Karina Smirnoff
| Karina Smirnoff | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Karina Smirnova January 2, 1978 Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Occupation | Dancer |
Karina Smirnoff (Ukrainian: Каріна Смірнова; January 2, 1978) is a USSR-born American professional ballroom dancer. She is best known to the general public as a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars, winning the thirteenth season with army veteran and soap opera star J. R. Martinez. She's also won two runner-up titles, a semifinal title, and several quarterfinal titles.
She is a five-time U.S. National Champion, World Trophy Champion, and Asian Open Champion. Smirnoff has won the title at the UK Open, is a three-time champion at the US Open, two-time champion at the Asian Open, five-time champion at the Dutch Open, and five-time US National Professional Champion. She has taken second at the British Open Blackpool Dance Festival and she is the first woman to also ever make the "British Professional Final" with three different partners.
Karina Smirnoff was born in Kharkiv,Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, and is of half Greek and half Russian descent. At 11, she began competing in ballroom dancing. She chose to pursue ballroom dancing. In 1993, Smirnoff immigrated to the United States.
Smirnoff attended multiple schools, including Nerinx Hall High School in St. Louis and Christopher Columbus High School in The Bronx. She finally graduated from Bronx High School of Science. Smirnoff graduated from New York City's Fordham University with a double major in economics and information system programming.
Early in Smirnoff's dancing career, she and Roman Nabatov competed as an amateur couple for USA. They ended their dance partnership in January 1997. Smirnoff soon after started dancing with Paul Killick in October 1998 as a professional couple for England; this partnership ended in July 1999. Immediately, Louis Van Amstel and Karina Smirnoff, in July 1999, entered a professional dance partnership, representing the U.S.A; the partnership ended in December 2000. From January 2001 to September 2005, Smirnoff was in a dance partnership with Slavik Kryklyvyy and they represented the U.S.A; this partnership thus far is her most successful one. Kryklyvyy and Smirnoff earned numerous top titles and high ratings together.
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