Anna Demidova () (born April 23, 1988) is a

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

professional

ballroom dancer Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and tel ...

. She is the winner of the professional dancer competition of ''Dancing with the Stars'', Season 8, which guaranteed her a spot as a professional dancer in Season 9 and has been featured in many popular magazines worldwide. Anna is the sister of World Ballroom Dance Champion

Katusha Demidova Katusha Demidova is a Russian professional ballroom dancer and instructor, now residing in the USA. She is the 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017(?), 2018 Professional World Ballroom Dance Champion, and also the International Pr ...

Early life

Demidova was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. She started dancing when she was six years old in an after-school program at the local community center, following in the footsteps of her older sister, world champion

. At the age of fifteen Demidova won the British Open Junior Ballroom Championship and the Ireland Open Championship.

Career

After finishing high school in Moscow, Demidova moved to New York to live with her sister and pursue her dancing career. She began dancing with Andrei Begunov. After becoming the United States Youth Champions in 2005 and 2006, they represented the U.S. at the World Championships where they made the finals. They also placed 1st at the Ohio Star Ball, Kings Ball, Tri State Challenge, BYU Championship and many more competitions in the youth category. After her partnership with Andrey ended, Demidova started dancing with Igor Mikushov, with whom she won many competitions such as the Ohio Star Ball, Emerald Ball, Manhattan DanceSport Championship, Tri State Championship, and San Francisco Open. They were also

Blackpool Dance Festival The 8-day Blackpool Dance Festival is the world's first and most famous annual ballroom dance competition of international significance, held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, England, since 1920. It is also the largest ...

Under 21 ballroom finalists, United Kingdom Open finalists, and International Championship grand finalists. She was partnered with

Michael Irvin Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football player. He played his entire 12-year career as a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, h ...

for Season 9 of ''Dancing With the Stars''. They were eliminated in the seventh week of the competition. Demidova has since returned to competition, reuniting with Andrei Begunov, premiering at the Manhattan Dancesport Championships, debuting as professionals, placing second in Rising Star International Standard.

Achievements

*International Grand Ball 10 Dance Champion *USA Dance National Standard Champion *Twice U.S. Youth International Standard Champion

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demidova, Anna Russian ballroom dancers Russian female dancers Russian emigrants to the United States Living people 1988 births Participants in American reality television series 21st-century Russian dancers