{"id":201,"date":"2024-07-30T13:47:29","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T13:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/franchising\/?post_type=dance_council&#038;p=201"},"modified":"2024-07-30T13:47:29","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T13:47:29","slug":"tony-dovolani","status":"publish","type":"dance_council","link":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/franchising\/dance-council\/tony-dovolani\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Dovolani"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Executive Dance Board Member<\/li>\n<li>Co-National Dance Director<\/li>\n<li>Started with Fred Astaire Dance Studios in 1990<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>BIO<\/h2>\n<p>Tony Dovolani was born in Prishtina, Kosova and began folk dancing at age three. He was 15 years old when he and his family moved to the United States. At age 17, he began ballroom lessons at a Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Connecticut and knew he had found his passion. Six months later, he began working as a FADS Dance Instructor, and he has been a strong and successful competitor in the professional ballroom dancing world ever since.<\/p>\n<p>In 2006, Tony joined ABC\u2019s\u00a0<em>Dancing with the Stars<\/em>\u00a0for their second season, and quickly became a fan favorite with his stellar choreography, elegance and bright smile. He spent 21 consecutive seasons on the show; Tony and his dance partner Melissa Rycroft were the Season 15 \u201cDancing with the Stars: All-Stars\u201d Mirror Ball Trophy Champions. Tony\u2019s professional body of work is impressive. He has guest hosted and choreographed for the world-famous Chippendales at the Rio\/Las Vegas, (Spring 2018); choreographed the Miss Nevada pageant (2012) and was a judge for the Miss America competition (2011). He, with fellow DWTS Pro Cheryl Burke, choreographed and performed a special Paso Doble for Pixar\u2019s\u00a0<em>Toy Story 3<\/em>. He\u2019s guest-hosted segments on\u00a0<em>EXTRA<\/em>, the Golf Channel\u2019s\u00a0<em>The Morning Drive<\/em>\u00a0and on the ABC syndicated show\u00a0<em>On the Red Carpet<\/em>. He has guest starred on television series including TV Land\u2019s\u00a0<em>The Exes<\/em>\u00a0and CBS TV\u2019s\u00a0<em>Kevin Can Wait<\/em>, and played Latin bad-boy competitor, \u2018Slick Willy\u2019 in the hit film\u00a0<em>Shall We Dance<\/em>. He has toured with\u00a0<em>Dance to the Movies<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Dance to the Holidays<\/em>\u00a0and has been a frequent guest on\u00a0<em>Good Morning America<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Of his role as Co-National Dance Director for the Fred Astaire Dance Studios network, Tony offers, \u201cMy life has now come full circle. At age 17, I began my dance career as an Instructor with FADS, and now, to carry on the legacy of the iconic dancer and choreographer Fred Astaire, is truly an honor. My goals as Co-National Dance Director are not only to bring all the knowledge and skills I\u2019ve gained to this position, but even more importantly \u2013 to work together with you to bring FADS \u2013 home of the best dancers in our industry \u2013 to the next level. When I was a brand new teacher, one of my mentors told me, \u201c<em>what you learn at FADS will help you be successful not only in your career, but in every aspect of your life<\/em>\u201d, and it\u2019s been incredible how true that was. What I learned while working at that Fred Astaire Dance Studio has helped me with my family, my dancing, in movies and TV shows\u2026 in all the accomplishments I\u2019ve ever had. But the truth is, I always wanted to come back \u2013 to be here, because THIS is where I belong, this is where I am proudest \u2013 to know when I walk out on a stage or anywhere, that I represent Fred Astaire Dance Studios \u2013 THAT is truly an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>ACHIEVEMENTS<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>2006 Nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography \/\u00a0<em>Dancing with the Stars<\/em>\u00a0episode #208 (Dance: Jive)<\/li>\n<li>2o06 PBS\u00a0<em>America\u2019s Ballroom Challenge<\/em>\u00a0Rhythm Champion with Elena Grinenko<\/li>\n<li>2006 Emerald Ball Open Professional American Rhythm Champion with Elena Grinenko<\/li>\n<li>2006 United States Open Rhythm Champion with Elena Grinenko<\/li>\n<li>2006 World Rhythm Champion with Elena Grinenko<\/li>\n<li>2005 Ohio Star Ball American Rhythm Champion with Elena Grinenko<\/li>\n<li>2005 United States Open Rhythm Champion with Inna Ivanenko<\/li>\n<li>2005 World Rhythm Champion with Inna Ivanenko<\/li>\n<li>Fred Astaire National Champion \u2013 International Latin (multiple years)<\/li>\n<li>Fred Astaire National Champion \u2013 American Rhythm (multiple years)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>AREAS OF EXPERTISE<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>All Styles of Dance<\/li>\n<li>Mental &amp; Physical Competitive Development<\/li>\n<li>Studio Operations<\/li>\n<li>Choreography<\/li>\n<li>Business Training<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Tony Dovolani is part of the prestigious\u00a0<a title=\"Fred Astaire Dance Studios International Dance Council\" href=\"\/fred-astaire-dance-studios-dance-council\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" aria-label=\"Click here to go to Fred Astaire Dance Studios Dance Council page - open in a new tab\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"PR\" data-uw-original-href=\"https:\/\/staging-fadsmarketingsite.kinsta.cloud\/fred-astaire-dance-studios-dance-council\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\">Fred Astaire Dance Studios International Dance Council<\/a>, which oversees Dance Instructor training and certification, judges (Professional, Amateur, Pro\/Am) at Regional, National &amp; International Fred Astaire Dance Studio Dance Competition events, actively coaches our Students &amp; Instructors in dance studio locations across our network, and continuously reviews our proprietary dance curriculum to ensure only the finest, most up-to-date programs for our Students. For more information on the Fred Astaire International Dance Council or any of its members, please\u00a0<a title=\"Contact us\" href=\"\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" aria-label=\"Contact us - open in a new tab\" data-uw-rm-brl=\"PR\" data-uw-original-href=\"https:\/\/staging-fadsmarketingsite.kinsta.cloud\/contact\/\" data-uw-rm-ext-link=\"\">contact us<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":285,"template":"","class_list":["post-201","dance_council","type-dance_council","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/franchising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dance_council\/201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/franchising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dance_council"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/franchising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/dance_council"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/franchising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fredastaire.com\/franchising\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}