Karina Smirnoff
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| Karina Smirnoff | |
| Birth name | Halina Smirnova |
| Born | March 13, 1978 (age 29) (in Ukraine) |
| Other name(s) | formly Karyna Kylkova, Karyna Smirnoff, Karyna Smirnova (in Russia) |
| Notable roles | •Link's Pouty Dance Partner in Shall We Dance? •Herself in the reality show Dancing with the Stars |
Karina Smirnoff (born March 13, 1978[citation needed])is a world champion professional dancer from Kharkiv, Ukraine. She is a five-time U.S. National Champion, World Trophy Champion, and Asian Open Champion. She was a performer on the third season of the ABC series Dancing with the Stars with celebrity partner Mario López, whom she is dating. They eventually finished in second, losing to the team of Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke. Karina will return to the ballroom on March 19 for Season 4, this time partnered with Billy Ray Cyrus, country singer and Hannah Montana star.[1]
[edit] Trivia
- Karina Smirnoff was the project manager/director of Tornado Dance's international professional ballroom dancing event entitled "Day & Night."[2] This event was held on November 18, 2006 at the Hollywood & Highlands Grand Ballroom.
- Karina Smirnoff bites her cuticles to relieve stress.[3]
- Smirnoff is an only child.[4]
- Smirnoff graduated from Fordham University with a double major in economics and information system programming.[5]
- Smirnoff's ideal goal was law school during her academic studies.[4]
- Cyd Charisse, one of America's dance legends, is whom Karina admired as a young woman.[5]
- Karina Smirnoff has taken the title at the UK Open, she's a three times champion at the US Open, two time champion at the Asian Open, five time champion at the Dutch Open, five time US National Professional Champion, ranked 2nd in the World, and took second at the British Open Blackpool Dance Festival.[5]
- Karina Smirnoff is "the first woman to ever make the British Professional Final with three different partners." [6]
- Smirnoff says that the highlight of her career thus far, was being the second at the Worlds with three dance partners and two of whom have not yet gotten that far in their careers since.[5]
- Smirnoff has a dream of bringing the understanding of music through the body to underprivileged children and to a wider audience.[5]
- When Karina Smirnoff & Slavik Kryklyvyy were dance partners, their main coaches were Espen Salsberg, Donnie Burns, Tone Nyhagen, and Ralf Lepehne.[4]
- Smirnoff had LASIK surgery on both her eyes at New York Lasik Center. She also gave a testimonial for the company.[7]
- Louis van Amstel used to teach Karina Smirnoff when she was dancing with her amateur partner.[8]
- Smirnoff had a small part in the movie Shall We Dance? starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, and JLO.
[edit] References
- ^ ABC Television Network (2007-02-21). The Stars Align for a Fourth Season of ABC'S Hit Alternatice Series, "Dancing with the Stars". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
- ^ Day & Night. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ Rizzo, Monica (2006-11-13). Behind the Scenes at Dancing with the Stars. People.com 5. Time Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ a b c http://ballroomblogger.blogspot.com/2005/01/karinas-early-dance-days.html
- ^ a b c d e http://mcdepk.com/worldchildrensday2006/mediadocs/bio_KarinaSmirnoff.pdf
- ^ http://www.dsninternational.com/members/pages/body/090102blackpool-latin-pro.html
- ^ http://www.quantumvision.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=testimonials
- ^ http://www.dancenotes.com/article022.html
- Dancing With the Stars profile
- Your Burning Dancing Questions Answered
- On the Big Screen: interview with Slavik Kryklyvyy & Karina Smirnoff
[edit] External Links
- Interview with Slavik Kryklyvyy & Karina Smirnoff
- Transcript of interview on CNN Larry King Live
- Access Hollywood Interview with Mario Lopez & Karina Smirnoff after the season 3 finale (with Smirnoff crying)
- Slavik Kryklyvyy & Karina Smirnoff - Innovation
- Much Ado About Nothing!
Categories: Main pages with misplaced talk page templates | Wikipedia references cleanup | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with large trivia sections | Ballroom dancers | Living people | 1978 births | Fordham University alumni | Naturalized citizens of the United States | US Dancing with the Stars participants | Ukrainian Jews | Ukrainian people
