Sun Valley Ballroom, in partnership with The Spot, presents its second annual performance led by international ballroom champion dancer and instructor Vasily Golovin and Mindy Meads. Based in Boise, Vasily Golovin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and began training at age nine with some of the world’s top ballroom coaches. He has competed internationally for more than 20 years and has won various titles, including Russian National Champion, European Champion and Latin World Champion. Golovin has won the Top Teaching award in several California competitions and is among the most highly acclaimed ballroom coaches in the state. He and his wife Alexis visited Idaho on vacation and fell in love with the state, moving here in 2023.

Sun Valley Ballroom founder Mindy Meads had an accomplished retail career in C-suite roles such as the CEO of Land’s End, Victoria Secret Direct, & Aeropostale. She also had a stint as a professor at LIM College in New York City. Throughout her career, Meads has shared her expertise on numerous boards, including serving as a founding member and Board Chair of the Sun Valley Culinary Institute when the school first opened. Meads caught the dancing bug the moment she started taking lessons at the Fred Astaire studio in New York City. Although she seldom competes, her love for the sport is undeniable. When Meads heard there was a competitive dancing coach in Boise, she reached out to Vasily Golovin.

For 2026, returning dancers include Arinia Grishania and Alexander Chernositov, and Tatiana and Yegor Novikov. Arinia Grishania and Alexander Chernositov are highly accomplished, having won the Amateur Latin Division. Together, the two earned the esteemed title of world Amateur Latin Champions and secured the Blackpool Champions title in 2025.

Tatiana and Yegor Novikov, who are professional ballroom dancers who compete in the American Smooth style, including the Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, and Viennese Waltz. They have won titles at the US National Championships, reached the World Championship podium in 2023-2025, and were Blackpool Vice Champions in 2025.

New this year, Sun Valley Ballroom welcomes three additional international champions, Austin and Liza Joson, Tal Livshitz and Ilana Keselman, and Curtis Collins and Beverly Durand. Austin and Liza Joson were the United States Juvenile and 10-Dance Champions and guest performers on ABC’s hit show “Dancing With the Stars.”

Tal Livshitz and Ilana Keselman are World Dance Council Amateur League (WDCAL) World Finalists, sixth in the world in open professional Latin dancing, and national champions in the U.S. Livshitz and Keselman compete in the Blackpool Dance Festival with Tatiana and Yegor Novikov, Arinia Grishania and Alexander Chernositov, as well as Austin and Liza Joson. Curtis Collins and Beverly Durand are an internationally acclaimed dance team whose careers span Broadway, Hollywood, television, and stages around the world.

Also returning dancers from Boise will join Sun Valley Ballroom. Do not miss one of the year’s most anticipated events, where dancers dazzle with their moves, grace, stunning outfits, and beautiful routines.