“Solo dancing is a completely different experience compared to dancing with a partner. You have to present yourself entirely on your own,” says Marie Ulrich. “But it also gives me the chance to be creative and come up with my own choreographies—which I really enjoy.” The 17-year-old high school student from Fraulautern, currently attending Robert-Schuman-Gymnasium in Saarlouis and set to graduate next year, recently claimed victory in the “Solo Challenge South,” an event hosted by her club, Rubin Saarlouis.
Competing against dancers from Worms, Darmstadt, Landau, Recklinghausen, and Koblenz in the Youth C Latin category, Ulrich swept all four dances, receiving 17 out of 20 top scores. This impressive win promoted her to the B-Class, the second-highest national ranking for dancers aged 16 to 18. She entered the next round at that level and secured a strong second place, facing competitors from Limburg, Kaiserslautern, Jena, and Remseck near Ludwigsburg.
Ulrich began dancing in 2015 at just seven years old. She first entered the youth scene with her then-partner, Julius Maul, who was two years older. Together, they participated in the Youth Cup, a beginner competition organized by the Saarland State Dance Sport Association. Their hard work quickly paid off with early wins at the Saarland Youth Dance Days and the School Dance Sport Championships, which they dominated in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
In 2018, Ulrich and Maul ended their partnership, and she began dancing with her older brother Lukas. “He was significantly taller than me and five years older, so I constantly had to compete against much older dancers,” Ulrich recalls. Despite the age gap, the sibling duo found success, repeatedly winning the Saarland Championship and earning top spots at tournaments across Germany until 2022.
However, when Lukas started college in Heilbronn, the siblings struggled to maintain their training schedule. “His studies made things really difficult—we just didn’t have the time anymore, so we had to end the partnership,” she says with a hint of sadness. Fortunately, in 2023, the German Dance Sport Federation launched a solo dancing initiative. “That gave me the opportunity to keep doing the sport I love, even without a partner.”
Ulrich embraced the solo format and quickly started making waves. In addition to podium finishes across Saarland, she showcased her skills at national events, winning the open Hessian championship in both the C- and B-Class categories in 2024.
As for what’s next, Ulrich says, “Right now, I want to perform well in the overall Solo Challenge ranking—and maybe take part in a German championship.” The next stops in the “Solo Challenge South” are scheduled for Darmstadt (June 1), Munich (June 21–22), Kaiserslautern (November 8–9), and the grand finale in Öhringen near Heilbronn on November 15.
