Karina Smirnoff's Biography

Karina Smirnoff (born March 13, 1978[1])is a world champion professional dancer from Kharkov, 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, according to US Weekly. They eventually finished second, losing to the team of Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke.




Biography

Karina Smirnoff graduated from Fordham University with a double major in information system programming and economics with specialization in information system management.[2][3]

Karina began taking ballet lessons at the age of five. Two years later she went through gymnastics and aerobics, but neither of these activities appealed to her. [4] At age seven, her parents introduced her to figure skating and she loved it; she skated for about four years, but she had to stop because she had a very weak throat. [5]. When she started fifth or sixth grade, she had to choose between ballroom dancing, which her mother put her through, and piano, which her grandmother put her through [6]; Smirnoff chose ballroom dancing. She moved to the United States when she was twelve and eventually became a U.S. citizen [7]. She is five feet, five inches tall [8]. Karina has had several dance partners including Paul Killick and Louis Van Amstel, a fellow Dancing with the Stars professional competitor. In January 2001, Karina began dancing with Slavik Kryklyvyy, representing the USA. She gained several titles with Slavik, including first place at the UK Open 2005 and second place at the prestigious Blackpool Dance Festival. Krylyvyy and Smirnoff have made a series of instructional dance videos. The partnership terminated in September 2005. Karina is currently dancing with Dmitri Timokhin, with whom she recently placed 4th at the 2006 Blackpool Dance Festival.

Karina Smirnoff and her then partner Slavik Kryklyvyy choreographed the piece of Tango featured in the movie Shall We Dance? where Jennifer Lopez gives Richard Gere a private dance lesson very late in the evening [9].




Trivia

  • Karina Smirnoff was the project manager/director of Tornado Dance's international professional ballroom dancing event entitled "Day & Night." [10]This event was held on November 18, 2006 at the Hollywood & Highlands Grand Ballroom. Karina Smirnoff brought JC Chasez as her date.[11]
  • Karina Smirnoff bites her cuticles to relieve stress.[12]
  • Smirnoff is an only child.[13]
  • Smirnoff graduated from Fordham University with a double major in economics and information system programming.[14]
  • Smirnoff's ideal goal was law school during her academic studies.[15]
  • Cyd Charisse, one of America's dance legends, is whom Karina admired as a young woman.[16]
  • 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.[17]
  • Karina Smirnoff is "the first woman to ever make the British Professional Final with three different partners." [18]
  • 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.[19]
  • Smirnoff has a dream of bringing the understanding of music through the body to underprivileged children and to a wider audience.[20]
  • When Karina Smirnoff & Slavik Kryklyvyy were dance partners, their main coaches were Espen Salsberg, Donnie Burns, Tone Nyhagen, and Ralf Lepehne. [21]
  • Smirnoff had LASIK surgery on both her eyes at New York Lasik Center. She also gave a testimonial for the company.[22]
  • Louis van Amstel used to teach Karina Smirnoff when she was dancing with her amateur partner.[23]