Brian Fortuna (born September 20, 1982) is an American professional ballroom dancer, choreographer and instructor.
Biography
Brian Fortuna was born to Sandra Fortuna and was brought up in Philadelphia. Brian began dancing at his mother's studio at the age of four. Both of his parents have nationally ranked titles in ballroom and Latin Dancesport.
He graduated from Camden Catholic High School and took three years of Business Marketing at Rutgers University.[1][2] Having taught at his parents' dance school, Universal Dance Center in New Jersey,Vorlage:Clarify Brian relocated to Los Angeles in search of new opportunities. This resulted in him getting two presenting jobs: the first on Online Encore as an anchor for Dancing with the Stars' sixth season, and the second on American Idol doing outside broadcasts with audience members.
Brian specializes in Latin ballroom dancing, which he says is his favorite type of dance. In addition to choreography and instruction, he specializes in wheelchair ballroom dancing which was taught to him by his mother Sandra Fortuna, founder of the United States Wheelchair Dancing Association, well known coach, and internationally recognized judge. He made a CD called "Latin Jam" which contained several tracks ideal for salsa dancing.
Brian was also on the hit Vietnamese show Paris By Night where he was paired with the famous Vietnamese singer, Bao Han but they were unsuccessful.Vorlage:Cn
Television shows
Dancing with the Stars
Brian participated in the fourth season of ABC's American version of Strictly Come Dancing (UK TV series)Dancing with the Stars with celebrity partner Shandi Finnessey, a former Miss Universe contestant.
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Result | ||
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Foxtrot/"Power of Love" | 7 | 6 | 6 | n/a |
| 2 | Mambo/"Right Now" | 6 | 7 | 7 | Bottom 2 |
| 3 | Jive/"Crocodile Rock" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Eliminated |
The couple was the second to be voted off the competition on March 19, 2007.[3][4][5][6]
Brian was a cast member of the Dancing with the Stars winter 2007-2008 tour.[7][8]
Strictly Come Dancing
Brian joined Strictly Come Dancing for the 6th Series, the UK show upon which Dancing with the Stars is based. His celebrity partner was M People's Heather Small[9].
With Celebrity Partner Heather Small
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Result | |||
| Revel Horwood | Phillips | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Cha Cha Cha/"Lady Marmalade" | Group Dance | ||||
| 2 | Salsa/"La Banda" | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | Safe |
| 3 | Swing/"Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" | Group Dance | ||||
| 4 | Quickstep/"Old Man Time" | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | Bottom Two |
| 5 | Samba | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | Bottom Two |
| 6 | Viennese Waltz/"Vision of Love" | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | Safe |
| 7 | Cha Cha Cha/"American Boy" | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | Bottom Two |
| 8 | Tango/"Rebel Rebel" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Eliminated |
The couple left the series on Sunday, November 9th[10][11].
At Christmas 2008, Brian was partnered with Kelly Brook. They danced the Jive to Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree and scored 39 out of 40. They were one of four couples to get the same score and after the judges ranked the couples they were left in fourth place with the judges. When the judges' scores were added to the audience vote, they came second overall to Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett.
Brian has returned to Strictly Come Dancing for the 7th Series. His celebrity partner is Ali Bastian who played PC Sally Armstrong on The Bill[12].
With Celebrity Partner Ali Bastian
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Result | |||
| Revel Horwood | Goodman | Dixon | Tonioli | |||
| 1A | Waltz / 'Reach Out and Touch' | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | N/A |
| 1B | Rumba / 'That's What Friends Are For' | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 2 | Michael Jackson Tribute / Billie Jean & Shake Your Body Down to the Ground | Group Dance | ||||
| 3 | Quickstep / 'I Get a Kick out of You' | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 4 | Salsa / Quimbara | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 5 | Jive / Tutti Frutti | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 6 | American Smooth / A Foggy Day in London Town | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | Safe |
| 7 | Paso Doble / El Gato Montes | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | Bottom Two |
| 8 | Viennese Waltz / Do Right Woman Do Right Man | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Safe |
| 9 | Cha Cha Cha / I Gotta Feeling | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 10 | Foxtrot / Haven't Met You Yet | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 11 | The Charleston / Pencil Full of Lead & Group Viennese Waltz | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | Safe |
On Saturday, November 7th, Brian and Ali Bastian's Viennese Waltz received a perfect score of 40[13]. This is the highest score for a Viennese Waltz in Strictly Come Dancing history[14].
On Saturday, November 28th, Brian and Ali Bastian's performance in the Group Viennese Waltz earned them a perfect joint score from the judges.
Dancing on Wheels
On May 28, 2009, the BBC issued a press release about their upcoming show: Dancing on Wheels. This project aims to promote Wheelchair DanceSport with Brian Fortuna as the lead choreographer. Competitors will be put through intense training, as seen on Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars, and will compete for a chance to represent the United Kingdom at the Wheelchair Dance Sport European Championships in Israel in the Fall of 2009[15]. The program is due to air on BBC3 in early 2010.[16]
Also joining the show is Brian's celebrity partner from Strictly Come Dancing Series 6, M People's Heather Small, as well as Olympic swimmer Mark Foster, actress Michelle Gayle, actor Kevin Sacre, rugby player Martin Offiah, and presenter Caroline Flack. Dancing on Wheels (working title) is produced by Fever Media.[17][18][19].
Achievements
In 2004 and 2005, Brian won the North American Top Teacher competition.[2] and in the same years, he was the Imperial Dance Sport Champion. Brian is a certified judge by the United States Terpsichore Association.Vorlage:Cn[20]
Filmography
Brian appeared as a featured dancer in the film, The Aviator. He was also the choreographer and dancer in the television drama South Beach starring Vanessa L. Williams.Vorlage:Cn
References
External links
- ↑ http://www.brianfortuna.com/bio.htm
- ↑ a b http://www.brianfortuna.com/resume.pdf
- ↑ http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/shandi-finnessey-and-brian-fortuna-cut-from-dancing-with-stars- 1953.php
- ↑ http://i.abcnews.com/Entertainment/DancingStars/popupid=3203845&contentIndex=1&page=3&start=false
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,263840,00.html
- ↑ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20033615,00.html
- ↑ http://www.buddytv.com/articles/dancing-with-the-stars/dancing-with-the-stars-tour-hi-6297.aspx
- ↑ http://jjb.yuku.com/topic/171125/t/Dancing-With-the-Stars-Tour-2007-2008.html
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/contestants/heather_small.shtml
- ↑ ht-Christmas-special.html
- ↑ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/strictly_come_dancing/2060613/Jingle-Kels-Xmas-jive.html
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/couples/2009/ali_brian.shtml
- ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1226001/Strictly-Come-Dancing-Blackpool-boy-Craig-Kelly-booted-hometown-crowd.html
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strictly_Come_Dancing#Highest_and_Lowest_Scoring_Performances_3
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/05_may/28/dancing.shtml
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/comingup/dancingonwheels/
- ↑ http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/television-in-wales/2009/05/28/stars-set-for-groundbreaking-dancing-on-wheels-show-91466-23735516/
- ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1194466/Wheely-come-dancing-Strictly-spin-features-disabled-dancers-wheelchairs.html
- ↑ http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/Heather-Small-Dancing-Wheels/article-1031819-detail/article.html
- ↑ United States Terpsichore Association. United States Terpsichore Association, abgerufen am 5. Dezember 2009.