Tony Dovolani
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| Tony Dovolani | |
|---|---|
| Born | Driton Dovolani July 17, 1973 Prishtina,  Kosovo |
| Occupation | Dancer |
Driton "Tony" Dovolani (born July 17, 1973 in Prishtina, Kosova) is a professional ballroom dancer based in New York City. Dovolani, who is an ethnic Albanian, began folk dancing at age three. When he was 15, his entire family moved to the United States and Dovolani got the opportunity to attend classes at a Fred Astaire Dance Academy. From that moment on, he knew he had found his passion. Since that time, Dovolani has traveled the world and won many championships. He is best known for his involvement in the American version of Dancing with the Stars on ABC. Dovolani also had role as a Latin bad boy in the hit film, Shall We Dance? and spent time coaching Jennifer Lopez. While not dancing, Tony enjoys spending time at home with his wife and daughter.
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[edit] Dancing with the Stars
He was partnered with Stacy Keibler in the second season, where they made it to the finals and ended up coming in third place.
In the third season of Dancing with the Stars he partnered with country music star Sara Evans. Midway through the season Evans withdrew from the competition because of her divorce proceedings.
Tony returned to the ballroom on March 19 for Season 4, this time partnered with Talk show host Leeza Gibbons.[1] They were the third couple eliminated from the competition and came in 9th place.
He recently competed on season 5 and was partnered with actress, Jane Seymour.[2] They were the seventh couple eliminated from the competition and finished in 6th place.
It was revealed on February 18, 2008 that Dovolani would be back on Dancing with the Stars for the sixth season. This time he was partnered with Broadway actress Marissa Jaret Winokur. They were eliminated in the semi-finals and finished in 4th place.
His wife is expecting twins in late August 2008, one boy one girl.[3]
[edit] Performances
With celebrity partner Marissa Jaret Winokur:
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Result | ||
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Cha-cha-cha/ "Low" | 6 | 6 | 6 | N/A |
| 2 | Quickstep/ "Flip, Flop and Fly" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Last to be called Safe |
| 3 | Jive/ "Girlfriend" | 6 | 7 | 6 | Safe |
| 4 | Paso Doble/ "My Family Is My Life" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 5 | Samba/ "Tambourine" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 6 | Viennese Waltz/ "Delilah" | 9 | 8 | 9 | Safe |
| 7 | Tango/ "Champagne Tango" Rumba/ "Quando, Quando, Quando" |
9 9 |
9 8 |
9 8 |
Bottom Two |
| 8 | Foxtrot/ "New York, New York" Mambo/ "Ritmo De Chunga" |
9 8 |
8 8 |
8 9 |
Safe |
| 9 Semi-finals |
Quickstep/ "Around the World" Rumba/ "Just the Two of Us" |
9 8 |
9 9 |
8 9 |
Eliminated |
[edit] Dancing
Ballroom dancing is all about the woman, according to Dovolani. He believes the man is meant to be the frame for the picture of beauty as presented by the woman.
Dovolani and his partner Elena Grinenko have recently retired from competing in the American rhythm division.
[edit] Achievements
- 2006 nominated for an Emmy for outstanding choreography for Dancing with the Stars for episode #208 (Dance: Jive).
- 2006 PBS America's Ballroom Challenge Rhythm Champion
- 2006 Emerald Ball Open Professional American Rhythm Champion[4]
- 2006 United States Open Rhythm Champion with Elena Grinenko
- 2006 World Rhythm Champion with Elena Grinenko
- 2005 Ohio Star Ball American Rhythm Champion[5]
- 2005 United States Open Rhythm Champion with Inna Ivanenko
- 2005 World Rhythm Champion with Inna Ivanenko
[edit] Outside of dancing
Tony and Len Goodman appear along with Mary Murphy in an infomercial for the Core Rhythms workout system.
Dovolani and fellow dancers Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Elena Grinenko have created a website called the Ballroom Dance Channel. It is to help bring awareness to dancing. Dovolani and best friend Chmerkovskiy can often be found interviewing each other. The website is called BDCsocial.com
In a return to film, Dovolani was recently cast in the independent feature "355" as "The Mute".
[edit] See also
- Dancesport World Champions (rhythm)
- U.S. National Dancesport Champions (Professional Rhythm)
- Dancing with the Stars (US TV series)
[edit] References
- ^ "The Stars Align for a fourth season of ABC's hit alternative series, Dancing With the Stars", abc.go.com, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
- ^ Dancing with the Stars Announces New Contestants - Dancing With the Stars : People.com
- ^ Update: Tony Dovolani and wife expecting boy/girl twins. Celebrity-babies.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ DanceSport Portal » Blog Archive » 2006 Emerald Ball
- ^ DanceSport Portal » Blog Archive » 2005 Ohio Star Ball
[edit] External links
- Tony Dovolani Official Website
- Tony Dovolani at the Internet Movie Database
- Dancing with the Stars Biography
- Tony Dovolani information at Fred Astaire.com
- Tony Dovolani Official MySpace Page
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tony Dovolani |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Driton Dovolani |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Ballroom dance champion and choreographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 17 July, 1973 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kosovo, Serbia |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
