Denys Samson (; born 21 August 1989) is a Ukrainian ballroom and Latin

dance 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 repertoir ...

r and

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 ...

Career

Samson is a former two-time Ukrainian Ten Dance Champion and a two-time World Ten Dance Champion.

''Dancing with the Stars''

Ukraine

In September 2021, Samson joined the cast of the ninth season of the Ukrainian version of ''

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 ...

,'' ''

Tantsi z zirkamy ''Tantsi z zirkamy'' ( uk, Танці з зірками, ''Dancing with the Stars'') is a Ukrainian dance competition show that premiered on October 7, 2006, on 1+1. The show is based on the British television series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', ...

,'' as a professional dancer. He was originally partnered with comedian, Anastasia Orudzhova. However, in preparation for their first dance, Orudzhova suffered a knee injury and was forced to withdraw from the competition following her first performance. Orudzhova was replaced by her colleague and fellow-comedian, Oleksandra Mashlyatina and Samson partnered her instead. They were the second couple to be eliminated from the competition.

Ireland

On 22 December 2021, Samson was announced as one of the new professionals to join the fifth season of the Irish version of ''

''. He reached the final with singer and songwriter, Erica-Cody. Samson returned for the sixth series in 2023, where he was partnered with drag queen,

Panti Bliss Rory O'Neill (born 16 November 1968), also known by his stage names Panti, Panti Bliss and Pandora Panti Bliss, is a drag queen and gay rights activist from Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland. Early life O'Neill, the son of a veterinary sur ...

. This makes them the first same-sex pairing in the history of the show. They were the sixth couple to be eliminated from the show, after losing their dance-off to

Brooke Scullion Brooke Scullion (born 31 March 1999), sometimes performing under the mononym Brooke, is an Irish singer. She was a contestant on series 9 of ''The Voice UK'', finishing in third place. She represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 ...

and

Robert Rowiński Robert Rowiński (born 19 May 1984) is a Polish dancer, Choreography (dance), choreographer and model. Rowiński is a professional dancer on the Taniec z gwiazdami, Polish and Dancing with the Stars (Irish series), Irish versions of ''Dancing wit ...

. ; Series 5 – with celebrity partner Erica-Cody *In week 9, Samson tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, so his partner, Erica-Cody danced with

Ervinas Merfeldas Ervinas Merfeldas (born 18 August 2002) is an Irish ballroom and Latin dancer and choreographer. Early life Merfeldas was born in Celbridge in Kildare to Lithuanian parents. He attended Scoil Na Mainistreach. He has a younger brother. Care ...

. ; Series 6 – with celebrity partner

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samson, Denys 1989 births Living people Ballroom dancers