“I’ll send you a check for my eye examination,” Kaz said.

He was glad he wasn’t gasping for breath, but he was still breathing fast and he could feel the sweat on his back, making his shirt stick uncomfortably to his body. Why did it have to be so hot in here? They should check the air conditioning, because it was clearly not working very well. Kaz suddenly understood why Nikolai had danced with his shirt open last time and why Aleksander hadn’t even bothered to wear one this time. At least he would have time to cool down until the end of the show.

It was hard to focus on what was being said and maintain some sort of acceptable expression, when all he wanted to do was take a shower and collapse on his very expensive couch (more expensive than Inej had suspected, since he had kept a good portion of the final price a secret). It wasn’t until Inej squeezed his hand that Kaz knew it was time to move and wait for the score they would get.

Ketterdam Telegraph

The second night of Dancing with the Grishaverse Stars brought the first elimination

The second night was opened by Jesper Fahey wearing a very authentic copy of Nikolai Lantsov’s samba costume from the previous night, declaring that he wanted to receive the same loud applause as his host predecessor. He got one from the audience before continuing as if nothing had happened, which made judge Genya Safin start giggling.

The opening dance of the night was performed by Alina Starkov and Mal Oretsev. Their samba was a good way to liven up the atmosphere in the hall, however, Heleen Van Houden lacked more enthusiasm and more typical samba steps. The judges, Van Houden, Botkin Yul-Erdene and Genya Safin, gave them 20 points (6+7+7).

The second dance, a waltz, was performed by Mayu Kit-Kaat and Nestor Maksimov. The judges did not see much progress and could not agree on whether Kit-Kaat was better for Latin or Standard dances. Genya Safin noted that she hoped to see the couple again next week so they could have more time to work on their dances. The total score was 14 points (4+5+5).

Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa’s samba was as dazzling as Ghafa’s golden costume. The judges appreciated Ghafa’s flexibility and praised the fact that they did not dance the entire set as a pair, but Ghafa let Brekker shine on his own. Their final score was a very good 23 points (7+8+8).

Kuwei Yul-Bo and his dance partner Madeleine Michaud struggled with a costume problem from the beginning of their performance, but still did a pretty good job. The judges did not have many objections, so the couple received 20 points (6+7+7).

Paja Soboleva and Joran Strand’s samba was probably too fast for Soboleva, as she struggled to keep up with the music, but Safin saw some potential in it. This time, the judges agreed on three fives (15 points in total).

Nikolai Lantsov and Imogen Leeuwenhoek performed a light and romantic waltz that showed Lancov’s “charming boyish side”, as Yul-Erdene put it. “I saw you humming the melody the whole time,” Safin said. “He just can’t help it,” Leeuwenhoek remarked, to which Lantsov shrugged innocently. Their dance was awarded 22 points (7+7+8).

Naten Boreg and Nadia Zhabin’s samba was probably the least successful dance of the night. Boger started a second late and despite Zhabin’s best efforts, he couldn’t fix it until the end of the dance. The judges still appreciated his effort in the dance, and the couple ended up receiving 12 points (4+4+4).

Anika and Pim Schouten’s waltz was not bad, but the judges found something missing. “You’re usually very playful and funny,” Safin said. “This time you tried to be too serious, and that didn’t suit you. Please don’t change yourself next time. Just show us who you are.” The couple received 18 points (5+7+6).

The final samba of the night was performed by Aleksander Morozova and Fruzsi. It was dynamic and, according to Van Houden, contained everything a proper samba should have. The audience was drawn into the dance and music from the very beginning, so no one could be surprised by the first nine of this season, which the couple received from Heleen Van Houden. The total score was 24 points (9+8+7).

Nina Zenik and Adrik Zhabin’s waltz was soft and beautiful, very harmonious and technically very clean. The judges still found a few mistakes, but the audience’s applause was long. The couple received a total of 21 points (7+7+7).

According to the judges’ ratings, the best couple of the night was Aleksander Morozova and Fruzsi, followed by Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa with a difference of only one point, and then Nikolai Lantsov and Imogen Leeuwenhoek. The worst dances were the samba performed by Paja Soboleva and Joran Strand, the waltz by Mayu Kit-Kaaz and Nestor Maksimov, and the samba by Naten Boreg and Nadia Zhabin, who received the least points. After the audience votes were counted, the first couple to be eliminated was announced. This time it was Naten Boreg and Nadia Zhabin, who thanked each other for their hard work in their closing speech and promised to be present in the audience next night.

The remaining couples will prepare tango and jive for next Saturday.

DWTGS Fan page

Scores by the judges:

It was a lazy Sunday morning, the wind and rain beating against the windows, a cold start to the day that no one really appreciated. The best way to spend such a time was on the couch under a blanket with a mug of hot tea in hand. That was exactly what Inej was doing, with Bea and Kaz, all snuggled together. Her headache had threatened to hit her as soon as she woke up, but luckily one pill was enough to make it go away. They had a full day of rest ahead of them, and Inej had to promise Kaz that she would take a nap with Bea in the afternoon. The dance could wait now, after all, and if they started on Monday, nothing bad would happen, even though their tango was quite difficult to master. Still, Inej was looking forward to performing this dance, because she was very proud of it and also very proud of Kaz for having managed to learn it.

“I want to see Mama,” Bea ordered.

They had become accustomed to watching Inej and Kaz dance on Sundays. If they were eliminated, it would be very difficult to explain to Bee that there would be no more dances, but for now they were safe.

“Give me a minute,” Kaz said. “We’re almost there.”

As he set the DWTGS broadcast to the right moment before he and Inej appeared on the dance floor, his phone vibrated, but Kaz ignored it. It wasn’t until they had watched the entire dance three times, at Bea’s instruction, that Kaz checked his phone. His expression changed immediately, and Inej didn’t like it at all.

“What’s going on?” she asked, unsure if she wanted to know.

“Nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow,” Kaz said firmly, putting the phone aside.

Chapter Text

Alina sat on the gym floor in leggings and the long, loose T-shirt she wore for dance training sessions, sipping a homemade banana, kiwi, and spinach smoothie. She looked calm, except for the small line between her eyebrows that Inej couldn’t help but notice. Inej would have walked around the room with a knife in her hand, but she suspected that Alina had already been through this on Sunday, probably except for the knife, and of course without any result. Mal, on the other hand, stood there with his arms crossed and a sour expression on his face. Everyone was waiting for Kaz, as if they expected some miracle from him, even Inej, who knew his ability to come up with great plans or deal with a situation without any fuss around, just took it and solved it. If anyone knew what to do, it would be Kaz.

“I’m sure he’ll be here any minute,” Inej said, trying to lighten the mood a bit, which she didn’t succeed at all.

Kaz had an early morning meeting on the other side of the city, and he was stuck in traffic, as expected, because the traffic was always the worst at that time of day. And then in the afternoon, when people were coming home from work. If it was on Inej, she would have already limited the number of cars moving around Ketterdam, but it wasn’t a priority for the Merchant council, since they obviously travelled in their expensive cars or limousines, so why make life difficult for themselves? On the other hand, she understood Kaz’s need to use a car when he had meetings all over the city and his time was limited. If he had to use public transportation or just walk, he wouldn’t be able to do half the work he did now. Plus, he would be bothered by people recognising him.

Mal just nodded and Alina took another sip. She was the one who had warned them about the Darkling, as they called him among themselves, because no one liked to call him by his first name, and that was his chosen last name for his career, after all. Adding “the” created something darker, something that suited him much better.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have accepted the offer,” Alina said suddenly.

Mal turned to her, frowning. “We wanted to be on the show again, so why would we turn them down just for him?”

“He can’t do anything without playing dirty,” Alina continued. “I can’t understand why I didn’t notice it from the start.”

“He can be very charming,” Inej said.

After all, at the very first cast meeting the producers had arranged, Aleksander had smiled and complimented all the women gathered, except Alina, whom he had ignored, and even that had done so with grace, so it hadn’t come across as rude at all. If Inej didn’t know anything about him, she might have been fooled, but every time she looked at him now, she wondered what he was up to. In fact, maybe it wasn’t him who was leaking scandals to the tabloids eager for all the dirty secrets, real or imagined, but someone else they didn’t suspect. However, who else would benefit the most from it?

Mal snorted. “He’s charming as a dead man.”

“That’s because you’re not a woman,” Alina said, sounding a little offended, as if Mal had just accused her of stupidity. “If you were, you might understand. He never really knew how to deal with men, but with women… he knows his ways.”

“Yeah, so now I’m supposed to be the one who benefits from relationships with women?” Mal objected.

“I guess I’ll try calling Kaz,” Inej interjected before the two of them started arguing.

This was a very stressful situation for both of them, and they would later regret saying something rash.

Inej took her phone from the windowsill where she had left it earlier and called her husband. She knew he would be using the hands-free, so she wasn’t worried about disturbing him while he was driving.

“Have they started arguing yet?” Kaz asked before Inej could say a word.

“They’re very close.”

Kaz sighed. “I’m almost there. Why does our gym always have to be the meeting place for everyone? Why not Nikolai’s?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we’re the best hosts,” Inej remarked with a chuckle.

She could imagine Kaz rolling his eyes. Would he have a solution? She sincerely hoped so, because this situation was already unpleasant enough, and if this was just the beginning, as Alina had predicted, they should stop it before it got out of hand.

The Mal’s situation, as Kaz called it, had begun on Sunday, and Kaz had successfully kept it a secret from Inej until nightfall. It wasn’t until Bea was asleep that he showed Inej the article on his phone. It didn’t surprise her that it was the work of the tabloid Barrel Gossip. They had never cared much about the truth of their claims, only how many people would read them. This time, they were focusing on Mal and his professional dancing history. According to them, he had a secret sexual relationship with a female judge who used to be a very important part of dance competitions, and who was also significantly older than him. Thanks to her, they claimed, he had been very successful, winning many competitions and getting a chance to compete outside of Ravka. The woman was not currently active in the dance competition world, so it couldn’t have affected her much, but it was much more painful for Mal and his role on DWTGS, especially since their relationship had actually happened, unlike the rest of the story that Barrel Gossip portrayed.

“She never helped me in any way,” Mal claimed. “I was never her protégé.”

Still, being judged by her and receiving points for his dances early in his career was beyond unfortunate. There was no way to erase it from the records, which were accessible to everyone through online articles and competition results from years and years back on the dance association’s website. This whole thing simply couldn’t go away as easily as any other unconfirmed rumours because there was no way to deny it unless the woman confirmed Mal’s version of the story. However, no one knew how to contact her, and moreover, Mal didn’t want to involve her in it.

Finally, the door opened and Kaz walked in, still in his perfectly tailored black suit, white shirt, and black tie, the picture of a Kerch businessman. Inej loved Kaz in his suits, and if they were alone, she would have taken the time to kiss him properly.

“So what kind of mess did you get yourself into?” Kaz asked Mal after giving Inej the smallest smile in greeting.

“The mess you can get me out of?” Mal countered with a question.

Kaz sighed deeply. “It won’t be that easy once it’s out and people are talking about it. Most of them tend to declare you guilty without needing evidence, and even when they’re given clear evidence of your innocence, they’ll still believe in their own truth.”

“What are you suggesting?” Alina asked, finishing her smoothie and setting the bottle on the floor.

“Stop worrying about what people think,” Kaz replied.

“That’s all?” Mal raised an eyebrow.

“Partially. Not having to present all the evidence of your innocence would make things a lot easier. The dance association hasn’t started an investigation yet, and if they don’t, you can be calm. However, if they do, you have to convince them that your placement back then was justified and correct.”

“What if they don’t?” Alina asked.

“Then he’ll have to return all the medals, cups, or anything he’s won, and he’ll be erased from all the scorecards,” Kaz explained.

“They can’t do that,” Alina protested, standing up and wrapping her arm around Mal’s waist.

“They can,” Kaz said. “They can do it even after all these years. We have to be ready. We need all the evidence we can get to prove that Mal’s achievements were his own and his dance partner’s, no one else’s.”

“Who was your dance partner back then?” Inej asked.

They should contact her as soon as possible.

“I already called her,” Mal said, scratching his neck. “She wasn’t very happy about the article and she’s pretty mad at me, but she’s sure that none of our achievements were undeserved.”

“Okay, now you need to call that judge of yours,” Kaz set his gym bag down and loosened his tie. “You can’t leave her out of this.”

“I don’t even know where to look for her,” Mal protested.

“You can be sure the press will find her, wherever she is.”

Mal sighed, then nodded.

“Okay, my people are already looking for her,” Kaz said, gesturing toward the door. “Let’s get back to the dance, while we’re here.”

“And time is money,” Alina added for him.

Kaz gave her a smirk, and she playfully rolled her eyes. How was it that Kaz, who had never been as friendly and open as Inej, was able to calm both Alina and Mal when Inej’s earlier words hadn’t worked?

“Everyone thinks you can keep them out of trouble,” she said as Kaz closed the door. “They are counting on you.”

“I guess it’s because I have my ways. A lot of people owe me favours.”

“No, that’s not the point,” Inej shook her head.

Kaz cocked his head. “So what is it?”

“You keep your friends safe.”

“And you, my darling Inej, are my little Suli idealist.”

Inej rolled her eyes, but she let Kaz hug her and kiss her gently on the lips. She missed him, even though it had only been a few hours since they’d said goodbye early that morning while Bea was still asleep (a miracle in itself, since she was the one who used to wake them up no matter what day it was, but she was probably still tired from her illness).

“Do you think you can help Mal?” Inej asked.

“I hope so, but if the dance association got involved, it would be very bad.”

“Let’s hope they won’t.”

“How are you feeling?” Kaz asked.

“Fine.”

“No headache?”

“No headache.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely. Let’s start dancing,” Inej ordered, kissing the tip of his nose before she pulled away from her husband’s embrace.

“Tango?”

“Tango,” Inej nodded.

She was very happy with the routine, unlike the jive, which she had been constantly changing until Kaz told her to stop with this, otherwise they would have nothing to practice, and their jive was scheduled for the fourth night if they made it there.

Ketterdam Post

The World Dance Association (WDA) has launched an investigation into professional dancer Malyen Oretsev, who was accused of receiving undeserved ratings solely because of his relationship with one of the judges. This woman, Nastya Sorokina, was also a professional dancer, but not a very successful one. After her career ended, she became a judge, first at the dance competitions in Ravka and later at the world ones. Now the WDA wants to know whether Sorokina really influenced Oretsev’s results and gave him points he did not deserve. The investigation has already begun, but none of the active members of the WDA are willing to speak to the press, saying that an official statement will be issued once the final results of the investigation are available.

However, there is one more question that needs to be answered. Sorokina is fifteen years older than Oretsev. It is unclear whether Sorokina and Oretsev’s relationship began when Oretsev was legally an adult, or even earlier. In that case, Sorokin would have to explain much more than “just” a professional failure.

Kaz’s office was strangely messy, something he was not used to, and if he had to blame anything, it would be the dance show that was constantly stealing his time, so his presence in his company building had been very rare lately, causing his desk to pile up with things he didn’t have time to deal with. All the papers he needed to read and sign or get rid of, and his email inbox looked even worse. To his surprise, quite a few of his employees seemed to support him on the show, even sending him votes, even if they didn’t express their support in person (after all, who would dare say a word related to dancing in front of their boss, who was known for his cold stare). It was strange to think that they were watching the show and his dancing, and it made him a little uneasy. The only one who dared to talk about it was his assistant, who was probably the only one who realised that he didn’t actually bite, or not unless it was necessary. Kaz only allowed her to mention the dance competition here and there because she was already doing a lot more work than she should have, due to his frequent absences.

This time she was visibly beaming when Mal arrived, dressed in jeans and a rather formal-looking shirt that Alina had probably picked out (the jeans had to be Mal’s work).

“He’s married,” Kaz warned his assistant.

“I love his wife, she’s a great actress, and all she does for the environment…”

“I need complete privacy,” Kaz said, closing the door on his assistant so she wouldn’t have a chance to finish.

“Really?” Mal raised an eyebrow and nodded toward the door.

“She’s used to it,” Kaz waved his hand dismissively. “Let’s get down to business.”

“Is this business?” Mal wondered.

“Everything is business.”

Kaz settled into a comfortable chair behind the desk and sighed with relief. Inej had given him a hard time at the gym that morning, and the next part of their daily portion of dancing was waiting for him later that day, probably after Bea fell asleep, this time not in the gym provided by the show’s production, but in their private home.

Producers usually didn’t like it when they didn’t use the assigned gyms. Did they want to keep track of everyone, or were they afraid of cheating? It was absurd, because there was no way to cheat, after all, if Kaz hadn’t learned the routine, he wouldn’t be able to perform it, and even if Inej had asked someone else to come up with the routine for her, they would never have to know about it. Kaz usually followed the rule, but no one could force him to travel across the city at night when he could have practiced at home and then poured himself a glass of excellent wine and drunk it with his wife snuggled up next to him. It was his reward for a hard day that he wasn’t willing to lose, or cut short.

“What are we going to do?” Mal asked, sitting down across from Kaz.

He looked guilty, which wasn’t good. That was the first thing he had to work on. No one would believe him if his expression matched a sheep going to the slaughter.

“First of all, did you tell me everything the way it really was?”

“Of course I did! Do you think I lied to you?”

“No, but I had to ask.”

Mal nodded and leaned back in his chair. Kaz’s hopes that the dance association wouldn’t want to have nothing to do with the rumours turned out to be very naive, because they started the investigation even faster than he had expected. Fortunately, Kaz started even faster and was able to find Sorokina and talk to her before anyone else. She confirmed everything Mal had already told him, and since they couldn’t agree on this beforehand, Kaz was absolutely sure that they weren’t lying to him. He didn’t believe they could have had a strategy in place from the beginning of their relationship, because if they had been that smart, they wouldn’t have made so many mistakes and thought they could get away with it. Then Kaz tasked his people with going through all the results of the dance competitions where Mal had performed and Sorokina had been a judge, including all the scores and names of all the other judges. He needed to know what scores Mal and his dance partner had been given to determine whether or not Sorokin had clearly favoured him. He still didn’t have the information yet, but it shouldn’t take much longer.

“We need to go over what you’re going to tell the association when they call you in for your statement,” Kaz said.

“Wouldn’t the truth be enough?” Mal asked.

“The truth isn’t the most important thing here. The way you present it could have a much bigger impact than you might imagine. You have to win them over with enough facts, but not too many. You have to get to the point without unnecessary digressions. They don’t want to hear your life story, they just need you to confirm to them that they didn’t fail by not knowing about you and Sorokina.”

“So… you think they’re on my side?”

“Of course they are. They don’t want this big scandal that could jeopardise their careers. If they said it was their fault and some of the past results weren’t fair, they’d be indirectly admitting that there could be many more similar problems, that your case might not be the only one. They don’t need this. They need to deal with this as soon as possible and stop it before it gets out of hand.”

Mal sighed. “Thanks, Kaz.”

“Thank me when it’s over. Let’s start with this. I don’t want to miss dinner. Inej’s cooking this time.”

Ketterdam Telegraph

Unexpected end to the third night of Dancing with the Grishaverse Stars

The third night of the popular show was highly anticipated, as the couples keep getting better and better, not only those who have already done it before, but also the new ones. Aleksander Darkling and Fruzsi in particular quickly became very popular and are gaining more and more fans on social media every day.

This night brought two new dances, first a passionate tango and then a fast jive. The judges sat in the same places as usual, Heleen Van Houden on the left, Botkin Yul-Bataar in the middle and Genya Safin on the right, and we keep this order in the rating below.

The first dance belonged to Mayu Kit-Kaat and Nestor Maksimov. According to the judges, their jive was quite simple and although Kit-Kaat is in great shape and seems to remember all the steps and movements perfectly, her performance lacks the qualities that any dance should have. “It doesn’t look like you’re dancing, it looks more like you’re doing some kind of exercise as part of your training,” said Heleen Van Houden. The other two judges, Botkin Yul-Erdene and Genya Safin were not that strict, but both advised Kit-Kaat to be more natural and relaxed next time. The couple received 17 points (5+6+6).

Alina Starkov and Mal Oretsev’s tango had everything it should have, but it was a bit too slow for the judges’ taste. Still, their final score was very good (7+8+8, total 23 points).

Nina Zenik and Adrik Zhabin’s jive was executed in great style. Zenik’s performance was praised by the judges, especially after earlier problems with rhythm. “All eyes on Nina,” Safin summed it up. “Red is your colour and this dance was yours.” Van Houden added, “Nina, this was you in dance form.” The high score, 24 points (7+9+8), came as no surprise.

Much was expected of Aleksander Darkling and Fruzsi, as they had set a very high standard on the previous two nights. Their dance was pure tango, as Van Houden called it, even artistic, with the right atmosphere and precise execution. The couple received 24 points (8+8+8).

Anika and Pim Schouten performed a very playful jive that the judges liked much more than their previous dance. “That’s exactly what we asked you to do a week ago and you delivered it,” said Yul-Erdene. “This was it. Your own style, which is so important to you.” Safin added: “I love the part where Pim jumped over Anika. Please stay like that. The seriousness you showed us before didn’t suit you at all.” The total score was 25 points (8+8+9).

Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa performed a very dramatic tango that received a well-deserved round of applause. “Black is definitely your colour,” said Van Houden. “That look at the beginning, I was afraid you were going to set this place on fire,” joked Yul-Bataar. “The speed was incredible,” said Safin. “You’re not making it easy for him, Inej. It went up and up and up until the end. That was a great show!” The couple’s performance was awarded 25 points, making them the first pair to earn two nines this season (7+9+9).

Kuwei Yul-Bo and Madeleine Michaud’s jive was praised for its costume change and almost acrobatic passage. “You found your voice,” said Yul-Bataar. “I love both versions of Madeleine’s costumes, they both look great on you and you were incredibly sexy,” said Safin. “Maybe she’ll borrow you that costume later,” joked Jesper Fahey, to which Safin replied with a smile: “I can’t wait.” Yul-Bo and Michaud received 23 points (7+8+8).

Paja Soboleva and Joran Strand’s tango was better than both previous dances, and according to the judges, Soboleva showed some progress. The couple received 20 points (7+6+7).

The final dance of the night was performed by Nikolai Lantsov and Imogen Leeuwenhoek, who performed a playful jive that got the judges involved right from the start. “As we told Nina, this was you, Nikolai, as we know him,” Safin said. “Good job with the routine, Imogen,” Van Houden praised. The judges decided to give them 23 points (7+8+8).

According to the judges’ ratings, Mayu Kit-Kaat and Nestor Maksimov were at the very bottom, while the top two places were taken by two couples with the same score, Anika and Pim Schouten and Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa. When the viewers’ votes were added up, host Jesper Fahey unexpectedly called out one couple who had an announcement. Alina Starkov and Mal Oretsev admitted that they had completely different expectations from their participation in the show, however, they realised that there are much more important things in their lives now, and after a long discussion, they decided to leave the show and give a new chance to someone who wants to stay and dance. Judging by the gesture Starkov made, she and her husband Oretsev are expecting their first child. Their announcement caused a lot of positive reactions from the audience and especially from the cast and the judges. Genya Safin, the third judge, got up from her chair to be the first to hug Starkov, and only then did other couples come to congratulate the future parents. Since this week’s elimination was unusual, the viewers’ votes will be added to the votes for next week. We will see tango and jive again.

DWTGS Fan page:

Scores by the judges:

Tonight’s broadcast was very emotionally demanding. On the one hand, Inej was very happy for Mal and Alina and couldn’t wait to meet the new little addition to their big gang when the time came, on the other hand, she was sad to lose them so early in the competition, although she understood their decision very well. After the scandal around Mal, they just wanted to have some peace and quiet and enjoy the pregnancy in their own way. If she were in their shoes, she might have done the same thing.

“Someone had a busy summer,” Jesper joked as everyone gathered backstage, still in costume, because no one had bothered to change. Except for Madeleine, who lent her costume to Genya, who took turns admiring herself in the mirror and wiping tears of emotion from her still perfect-looking face.

They had a kind of impromptu celebration on stage, because most of them couldn’t hide their emotions before the end of the show, but it was different when the cameras were pointed at them. Here, in the privacy of their own space with no one else around (the Darkling and Fruzsi had left as soon as possible, both too cocky to want to be part of the group), they could finally talk and ask whatever they wanted, and Alina and Mal were happy to finally share the news with their closest friends, including those who weren’t dancing this year but were part of it, like Matthias and Wylan, who never missed a single show and always came backstage to spend time with them, making them feel like they were part of the show too.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Genya asked, pretending to be offended.

“We were waiting for the best opportunity,” Alina said apologetically. “It’s true that I didn’t imagine it this way, but we decided it was for the best.”

“We didn’t want anyone to speculate that we gave up because of me and my mess,” Mal explained.

“Don’t tell me it didn’t play a role,” said Zoya, who was backstage as part of the crew during the broadcast.

“Of course it did,” agreed Alina. “But without the whole scandal, we might have stayed a little longer.”

“Probably not until the end. We wanted to enjoy it as much as we could, and for as long as Alina could.”

“I’ve been feeling more and more tired lately,” Alina admitted. “And we don’t want to take any risks.”

“That’s completely understandable,” said Inej.

She was truly happy for them. Even though she and Kaz couldn’t have another child, it didn’t mean she was jealous or didn’t want the best for others. It was painful, though. At the same time, Inej didn’t want to be ungrateful. She loved Bea and was absolutely happy to have her after all the struggle they had gone through to finally get pregnant. But something was missing from her life. Or rather, someone. When she and Kaz talked about having children, they had always mentioned “children”, not “child”. Inej herself was an only child, and although she had grown up with many cousins, she had always wished she had siblings. Now she wanted to give Bea the chance to grow up with a brother or sister. Kaz had had only one brother, whom he loved deeply, and it seemed natural to him to have more than one child. Their hope that having a second child would be easier after Bea was dashed, as time passed and Inej wasn’t pregnant, even with the help of the medication she had been taking before. Not wanting to go through all that again, they finally decided to stop with the medication right when they were asked to join DWTGS again.

“Inej?” Kaz leaned closer, his mouth brushing against her ear. “Are you okay?”

Inej nodded. She was. She might have been lost in thought for a moment, but she was back now.

“It hasn’t been that long,” Kaz said, as if he could read her mind.

He was right, Bea was only three years old, and they had started thinking about having a second child after her first birthday. It hadn’t really been that long, but Inej probably wasn’t patient enough. She didn’t want there to be a long gap between Bea and her sibling. She wanted them to play together, grow up together, understand each other much better because they would be similar in age. The gap was growing bigger every day. If Inej got pregnant now, Bea would be four when the baby was born. Wasn’t that too much?

Maybe you should stop thinking about it.

“I don’t want to think about it now,” Inej shook her head, trying to shake off the unwelcome thoughts.

After all, she wanted to celebrate with Alina and Mal, because it was their night, their big announcement, and their farewell to the show. It was strange to imagine another week without them.

“Shouldn’t we move somewhere else?” Nikolai suggested.

“Can’t we stay here?” Alina glanced around at the chairs they had occupied most of the day during the preparations. “I’m sure Nina still has some supplies.”

Nina smiled. “Do we have anything?”

Matthias smiled. “Of course we do.”

“Can you take some strong men with you to bring it here? My legs are hurting. You know, the jive…” Nina shrugged apologetically.

Matthias didn’t seem to need any explanation. He, Pim, and Nikolai walked away, returning soon with boxes full of small desserts, various types of cheese, olives, vegetables, and even a watermelon. They set it out on the empty tables that had previously been used by the makeup artists and hairstylists. Only now did Inej realise how hungry she was.

“I should call my parents first,” she realised.

If they were going to stay, Arati and Irfan should know that they would be back later. After all, Bea was already asleep, so she wouldn’t miss them.

“I already did that as soon as the broadcast ended,” Kaz said. “Don’t worry. I knew you’d want to stay.”

“Thank you,” Inej smiled, accepting the piece of watermelon Kaz handed her.

This was the best way to say goodbye to Alina and Mal in the competition. What if they made a habit of it? She should suggest it, but not now, right now she just wanted to enjoy it without thinking about anything.

Chapter Text

DONKEY: Emergency!

WINNIE THE POOH: What’s wrong? Are you out of sweets?

DONKEY: No, this isn’t that kind of emergency.

DONKEY: But since you asked… Do you have something for me?

WINNIE THE POOH: Maybe later. You know, we’re kind of in the middle of something.

GRUMPY: Nina! Can you start focusing on the tango?

MERIDA: Aren’t you guys in the same room?

GRUMPY: She’s ignoring me. I tried to take her phone, but it didn’t work.

GIANT: Tie a toffee to the rope and the rope tie to the stick. Wave the toffee in front of her, and now you can lead her wherever you want.

BLADE: Matthias! Someone stole your phone. There’s no way you’d write this.

GIANT: I’m just giving advice.

LARA: What are you two doing in this chat? You’re not dancing.

BLADE: Thanks for reminding me, Imogen. 🙄

OLAF: It’s not like we planned it.

MERIDA: Guys, please spare us the details. 🤢

SHAGGY: Imogen, manners!

MERIDA: She thinks she can win since she got Nikolai as her dance partner. It’s gotten to her head.

DONKEY: Girls, calm down. You’re forgetting we have an emergency!

RAPUNZEL: What kind of emergency?

DONKEY: Perfect, Inej is here. Your dear children are killing us!

MERIDA: 🤣

DONKEY: Don’t laugh! It’s not funny.

MERIDA: It’s funny! How old are they? Two, three, and five?

DONKEY: It’s not about age, but the number of children in one place.

DONKEY: Oompa Loompa 2 hid Wylan’s flute somewhere and we can’t find it. He has a concert tomorrow and it’s sold-out months in advance!

GIANT: Promise him candy, he’ll find it.

DONKEY: Okay, I hope Oompa Loompa 1 hasn’t found all our secret stash yet.

DONKEY: Shit, she did. We’re officially out of candy.

DONKEY: Any other advice?

WINNIE THE POOH: Tell him he’ll be the winner if he finds it and gives it back to Wylan.

DONKEY: Winner of what?

WINNIE THE POOH: That doesn’t really matter. He just wants to be the winner. He doesn’t care what he wins.

DONKEY: Okay. Give me a minute.

DONKEY: It worked!

OLAF: Where was the flute?

DONKEY: In the dishwasher. We didn’t think of that option. Our fault.

WINNIE THE POOH: Any other problems?

DONKEY: Yes, actually. We can’t find Stitch.

DRAGON: Excuse me? Did you lose my child?

DONKEY: We didn’t lose her. She’s definitely still in the house. Or outside the house. We just can’t find her.

SHAGGY: Have you checked the dishwasher?

DRAGON: You had one job!

DONKEY: Have you ever babysat four children?

DRAGON: Why would I? I have one and that’s enough for me.

MEGAMIND: Tell me Bea is okay.

DONKEY: She is. Baby Boss has taken over the study. She claims to be her Da, she’s working and doesn’t want to be disturbed. She even used the same diction as Kaz! It was pretty scary.

MEGAMIND: Tell me you go check on her.

DONKEY: We check on her every five minutes, plus the door is always open.

MEGAMIND: Change it to three minutes.

MERIDA: What’s she doing there?

DONKEY: She’s scribbling something on a piece of paper with a very serious expression. I’m actually worried she’s planning to destroy the world. Or at least she mumbled something like “destroy” and “world” to herself.

MEGAMIND: That’s my girl. 🥹

DRAGON: I’m coming for you, donkey! Where’s Viktoria?

DONKEY: Please, no, Wylan just found her.

DRAGON: Where was she?

DONKEY: Playing hide-and-seek, she just didn’t tell us what she was playing.

DRAGON: Where was she?

DONKEY: Laundry basket.

PETER PAN: Clever girl.

DONKEY: Please, pick up those little monsters ASAP! 

DONKEY: I mean it! Otherwise, you won’t have a host on Saturday.

Ketterdam Post

Bookmakers are expecting a growing interest in betting on the winner of Dancing with the Grishaverse Stars. We will soon be in the middle of the season and so far most people are betting on the duo of Aleksander Darkling and Fruszi, whose growing popularity is very evident from the number of fans who follow them on Instagram, where Fruszi keeps them updated on their training. The second pair is Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa, who are just behind Darkling and Fruzsi in the overall standings, thanks to a difference of only one point. Much is expected of Nikolai Lantsov and Imogen Leeuwenhoek. Kuwei Yul-Bo and Madeleine Michaud have recently risen to the top, so they should not be underestimated.

As usual, you can also bet on who will be eliminated next. According to the betting odds, Mayu Kit-Kaat with Nestor Maksimov and Paja Soboleva with Joran Strand have the highest probability. If you want to bet, you still have a few days until next Saturday.

“No,” Kaz said firmly.

“Come on,” Jesper pleaded. “Just let me watch. I’m not going to run to the Darkling to tell him about your fantastic routine.”

“No,” Kaz repeated.

Jesper pursed his lips. It was clear he really wanted to see them dance, but Kaz knew he was never good at keeping secrets, and given the general atmosphere, it was no wonder that all the couples were careful not to let anyone know what they were practicing for the next night. Kaz was sure that no other team would leave Jesper in the room while they were dancing, not even Paja, who was less competitive.

“I’ll put my bet on the Darkling!” Jesper threatened.

“As you wish.”

“Okay,” Jesper snapped, when even the puppy eyes failed to convince Kaz. “Okay, I’m going home, I’m going to put my feet up on the table and just do nothing. Because I can do nothing while you’re dying of exhaustion here.”

He left, slamming the door shut. Kaz sighed. He knew he would have to make up for it in Jesper’s eyes somehow. Luckily, Jesper never stayed angry for long, and it wasn’t that hard to please him.

“He’s right,” Inej said. “The last part, I meant.”

“Don’t start, not even you. It was your idea to do this crazy thing, remember?”

Inej smiled innocently. “I know, and you actually enjoy it.”

“What? My feet, my legs, my back are killing me. The jive you came up with… It’s torture, my darling Inej, nothing more.”

“Are you going to press charges against me?” she smirked.

“I’m actually considering it. Do you think Bea would be on my side?”

“Don’t count on it.”

“Fine,” Kaz sighed, “let’s get back to that torture.”

This time, they didn’t make the same mistake as before and silenced the group chat because otherwise they wouldn’t have any work done. Sometimes it seemed like their friends had nothing important to do in their lives than write messages. Where did they find time for other things? Like breathing? Lately, Kaz felt like he didn’t even have time for that. Why did Inej think this would be fun?

In fact, Kaz was enjoying it in a strange way. He didn’t usually get to spend that much time with Inej during the day, and they didn’t have to deal with any of the usual problems during their time at the gym, just dancing, because they had agreed in advance to leave everything from the outside world alone until they were done with their session.

The music started and they danced the first part of the dance over and over again until Inej was happy with how it looked. She recorded it on her phone and then checked it. As they moved to the second part, Kaz’s leg suddenly gave way, and he staggered, and only grasping on Inej’s shoulder saved him from falling. It hurt so much that he had to grit his teeth and was unable to answer Inej’s worried questions. She helped him sit down and stretch his leg out in front of him.

“I’m going to get you some ice.”

Kaz took her hand. “Stay.”

She looked at him with worries, but then sat down next to him, watching him with growing concern. He hated it when he worried her.

“How much does it hurt?” she asked after a moment.

“I’ve been through worse.”

“I’m not asking what you’ve been through, Kaz. I want to know what the situation is now.”

“I don’t know,” Kaz admitted reluctantly.

He knew Inej was worried about him and his well-being, not about their participation in the show, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was going to let her down. In fact, he wanted to stay as long as possible, and he wasn’t just trying to show the Darkling that he wasn’t the boss here.

“We should take you to the doctor.”

“I know,” Kaz sighed.

He hated doctors and hospitals, the smell, the oppressive feeling that everyone in a hospital must feel, no matter how small their problem. It reminded him too much of the time he had spent in the hospital after a car accident where he had been the only survivor, while his parents and brother hadn’t been so lucky. He was only nine years old, alone in the world, not knowing if his life was over, or if there was a future for him after all.

“Who do I call to get you in the car?” Inej continued with practical matters.

Kaz tried to move his leg a little and hissed in pain. “Nikolai and Jesper, if you don’t want to drag me to the car yourself.”

Inej took the phone and put it to her ear. “But I’m driving.”

“I’m not arguing about that.”

Maybe if it didn’t hurt so much, he would want to be behind the wheel, knowing how much Inej hated driving in the city, but now he knew it would be foolish to think he could drive in this situation. Inej handled calls with incredible speed, and Nikolai appeared right away, immediately closing the door behind him. He must be in the gym opposite with Imogen.

“How is he?” he turned to Inej, his voice clear with concern.

“I’m right here,” Kaz said, frowning. “And I’m able to talk.”

“I can see you very clearly, but I know how uncommunicative you are when you’re hurt.”

Kaz rolled his eyes, knowing that Nikolai knew him too well to be fooled by this.

“He’s really not very communicative,” Inej said. “I hope his previous injury hasn’t recurred.”

“Shit,” Nikolai ran his fingers through his hair. “Where are we taking him?”

“To Ghezen State Hospital,” Inej answered before Kaz could even open his mouth. “They operated on him there, and there’s a great specialist there if needed. We just have to wait for Jesper.”

“So it’s bad,” Nikolai sighed, looking at Kaz. “Kaz, you idiot, can you speak clearly for once? Or speak at all?”

“I’m trying my best not to break my teeth right now,” Kaz said through clenched teeth.

Jesper arrived a few minutes later, sweaty and breathing hard. He had to run all the way up the stairs to the third floor, where the gym was. With his help, they were able to help Kaz up without him having to put weight on his bad leg, and then they mostly carried him to the elevator and out of the building to Kaz’s car. Inej rushed first, opening the door for them, then starting the car so she could move the passenger seat as far back as possible. Kaz hissed in pain as his friends helped him inside. Then, without instructions, they both got into the car. Jesper was behind Kaz, so there wasn’t much room for his long legs, but he didn’t complain in any way.

“What are you two doing here?” Kaz asked, his eyebrows raised.

“We’re coming with you, you idiot,” Jesper replied.

“How do you want to get to the doctor’s office? Or even from the car?” Nikolai asked. “I don’t want to underestimate Inej’s strength, but you can’t walk right now.”

“Besides, we know for sure that you’ll refuse the wheelchair. You see? You need us,” Jesper added.

“That’s very convenient for you,” Kaz snorted, but he felt much better knowing that all the responsibility for him wouldn’t fall on Inej’s shoulders.

Breaking News

The end for Brekker?

Kaz Brekker’s participation in the DWTGS season 20 is likely over. According to our source, Brekker was taken to the hospital straight from practice and released after being examined. It is not yet known how serious his injury is, but given his past leg injury, it is very possible that he will not be able to finish this season, which would mean the loss of a big favourite.

Kanejshipper: Please tell me it’s not true!

Ocean55: @Kanejshipper What’s going on?

Kanejshipper: @Ocean55 You don’t know? Kaz and Inej might be out of the competition.

Ashley1234: @Kanejshipper Who cares?

Kanejshipper: @Ashley1234 Me! They’re the best ones there.

Ashley1234: @Kanejshipper No, they’re not.

Kanejshipper: @Ashley1234 Sure, you’re one of Darkling’s fans.

Ashley1234: @Kanejshipper I can favour whoever I want.

Kanejshipper: @Ashley1234 Darkling, seriously? You must have gone through some emotional trauma.

Ashley1234: @Kanejshipper Your favourite is a former criminal and who knows if he’s still doing something illegal.

Kanejshipper: @Ashley1234 Same story again. Find something new. Do you know how much money Kaz spends on charity every year? How many schools and shelters has he built over the years? Tell me one selfless thing Darkling has done.

Kanejshipper: @Ashley1234 Of course you left that conversation.

For the past two days, Inej hadn’t stopped for a second, even though they couldn’t continue dancing. Saturday was approaching and it was crucial for them to fine-tune their routine down to the last detail, but there was something more important than the show, and that was Kaz’s health. Inej had never received so many messages and calls as she had in the days following Kaz’s injury. First, she had to inform all of their closest friends and forbid them from visiting, because Kaz was already grumpy enough and didn’t want to see anyone except Inej, Bea and Inej’s parents (which made her emotional, because it meant he considered them his own family). Second, she needed their friends to know that they were welcome when the worst was over. Third, they deserved to know what was going on, because everyone was very worried about Kaz, even Zoya, who had slipped Kaz’s favourite chocolate into Inej’s bag when Inej stopped at their dance school.

Then there was the press, who kept pestering her, so she stopped answering unknown numbers. It was much more complicated with her inbox and social media account, which were constantly filled with questions about Kaz’s well-being and wishes for a quick recovery. She knew that most of the fans meant well, but she couldn’t say the same about the press, especially those who followed her on the street and kept asking questions. She hated being considered a celebrity at a time like this.

It had its advantages, though, because they got the chance to have Kaz examined immediately upon arrival at the hospital without waiting, and his X-ray results were ready in record time. The good news was that nothing was broken, and after another series of tests, the doctors (there were three of them, although it seemed like a waste of one to Kaz) were certain that there was no muscle tear. They recommended complete rest for Kaz, which Kaz obviously hated. Not being able to take care of himself and let others do things for him was his worst nightmare, even if that person was Inej.

The first day they mostly tried to cool down the leg and prevent Bea from jumping on her Da or climbing over him, which was her usual entertainment. Kaz stayed on the couch (he didn’t want to be alone in the bedroom because then he would feel like being sick) with his leg propped up on a pillow most of the day and his laptop on his stomach to get some work done. He clearly didn’t want to do nothing. Inej didn’t protest, because as long as Kaz had something to do, he wouldn’t even think of getting up on his own.

The next day, Kaz was starting to get restless, and Inej called his assistant to keep him busy with other work, which she probably did with a little too much enthusiasm. As long as it worked, Inej didn’t protest.

She had received many calls from Baghra, who wanted to ask if they would be missing a couple on Saturday, because if Kaz and Inej couldn’t attend, they would have to change the entire program, otherwise the broadcast wouldn’t be long enough and they couldn’t ask the other couples to extend their dances at the last minute. Unfortunately, Inej didn’t have a clear answer for her. According to the doctors, Kaz’s leg was fine, just strained from so many hours of dancing. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be anything to worry about, but given Kaz’s surgery years ago, they didn’t want to neglect anything. Kaz was sure, thanks to his stubbornness, that he would be back and able to perform, but Inej wasn’t so sure. She didn’t want him to ruin his leg.

“I feel like an idiot,” Kaz said grimly the night of the second day.

It was Wednesday, so if they had a chance to perform, they would have to return to training the next day.

“Why?”

“Because there’s nothing wrong with my leg. I’m just too soft to handle a little pain.”

“You’re not soft at all, Kaz.”

Inej sat down on the floor next to the couch and brushed a few strands of hair from Kaz’s forehead.

“I know you’re not soft, that’s why I’m so worried about you.”

“I guess I’ve just been ignoring the pain for too long,” Kaz said, melting into her touch.

“And of course you forgot to tell me.”

“I’ll go to the specialist tomorrow,” Kaz promised. “He’ll tell me what to watch out for.”

“Do you still want to continue?” Inej asked.

“I want to. And not just because of what we were talking about.”

Inej smiled. “Oh, you mean the thing I promised you for being on the show? The thing everyone keeps speculating about?”

Kaz grinned. “You’re not going to tell them, are you?”

“No, not until we do it. But honestly, Kaz, we’re going to do it no matter when the show ends.”

“I know. And I actually asked my assistant to get me all the forms we need to fill out.”

Inej’s eyes widened in surprise. “You did it already? Wait, did you tell your assistant?”

“I’m paying her to keep quiet. She knows she’ll have to pay millions if she breaks it.”

“But this is our private matter,” Inej objected, a little amused by the idea of ​​what Kaz’s loyal assistant was doing for them.

“That doesn’t change the fact,” Kaz insisted. “I can print out all the forms and we can fill them out now if you want.”

Bea was already sound asleep, in her bed for once and not theirs, the night was young, so Inej saw no reason why they shouldn’t do it, even though she was quite nervous about it. It was a big step they were planning to take.

“The sooner the better,” she decided, and Kaz smiled warmly at her.

“We’re doing it.”

It was so strange to realise that this was really here. Inej hadn’t been sure for quite a while that she wanted to do this. She obviously had her reasons for not agreeing right away when Kaz first came up with the idea, and she just had to get used to it. Now she was very excited and moved at the same time. How much would this change their lives?

Ketterdam Telegraph

Fourth Night

The fourth night of Dancing with the Grishaverse Stars was highly anticipated. During the week, all the couples had been wishing Kaz Brekker a quick recovery so that he could perform with them on Saturday. Only the night before did the competition spokesperson confirm that Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa would not be absent, which pleased many fans who had been cheering for the couple on social media. The question was, however, how much Brekker’s problem will affect his performance.

The night opened with Mayu Kit-Kaat and her dance partner Nestor Maximov. According to Genya Safin and Botkin Yul-Erdene, their tango was their best dance yet, but Heleen Van Houden did not miss some mistakes and did not appreciate the chosen routine very much. In the end, the couple received 19 points (5+7+7, in order of Heleen Van Houden, Botkin Yul-Erdene, Genya Safin).

The second dance, a jive this time, belonged to Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa, whose dance was probably included earlier because of Brekker, but his performance showed no signs of health problems and was met with thunderous applause. “How many painkillers have you taken?” asked host Jesper Fahey. “Not enough,” replied Kaz Brekker. “If I didn’t know that your problem was not just a tabloid fabrication, I would never have believed it,” said Heleen Van Houden. “How?”

Kaz Brekker replied with a smirk. “Painkillers, my newest best friends.” The next to judge the dance was Botkin Yul-Erdene. “So Kaz, you just ran a marathon, congratulations,” said Yul-Erdene with a smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dance with so many steps.” “If I were you, I’d start thinking about the possibility that my own wife was trying to kill me,” joked Safin. “Seriously, that was an incredible performance! What are you going to do next week? I really hope it’s something slow.” “Quickstep,” Inej Ghafa replied with a grimace, which made all three judges laugh. Their score was 26 points (8+9+9).

The next pair were Nikolai Lantsov and Imogen Leeuwenhoek, who had shown their quality on previous nights and this was no exception. “Nikolai showed us that he can be serious, and this was… wow!” said Safin. “This was intense! Did Zoya approve of that dance?” Yul-Bataar asked jokingly. The pair scored 26 points (9+8+9).

Paja Soboleva and Joran Strand showed rising form. Genya Safin and Botkin Yul-Erdene in particular were delighted with Soboleva’s growth and wished her a long stay in the competition. Heleen Van Houden did not miss a single mistake. Soboleva and Strand’s jive was a very good performance and was awarded 23 points (7+8+8).

The tango by Kuwei Yul-Bo and Madeleine Michaud was the big surprise of the night. “Kuwei woke up like Sleeping Beauty and crushed it,” said Yul-Erdene. “Such a perfect dramatic tango with a perfect execution. I had all the feelings I should have from such a dance. Incredible work,” added Safin. “Very passionate, very well done,” said Van Houden. The total score was 26 points (8+9+8).

Next up were Nina Zenik and Adrik Zhabin’s tango. “We’ve said it before. Nina in red takes the dance to a whole new level. It was flaming!” said Safin. “As soon as I see Nina in the red dress, I stop worrying about whether the steps were right or not,” admitted Yul-Erdene. They scored 24 points (8+8+8).

The jive performed by Aleksander Darkling and Fruszi was “fast and precise” as Van Houden put it. “The best dance of the night,” she added. Safin and Yul-Bataar were more critical, pointing out that Fruszi should not be the star of the dance, but Darkling as the star part of the couple. The total score was 24 points (9+7+8).

The last dance of the fourth night belonged to Anika and Pim Schouten. Their tango was very innovative and modern, as the judges said. “Very yours,” said Botkin Yul-Bataar. “We were a bit jealous of Kaz and Inej for their jive song a few years ago and they did such a great job that we decided to borrow the song for our tango,” explained Pim Schouten. “An interesting choice of music. It had everything a tango should have,” praised Safin. Because Heleen Van Houden noticed a few missteps, the total score was 25 points (7+9+9).

At the end of the night, three couples were tied for first place according to the judges’ ratings. These were Kuwei Yul-Bo with Madeleine Michaud, Nikolai Lantsov with Imogen Leeuwenhoek and Kaz Brekker with Inej Ghafa. The couple being eliminated was Mayu Kit-Kaat and her dance partner Joran Strand, who received not only fewer points from the judges but also fewer votes from the fans.

The couples will prepare two dances for next week. One of them is a quickstep or rumba, and then a salsa dance-off for everyone, the routine of which was prepared by Zoya Nazyalensky.

DWTGS Fan page:

Scores by the judges:

Barrel Gossip

Reasons for Kuwei Yul-Bo’s return to DWTGS revealed!

Kuwei’s latest album was not as successful as his previous ones, and his planned Grishaverse tour seems to be an embarrassing disaster, with ticket sales far below what the singer’s managers had expected. Although it seems like Kuwei has nothing more to offer, his managers decided that his return to DWTGS could be a good publicity stunt. Let’s see if this move works out and Kuwei returns to the spotlight.