MN FADS Dancers Judged by DWTS Champion Kym Johnson!

Season 10 of Dancing With The Stars begins on March 22 but before the intense training required to prepare for the show began, Season 9 champion Kym Johnson (Donny Osmond’s partner) visited Minnesota and Fred Astaire Dance Studios were invited to perform at the show!

Have you ever watched Dancing With The Stars and wondered if you could do that? Local students and professional dancers Josiah Lanska, Dan Poitras, Sandy Haydon, Winston Fine, Chad Lessard, Joanna Lessard, Kristina Lee and Jessica Restivo from the Rochester and Inver Grove Heights studios in MN proved they could on January 30 at the Minneapolis Convention Center Women’s Expo. Students and teachers danced in front of a live audience and Kym evaluated each routine giving her comments just like the judges on the TV show. The eight performers ranged in experience from brand-new beginners to seasoned professionals. They were glad to find that she was gentler in her evaluations than DWTS judge Len Goodman!

Josiah Lanska and his instructor Jessica Restivo performed a Rumba. Kym was very impressed with their performance, especially given Josiah’s lack of dance experience. He just started dancing two months ago! Dan Poitras and his instructor Kristina Lee danced a Waltz which Kym said was very expressive of the elegant style of the dance. Sandy Haydon and her instructor Winston Fine performed a Rumba which they have danced several times in area shows and competitions. Kym was very impressed with their performance, commenting on how flexible Sandy was, especially for her age and lack of lifelong dance experience. Sandy is in her 50s and didn’t start dancing until a year and a half ago! The professional dancers performed a variety of routines including the Tango, the Viennese Waltz, the Rumba and the Salsa. Later in the day Kym taught a lesson on stage in two different dances, the Cha Cha and the Jive, and asked Kristina and Winston to perform the Cha Cha and Kristina and Chad to perform the Jive to demonstrate for her class. The event also featured an interview with Kym on Twin Cities Live.

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