Jaana Kunitz (sometimes Yaana Kunitz, née Reinikka) is a
ballroom dancer and fitness program creator.
Biography
Jaana Kunitz, born in Taivalkoski,
Finland in 1972, is a professional dance instructor based in
San Diego, California. She is married to her dance partner,
James Kunitz, and has since retired from competing in ballroom dance competitions to focus on coaching, video production, and dance-fitness programs.
Television and film
With her husband and dance partner James Kunitz, she has appeared on television programs such as
PBS ''Championship Ballroom Dancing,'' NBC ''DanceSport Series,'' Goodlife TV, and ESPN. They also appeared as featured Latin-dance finalists in the film ''
Dance with Me'', 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 ...
.
She has produced numerous instructional videos, including ''Samba: Funky Moves with James & Jaana Kunitz''.
Fitness programs
Jaana's latest endeavor is Core Rhythms, which she co-created with another ballroom champion,
Julia Gorchakova. Core Rhythms is a
Latin-dance-based fitness program, that has been featured on pay-per-view programs and QVC, and included endorsements from
Mary Murphy of ''
So You Think You Can Dance'' and
Len Goodman &
Tony Dovolani 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 ...
.''
The program is led in-person at the
Champion Ballroom Academy, in San Diego, California.
Jaana and James have created a new program called Figure 8.
See also
*
U.S. National Dancesport Champions (Professional Latin)
The United States national professional ballroom dance champions are crowned at the United States Dance Championships (formerly USBC and USDSC), as recognized by the National Dance Council of America (NDCA) and the World Dance & DanceSport Counc ...
*
Champion Ballroom Academy
References
External links
Jaana and James Kunitz Official Website*http://www.dsninternational.com/members/pages/body/pro-directory.html
1972 births
Living people
People from Jalasjärvi
Finnish ballroom dancers
Finnish emigrants to the United States
Exercise instructors
Finnish female dancers
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