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'Fire & Ice' Dance Floor Heats Up With Cool Moves

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 27, 2007

TAMPA - Elena Grinenko recalls a time, not so long ago, when she would tell people that she was a professional ballroom dancer and they would say, 'That's nice, but what do you do for a living?'

Now, thanks to her appearances on 'Dancing With the Stars,' millions of people know what she does and are willing to pay to see her do it.

'They see that there is passion and excitement in ballroom, and it's not just something that their grandparents did,' says Grinenko, who will be performing Saturday in Tampa with dancing partner Tony Dovolani.

Programs such as 'Dancing With the Stars' and 'So You Think You Can Dance' have been very good for the ballroom dancing industry, she says.

'We have a lot of young people now who are interested in learning how to dance, and more people are interested in the competitive dancing,' she says in a telephone interview from her home in New Jersey.

Grinenko and Dovolani will be special guests at the third annual 'Fire & Ice Dance Spectacular' at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

They also are the current world champions in the American rhythm competition (cha-cha, rumba, bolero, swing and

mambo) held by the National Dance Council of America.

Both are veterans of 'Dancing With the Stars.' On the third season of the series, Grinenko was partnered with political pundit Tucker Carlson. They were the first to be eliminated. Earlier this year, she was partnered with former NBA star Clyde Drexler, who was the fourth celebrity to be voted off.

'I am still involved with the show, but I am not on this season,' Grinenko says. 'They switch some of the professional dancers around. I may be back next season.'

Dovolani is participating this season, partnered with actress Jane Seymour, who at age 56 is the oldest female competitor. The new season of 'Dancing With the Stars' began Monday.

He danced with former wrestling diva Stacy Keibler during the show's second season. They came in third place. On the third season, his dance partner was country music star Sara Evans, who dropped out because of her divorce proceedings.

He was then paired with talk show host Leeza Gibbons on the fourth season, which began in March. They were the third couple eliminated.

'It's very difficult to work with people who have never danced in their lives and then they are going to be seen by 20 million people,' Grinenko says. 'You have to be a teacher and a choreographer. It takes a lot of patience.

'The hardest part for me is that there wasn't enough time to work with people like Clyde to give them the best chance. It was very frustrating to have to develop the routines in such a short time.'

Dovolani, 34, is from Kosovo and began folk dancing at age 3. His family came to the United States when he was 15. He resides in New York, is married and has a child. He appeared in 'Shall We Dance?' and coached Jennifer Lopez, a co-star in the film.

Grinenko, 30, was born in Russia and began dancing Russian folk, ballet and ballroom by age 7. Within one year, she was already winning Russian championships in all divisions of youth ballroom dancing. She continued winning Moscow and national competitions through high school and was accepted into the Russian Art Academy.

She came to the United States at age 21 and continued competing at the adult level.

'Here dancing is a more social experience, and in Russia we were focused on the competition,' she notes.

She says rock 'n' roll and disco probably pushed ballroom out of the way in this country while it remained popular in Eastern Europe.

She favors the Latin dances and practices at least two hours per day, five days per week, she says.

'Fire & Ice' was created three years ago by Tampa real estate agent Gigi Farrell, who says she had competed as an amateur until an automobile accident ended her dancing aspirations.

'Interest in ballroom dancing has increased because of the TV shows,' she says. 'Last year, we had about 1,500 attending, which is double from the first year. This year, we expect more spectators.'

There also are more dancers in the competition.

'Dance classes around the Tampa Bay area are full, and we have people coming from out of state for this competition,' Farrell says.

'Fire & Ice,' which is sanctioned by National Dance Council of America, includes a daylong amateur competition from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the center's Ferguson Hall that is free and open to the public.

The professional competition, which includes the Dovolani and Grinenko performance, begins at 8 p.m. in Morsani Hall. Farrell expects about 40 to 50 dancers to compete.

A limited number of VIP tickets are available that include an after-party meet and greet with stars of the show, buffet dinner, dessert, dancing and open bar.

ON STAGE

Fire & Ice Dance Spectacular

WHAT: Professional dance competition and performance

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Morsani Hall, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa

TICKETS: $40 to $150; (813) 229-7827

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813 259-7654 or wbelcher@tampatrib.com.

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