Heidi Skletroz Groskreutz (born September 3, 1981) is an American ballroom dancer, specializing in the fields of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and swing dancing. She is known for making the final in the second season of the Fox TV series '' So You With Think You Can Dance''.

Biography

Heidi Groskreutz, born September 3, 1981, is a dancer from

Cliffside Park, New Jersey Cliffside Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 23,594,Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

. She specializes in

and swing dancing, and as of 2006, is a six-time U.S. Open Swing Dance champion. She has also the winner of the World Invitation Swing Dance Championship and many other top NASDE events. Popularly, she is best known for being a top four finalist in the second season of the ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

'' competition (which was won by her cousin

Benji Schwimmer Benjimen Daniel Schwimmer (born January 18, 1984) is an American professional dancer, choreographer, actor and director. He was the winner of the second season of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' (2006) and has choreographed for both the U.S. and t ...

). Since six years old, Groskreutz and her cousin Benji, longtime dance partners, have been winning national swing dance titles together. They are both

Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

, and when Schwimmer left to serve a mission in Mexico, Groskreutz began competing with a new partner,

Dmitry Chaplin Dmitry Chaplin ( ''Dmitry Alexandrovich Chaplin'') is a Russian dancer, choreographer, and actor, best known for being a Top 10 finalist on the second season of the dance competition series ''So You Think You Can Dance''. While competing on the ...

. After Schwimmer's return from Mexico, all three of them auditioned for the second season of ''So You Think You Can Dance'', and all proceeded to the top 20 finalists. At first, Groskreutz was partnered with contestant Ryan Rankine, and then later with

Travis Wall Travis Michael Wall (born September 16, 1987) is an American dancer, instructor, and choreographer specializing in contemporary and jazz dance styles. He rose to international attention in 2006 as a competitor on the second season of the Fox t ...

. She was often cited by the judges as the "most improved" contestant during the course of the show, and as a dancer that can"take anything that is thrown

t her T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

" Nigel Lythgoe stated "Heidi you are the best partner dancer of the girls, just as Benji is for the boys, you're both incredible." She was also one of the dancers in the tour based on the show. Heidi and Benji danced on Fox's New Year's Eve show and talked about their instructional dance DVD, appeared on Much Music on Demand in Canada, the Tyra Banks Show, Teen Choice Awards, "E", Extra, Megan Mullally Show. She is also the cousin of

Lacey Schwimmer Lacey Mae Schwimmer (born June 28, 1988) is an American ballroom dancer and singer. She is best known as a fourth place finalist of the third season of ''So You Think You Can Dance''. She is the daughter of noted dancer Buddy Schwimmer, as well ...

In 2008, she married former Latin dance world champion

Donnie Burns Donnie Burns MBE was born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1959, where he attended Holy Cross High School. He is a Scottish professional ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin dance. He and his former partner Gaynor Fairweather were ...

. On July 23, 2009, Heidi reunited with former season two contestant

, on the 100th episode of ''

'' to recreate their Emmy award winning piece, ''The Bench''. She also danced with Wade Robson and the other top ten contestants from season 2, recreating "Rama Lama" — another Emmy award winning piece on the same 100th episode.

Awards

* 1990 US Open, Young America Div. (ages 6–11), 2nd Place, partner

* 1991 US Open, Young America Div. (ages 6–11), 1st Place, partner Benji Schwimmer * 1992 US Open, Young America Div. (ages 6–12), 3rd Place, partner Benji Schwimmer * 1993 US Open, Young America Div. (ages 6–12), 4th Place, partner Benji Schwimmer * 1994 US Open, Young America Div. (ages 6–12), 2nd Place, partner Benji Schwimmer * 2001 US Open Swing Dance Championship, Showcase Division, partner Benji Schwimmer * 2002 US Open Swing Dance Championship, Showcase Division, partner Benji Schwimmer * 2005 US Open Swing Dance Championship, Showcase Division, partner Benji Schwimmer2005 U.S. Open Swing Dance Championships Winners
Video Clip
Heidi and her cousin Benji performed this summer at Orlando Florida for the Tremaine Dance Competition.

References

External links

Heidi Groskreutz Skips the Light Fandango — And America Calls Out for MoreHeidi's Official Twitter PageBenji and Heidi's Instructional DVD
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groskreutz, Heidi American ballroom dancers 1981 births Latter Day Saints from New Jersey Living people So You Think You Can Dance (American TV series) contestants American female dancers Dancers from California Dancers from New Jersey People from Cliffside Park, New Jersey People from Newport Beach, California 21st-century American dancers Latter Day Saints from California 21st-century American women

Biography

Awards

See also

References

External links