Dancer Biographies

KAITLYN BRISTOWE - @kaitlynbristowe From the small town of Leduc, Alberta to the global stage, Kaitlyn Bristowe is the Canadian girl making waves — in a big way. Perhaps the most controversial and well-liked lead of The Bachelorette to date, Kaitlyn started out with big dreams and ballet shoes.

Since the end of her season, Kaitlyn has taken the social media world by storm (with 2M loyal Instagram followers) and continues to showcase her personality and unique perspective with listeners of her chart-topping hit podcast Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe of which she was recently named Podcaster of the Year. She has launched Dew Edit, a hair accessory and apparel line, created her own wine label, Spade & Sparrows, had two country-pop songs top the US Charts within the first 24 hours of release, and appeared on Season 29 of Dancing with the Stars where she took home the coveted Mirrorball as the first-place winner. She has since returned to screens across America as the co-host of ABC’s The Bachelorette and will be a celebrity guest on the Dancing with the Stars live tour early 2022. Her notoriously unapologetic style has landed her appearances on major network talk-shows including the likes of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Good Morning America, and Entertainment Tonight. DANIELLA KARAGACH - @daniellakaragach Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY by Moldovan immigrant parents, Daniella Karagach started dancing ballet at age 3 and ballroom at age 6. In 2009, she paired with her now husband Pasha Pashkov and quickly became a 3-time US National 10-Dance Champion, US National Latin Champion, US National Professional Show Dance Champion, and Blackpool and UK Open Professional Rising Star Latin Champion. She and Pasha were featured on season 2 of World of Dance, and Daniella also toured with Derek Hough in 2019. Daniella made her Dancing with the Stars debut on Season 28, making the finale and finishing in third place with her partner Nelly. Now in her second season as a pro on DWTS, Daniella went on to become a Mirrorball champion with her partner, Iman Shumpert! ARTEM CHIGVINTSEV - @theartemc Artem Chigvintsev was born in the military town of Izhevsk in the former Soviet Union, where he often skied cross country to school across the harsh Russian landscape. At 13, Chigvintsev discovered his passion for dance when his parents enrolled him in classes at the local dance academy. He quickly displayed prodigious talent and knew that in order to fulfill his potential he needed to leave Izhevsk for greener pastures. First in Moscow, then in Germany and England, Chigvintsev honed his craft until he earned a spot in 2010 as a professional dancer on the U.K. smash hit Strictly Come Dancing, which he won with celebrity partner Kara Tointon. After four successful seasons on the show, he jumped at an offer from the producers of Dancing with the Stars to come to Los Angeles in 2014 and

begin his new journey in the U.S. He has been paired with a series of buzzworthy partners on DWTS, including iconic actress Lea Thompson, superstar songbird Patti LaBelle, starlet Mischa Barton of The O.C. fame, America’s sweetheart Maureen McCormick, Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, Paralympic medalist Danelle Umstead, and most recently actress Melora Hardin. Artem is the season 29 Mirrorball winner with partner Kaitlyn Bristowe and Emmy nominated for his choreography on the show. ALAN BERSTEN - @alanbersten Alan is excited to be joining Dancing with the Stars Live for the seventh time! A Minnesota native, Alan began dancing at the age of 7, winning the Youth Championship and Under 21 national titles. At the age of 18, he was a finalist on season 10 of So You Think You Can Dance, finishing in the top 6 for males. Highlights of Alan’s time on SYTYCD included his blindfolded performance with Jasmine Mason – something that had never been done on the show before. After spending four seasons as a member of the DWTS Troupe, Alan found himself in the spotlight filling in for Mark Ballas after an injury forced him to step aside during season 22. Alan officially made his debut as a pro on season 25, partnering with ‘80s music icon Debbie Gibson. Alan won the coveted Mirrorball trophy on season 28 with his partner, Hannah Brown of The Bachelorette. Over the course of his tenure on the show, he has partnered with Olympic skater Mirai Nagasu, model Alexis Ren, and actress Skai Jackson. This season, Alan made it to the finals with his partner Amanda Kloots, whom he’s thrilled to be reuniting with for a portion of cities on this tour. One of Alan’s proudest professional moments was serving as a mentor and choreographer for the first season of Dancing with the Stars: Juniors. Under his guidance, skater and surf prodigy Sky Brown took home the victory alongside junior pro JT Church. EMMA SLATER - @theemmaslater Hi to everyone reading this, it’s Emma here. Seeing as this is my ninth tour (blimey I’ve done all of them!) I figured I’d go ahead and actually write my bio talking as myself!! I mean, I’m putting in the work to actually write it, why wouldn’t I just talk as me for once, might be a lovely twist eh!! So here I am in my kitchen writing to future you. I have been a Pro dancer on Dancing with the Stars since season 17 (shout out to Bill Engvall my first partner!) and I very gleefully took home the Mirrorball trophy in season 24 after winning with my partner Rashad Jennings. Kind of crazy how I even ended up on the show, I moved to Los Angeles in 2012 to do it. I’m originally from the center of England, from a place called Tamworth. It’s known for having two famous pigs. At age 10, I saw a girl dropping into the splits during a ballroom performance and my life choice was made.

In 2008, I was featured in Universal Pictures movie Mamma Mia! starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth. I can also be heard on the film’s GRAMMY®- winning soundtrack where I secretly changed my harmony in "Waterloo" on purpose, just so I can be heard. At 18, I was the youngest cast member to join Dirty Dancing in London’s West End (like the English version of Broadway). I then went on to perform in six West End shows in London. I appeared and supervised a few times on a British TV show called Popstar to Opera Star. Actually, it was in this series that I danced an entire show wearing two left footed shoes ha! No one's perfect. After this I joined a world-renowned ballroom show call Burn the Floor on Broadway where I met Sasha, Sharna, Peta, Artem, Maks and Kym Johnson. For the next two years I was lucky enough to travel the world with this show, (including stops in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Belgium and The Netherlands). It was after then that I interviewed for DWTS and I thought I botched the interview honestly but something worked out and now I have appeared on a total of 15 seasons of Dancing with the Stars! I have danced with 12 fantastic partners. It’s truly shaped my life. I also loved being a choreographer on Fox Network’s So You Think You Can Dance for a few seasons. Not sure if you caught season 30 of Dancing with the Stars (I’m assuming you probably did if you’re here reading this!), but if you did, you’d see I was ecstatic to have been partnered with musical artist Jimmie Allen and let me tell you we had a whale of a time!! Even that time when he pretended to forget all his steps on camera blocking day. Good times! If you made it this far thanks for reading! So, should I start a career in writing or just stick to dance? Hmm large question indeed. Love and light to you, hope you enjoy this show and have a safe journey home! Xoxox GLEB SAVCHENKO - @glebsavchenkoofficial Gleb Savchenko is a dancer, choreographer and model, who is currently appearing as a pro dancer on Dancing with the Stars. Savchenko was born in Moscow, Russia, and has been dancing since the age of 7. He won his first international championship when he was only 14, and continued to win major world dance titles throughout his career, even joining the Top 10 professional dancers in the world ranking of Latin American dance. He is a specialist in International Latin dance, with proficiency in ballet and contemporary dance. Savchenko has appeared on Dancing with the Stars in the U.K., Australia and Russia. He has been a choreographer for other dance shows, including So You Think You Can Dance. Gleb has also appeared in numerous TV shows, music videos and commercials, here in the US and overseas. Gleb is returning for his sixth time on tour with Dancing with Stars: Live! after competing this season with singer, Melanie C.

BRITT STEWART - @brittbenae Britt Stewart, an artist, educator, choreographer, dance arts supporter and advocate. Before joining the cast of Dancing With The Stars, Britt got her start in the entrainment industry as a principal dancer in all three of Disney’s original High School Musical movies. She went on to be in film, tv and live performances including worldwide tours. Some of her biggest moments include performing in films like Disney Channel’s Teen Beach Movie, prime time television shows, dancing for artists like Janet Jackson and Demi Lovato. She was Katy Perry’s back up dancer for three years on her Prismatic World Tour and Super Bowl halftime performance. After her time with Perry, she joined the Dancing With The Stars family. Britt was promoted to a Pro Dancer on DWTS as the First Black Female Pro on Season 29, making history after five seasons as a Troupe member and performing in two of DWTS Live Tours. She continues to bring her unique flare as a pro dancer with celeb partners Martin Kove and semi-finalist Johnny Weir! Britt is passionate about continuing to educate aspiring young dancers throughout the country and give back to her community as President of recently launched nonprofit Share The Movement focused on making dance accessible to all youth! Britt looks forward to getting back on the DWTS Live stage and sharing her love for dance and authentic self throughout the tour. SASHA FARBER - @sashafarber1 Born in Russia, Sasha Farber started dancing at age 13 in his new homeland, Australia. By 17, he had won the Australian Latin Championships twice and represented Australia at the World Latin Championships. Farber was a regular choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance along with his wife, Emma. He was also a featured dancer in the Broadway and West End production of Burn the Floor. This is Farber’s seventh time touring with DWTS Live! Sasha has been in the DWTS finals two seasons in a row and this year made it to the semi-finals with partner Olympic medalist, Suni Lee. BRANDON ARMSTRONG - @brandonarmstrong Brandon Armstrong was born and raised in California before moving to Utah, where he began dancing at age 12 and training with Mark Ballas, Corky Ballas, and Shirley Ballas. Trained in all styles including jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary, Brandon has traveled all over the world to compete professionally, specifically in Latin Ballroom. He has also been seen in Showstoppers at the Wynn Hotel and Baz at the Palazzo Hotel, both in Las Vegas. Brandon officially joined the cast of Dancing with the Stars as a troupe member for season 24, ultimately becoming a pro for season 27. He has partnered with R&B singer Tinashe, legendary singer and member of The Supremes Mary Wilson, and most recently with reality TV star Kenya Moore on this season. Returning for a fourth time on Dancing with the Stars: Live! Brandon has also appeared on the Dancing with the Stars: Live! Light Up the Night tour.

PASHA PASHKOV - @pashapashkov Pasha Pashkov started dancing in Russia at the age of 10 and relocated to the U.S when he was 15 years old. Together with his wife Daniella Karagach, he has won an array of trophies and titles. Amongst them include U.S National Professional Latin Show Dance Champion, British Open to the World aka “Blackpool” and U.K Open Professional RS Latin Champion. Pasha is also a seven-time U.S National 10-Dance Champion. He and Daniella were featured on season 2 of World of Dance. This 2021 season Pasha danced with Bling Empire star, Christine Chiu.

SOFIA GHAVAM - @sofiaghavami Sofia Ghavami was born and raised in Miami, FL. She began dancing at a young age and has trained with top coaches in a variety of styles with a strong passion for Latin Ballroom. She moved to LA at the age of 18 to pursue a dance career and has continued to train and build experience in the dance industry. Sofia has appeared on different shows including So You Think You Can Dance, Mira Quien Baila as a pro dancer, and has performed with various musical artists on award shows, music videos, live performances and more. She has also gone on the national MVP Confidential tour with Maks, Val and Peta. Most recently, Sofia was part of the DWTS Season 30 as one of the new Latin Pro. KOKO IWASAKI - @koko_iwasaki

Koine "Koko" Iwasaki grew up in South Florida and began dancing at the age of 3. Through her years of dancing, Koko trained in all styles of dance and began her professional dance career at the age of 16. She has worked with artists such as Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, JBalvin, Camila Cabello and many more. In addition to appearances with artists, Koko has been on world tours Luis Fonsi, Maluma and also dance tours such as So You Think You Can Dance and Maks, Val and Peta from Dancing With The Stars. Koko was runner up on season 14 of So You Think You Can Dance, and now a Allstar/Mentor on the show. Other appearances for Koko include the Grammys, Billboard Awards, The Ellen Show and most recently the Savage X Fenty Runway show. She now lives in Los Angeles, CA pursuing her career as a professional dancer and educator.