Peta Murgatroyd
| Peta Murgatroyd | |
|---|---|
Murgatroyd in 2013
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|
| Born |
Peta Jane Murgatroyd 14 July 1986 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Professional dancer/choreographer |
| Partner(s) | Maksim Chmerkovskiy (2012-present) |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | http://www.allthingsfamandglam.com |
Peta Jane Murgatroyd (born July 14, 1986) is a New Zealand-born Australian professional Latin dancer. She performed in the international tour of the dance production Burn the Floor, including its Broadway run. She is best known for her appearances on the American edition of Dancing with the Stars, in which she has won twice.
Murgatroyd was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but moved to Australia when she was 18 months old; as a result, she considers herself more of an Australian. She was raised in Perth, Western Australia, and started studying classical ballet at age 4. She trained for 12 years under former principal dancer of the Kirov Ballet, Madame Lubov Nikonorenko. An ankle injury at 16 years old forced Murgatroyd to give up ballet. Murgatroyd then picked up Latin dancing.
Within months of beginning ballroom training, Murgatroyd became the W.A. Amateur Latin State Champion in 2002 and won the title again in 2003. She placed second in the Great World City Championships. Success at other competitions followed quickly; she was a semi-finalist in the Lion City Championships in Singapore and was a finalist in the Australian Open Championships. She placed third in the world at the Blackpool Dance Festival Youth Under 21 Latin competitions in 2005.
Murgatroyd joined the cast of Burn the Floor in 2004, touring with them around the world for six years. When Burn the Floor landed on Broadway in August 2009, Murgatroyd was the lead female dancer.
Murgatroyd joined the cast of Dancing with the Stars in 2011 as a member of the dance troupe in season 12. She became a regular member of the professional cast as of season 13.
In season 13, Murgatroyd competed on the show as a professional with basketball player Metta World Peace. They were the first couple eliminated off the show.
In 2012, Murgatroyd was again featured as a professional dancer competing on season 14 as the partner of football player Donald Driver. On 22 May, it was announced that the couple was the winner of the competition. She is the second professional to win after finishing last the prior season, after Kym Johnson.
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