Brian Fortuna (born September 20, 1982) is an American professional

ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of 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 television. ...

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and

instructor Instructor may refer to: Education * Instructor, a teacher of a specialised subject that involves skill: ** Teaching assistant ** Tutor ** Lecturer ** Fellow ** Teaching fellow *** Teaching associate *** Graduate student instructor ** Professor S ...

Biography

Brian Fortuna is currently starring in Theatre Production's Limited ''Over the Rainbow'' as Danny Cassidy. He recently finished filming the emotional romantic short film ''Love + 1'' with

Alison Carroll Alison Laura Carroll (born 21 May 1985) is an English gymnast, model and actress. She was the live-action model of the video game character Lara Croft from 2008 to 2010. Biography Carroll was born on 21 May 1985, in Croydon, London. She tr ...

and Andy Barnes. Fortuna was Principal Dancer in ''

Burn the Floor Burn the Floor is a live dance show which has performed around the world, including on Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in New York City and the West End of London, West End in London. Since 1997, Burn the Floor has performed in over 130 countries w ...

'' during its 2010 run at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

. His performances earned him a 2011

What's On Stage Award What or WHAT may refer to: * What, an interrogative pronoun and adverb * "What?", one of the Five Ws used in journalism Film and television * ''What!'' (film) or ''The Whip and the Body'', a 1963 Italian film directed by Mario Bava * '' What ...

nomination as Best Newcomer. He was Lead Choreographer and

Consulting Producer A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

for ''

Dancing on Wheels ''Dancing on Wheels'' is a British Reality TV show made by production company Fever Media and first broadcast on BBC Three on 11 February 2010. The concept of the show is that an able-bodied celebrity dances with a wheelchair user. The couples d ...

''. This groundbreaking show premiered on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

in February 2010 and was produced by

Fever Media Fever Media Ltd was a British television production company based in London. It was launched in 2006 by former BBC Executive Producers Richard Hopkins and David Mortimer. It develops and produces quizzes, game shows, factual entertainment, factual ...

. ''Dancing on Wheels'' pairs disabled and able-bodied contestants as they learn the art of Ballroom and Latin

DanceSport Dancesport is competitive ballroom dance, ballroom dancing, as contrasted to social or exhibition dancing. In the case of Para dancesport, at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair. Dancesport events are sanctioned and regulated by dancesp ...

. The show had the highest premiere ratings for a documentary in BBC history. In 2008, Fortuna was invited to join the ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'' cast, where he competed with

M People M People (stylised as ''M''People) is an English dance music band that formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is taken from the first letter of the first name of band member Mike Pickering, who form ...

’s

Heather Small Heather Margarita Small (born 20 January 1965) is a British soul singer and former lead vocalist of the band M People. Her subsequent debut solo studio album, ''Proud'', was released in 2000. Career 1987–1998: Hot House and M People Small ...

and finished eighth. Series 7 in 2009 saw Brian partnered with former ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

'' and ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' actress,

Ali Bastian Alexandra Louise Bastian (born 27 February 1982) is an English actress, known for her roles as Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', Sally Armstrong in the ITV drama series ''The Bill'' and Becky Clarke in the BBC soap opera '' ...

. The pair placed danced their way to the semi-finals and earned a perfect score for their

American Smooth This is a list of dance terms that are not names of dances or types of dances. See List of dances and List of dance style categories for those. This glossary lists terms used in various types of ballroom partner dances, leaving out terms of highl ...

and

Viennese Waltz Viennese waltz (german: Wiener Walzer) is a genre of ballroom dance. At least four different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in b ...

; the highest score for a Viennese Waltz in ''Strictly Come Dancing'' history. Affectionately known as ‘Strictly,’ it is the British name for ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'', the franchise for which was created and is owned by the BBC. Fortuna competed on ''

'' during its 4th season; partnering former Miss USA,

Shandi Finnessey Shandi Ren Finnessey (born June 9, 1978) is an American actress, model, TV host and beauty queen. She is best known for winning the Miss USA title, as Miss Missouri USA. She previously held the title of Miss Missouri 2002 and competed in Miss Am ...

. His television success allowed him to dance as a principal dancer in the next two national

Dancing with the Stars tours Dance is a performing art art form, form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolism (arts), symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its chor ...

. Brian did double duty on the tour and was chosen to also host the third DWTS tour in front of sold out audiences of 15,000 people per night. His hosting talents captured the attention of ABC who chose Brian as series co-host with his Dancing with the Stars partner Shandi for ABC's

Dancing with the Stars…Online Encore Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

. Fortuna is an instructor and performer nationwide. Brian's other credits include

National Ballroom and Latin Ten Dance National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

finalist; choreographer and coach for the award-winning

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

team, Ritmo Latino; performer with the musical sensation, “The Tramps;” champion of the North American Amateur Latin Championships in 2003; and a top pro-am teacher. Brian also excels in Wheelchair DanceSport Wheelchair Ballroom and Latin DanceSport and is very proud to be a teacher and performer for the United States Wheelchair Dancing Association, founded by his mother, Sandra Fortuna. In 2004 he choreographed a very successful commercial for the

Bank of Madrid A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

in Spain, which showcased wheelchair dancing. Fortuna was the featured dancer in the Oscar award-winning film '' The Aviator'', with Leonardo DiCaprio; appeared in TV series ''

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard. This area was the fi ...

'' with

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

; and had a starring role in the Canadian documentary, Live to Dance.

Television

''Dancing with the Stars''

Fortuna participated in the fourth season of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

'', the American version of the UK show ''

'', with celebrity partner

, a former

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

contestant. The couple was the second to be voted off the competition on March 19, 2007. Fortuna was a cast member of the ''Dancing with the Stars'' winter 2007–2008 tour.

''Strictly Come Dancing''

Fortuna joined ''

'' for the 6th series, the UK show upon which ''

'' is based. His celebrity partner was

. The couple left the series on Sunday, 9 November. At Christmas 2008, Brian was partnered with

Kelly Brook Kelly Ann Parsons (born 23 November 1979), known professionally as Kelly Brook, is an English model, actress, and media personality. She is known for her modelling work in the UK, and in the US for her role as Prudence on the NBC sitcom ''One ...

. They danced the Jive to

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had s ...

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. When the judges' scores were added to the audience vote, they came second overall to

Jill Halfpenny Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress. Her notable roles include Rebecca Hopkins in ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2000), Kate Mitchell in BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2002–2005), Izzie Redpath in '' W ...

and Darren Bennett. Fortuna returned to ''Strictly Come Dancing'' for the 7th series. His celebrity partner was

known for playing PC Sally Armstrong on ''

''. They were eliminated in the semi-final on 12 December 2009 after a public vote, even though they had been awarded a perfect 50 score by the five judges. On Saturday, November 7, 2009, Fortuna and

's Viennese Waltz received a perfect score of 40. On Saturday, November 28, 2009, Brian and Ali Bastian]'s performance in the Group

earned them another perfect joint score from the judges. On Wednesday, June 9, 2010, it was announced that Brian has decided not to return to ''Strictly Come Dancing'' for the 8th season due to format changes.

''Dancing on Wheels''

On May 28, 2009, the BBC issued a press release about their upcoming show ''

'' which uses the same title as a documentary from April 2007. This project aims to promote

Wheelchair DanceSport Wheelchair DanceSport is a dance competition, individual, partner, team and Dancesport where at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair. Sport Wheelchair couple dances are for two wheelchair users or for one wheelchair user with a "standin ...

with Brian Fortuna as the lead choreographer. Competitors will be put through intense training, as seen on ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and ''

'', 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. The programme began transmission on BBC3 on Thursday 11 February 2010. Also joining the show will be Fortuna's celebrity partner from ''Strictly Come Dancing'' Series 6,

, as well as

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

swimmer Mark Foster, actress

Michelle Gayle Michelle Patricia Gayle (born 2 February 1971) is a British singer, songwriter, actress and writer. Gayle had success as a soul and R&B singer in the 1990s, having achieved seven top 40 singles in the UK Singles Chart. These include "Sweetness" ...

, actor

Kevin Sacre Kevin Sacre-Dallerup (born Kevin Bignell on 23 March 1978), accessed 30 May 2007 is a British actor. He is most famous for his performance as Jake Dean in the Channel 4 British soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', a role he played from 2002 to 2010. Earl ...

, rugby player

Martin Offiah Martin Nwokocha Offiah MBE ( (''original pronunciation''), (''commonly used'')); born 29 December 1965) is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Offiah was inducted i ...

, and presenter

Caroline Flack Caroline Louise Flack (9 November 1979 – 15 February 2020) was an English television and radio presenter and actress. She won the twelfth series of BBC’s ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2014 and presented ''The X Factor'' and later '' Love Isl ...

. ''Dancing on Wheels'' is produced by

. The BBC OneLife documentary, ''Dancing on Wheels'' (broadcast in England on BBC1 at 10.35pm on 17 April 2007), followed some of the teams at the Championships, including the Inverclyders and Concorde Wheelchair Dancers, exploring some of the reasons that people enjoy wheelchair dance in the UK.

Stage

''Aladdin''

Fortuna appeared in Royal & Derngate's production of

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

this holiday season. The show will run from 9 December 2011 - 8 January 2012.

''Over the Rainbow''

Fortuna is currently starring in Theatre Production Ltd's ''Over the Rainbow'' as Danny Cassidy. The show began touring the UK on 3 September 2011.

''Burn the Floor''

Fortuna and

headlined ''

''s run at the

in London's West End. The show ran from July 21 to September 4, 2010.

Achievements

In 2004 and 2005, Brian won the North American Top Teacher competition.http://www.brianfortuna.com/resume.pdf and in the same years, he was the Imperial Dance Sport Champion. Fortuna is a certified judge by the United States Terpsichore Association.

Filmography

Fortuna appeared as a featured dancer in the film '' The Aviator''. He was also the choreographer and dancer in the television drama ''

'' starring

Vanessa L. Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...