Yanis, our beloved studio manager and co-owner, is originally from Latvia and has more than 23 years of experience as a professional ballroom dance instructor. He began learning ballroom dance when he was 6 years old, and finally began teaching when he was 19 years old. He immigrated to the United States in 2007 to represent the United States in the World Championship in Denmark two years later. Yanis relocated to West Palm Beach in 2023. He is a loving father and husband and you may even find his family at the studio on occasion! Yanis co-owns the studio with his adoring wife and partner, Sasha. He loves to travel with his family and considers himself an amateur movie critic.
Some of the accomplishments of his professional career he is most proud of include:
✨11 time Latvian National Champion
✨World Vice-champion in Standard
✨Bronze medalist in World Ten Dance Championship
✨2 times awarded as sports athlete of the year by President of Latvia
✨United States Vice-champion in Standard , US representative in World Championship
✨Star Quality Award by Carrie Ann Inabe Celebrity Judge from US Tv show “ Dancing with the Stars”
✨Invited twice to be a featured performer in one of the most prestigious world show dance events, “ Dance Legends” in New York, NY
Multiple Winner of Professional Rising Star and Open Professional Championships in United States
✨In 2015 ranked Top 5 US National Professional Show Dance Championship
Yanis credits the following Coaches with his career as a Ballroom Dancer:
Paul Holmes, Jonathan Wilkins, Igor Litvinov, Massimo Giorgiani, Scott Drapper, Lasse Odegaard, Karen and Marcus Hilton, Lindsy Hillier, Tor Floysvik, Andrew Sinkinson, Janet Gleeve, Giampiero Giannico, Ieva Pauksena, Igor Suvorov, Richard Gleave, Anne Gleave, Charlotte Jorgensen, John Wood and many others
He is honored to have had a part in the career of many dancers over the course of his teaching career of all ages and looks forward to each one.
If you’re interested in learning more or booking your first lesson with Yanis and the team at Fred Astaire – Wellington, you can find us here and start dancing today!
