Karina Smirnoff Height 5' 5" Born January 2 1978 in Kharkiv, Ukraine


Karina Smirnoff: Is one of the most renowned DanceSport exponents, and has been a Blackpool Dance Festival finalist representing the U.S. with partner Vyacheslav 'Slavik' Kryklyvyy since 2001.

Dances an improvised piece in the club scene in Shall We Dance (2004) with real-life dance partner 'Vyacheslav 'Slavik' Kryklyvyy' , who also plays Jennifer Lopez' new Blackpool Standard partner in the final scenes of the same film.

Karina and Maksim Chmerkovskiy became engaged in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve [January 5, 2009].

Did Playboy yes Nude May 2011

Personal Quotes
We were together in Canada only once to film the club scene. Otherwise either Slavik or I would fly to Canada when we had to film our scenes and then fly back to Asia to continue working. It was a lot of extra flying time - which was difficult and tiring - but we were so happy to work on such a big project movie.

Richard was very hardworking. He would spend a whole day dancing and would never complain. And I can assure you that I made sure he had sore muscles.

It was incredibly exciting and we would definitely love to work like this again.

The director met with Slavik and me to look at a piece of Tango that we choreographed for the scene where Jennifer gives Richard a private dance lesson very late in the evening. After we performed the routine for him, the director asked me to read a few lines with the other actors. Then he told me I was in if I wanted the part. How could I refuse?

I was on cloud nine. I could not believe that I would get to meet Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Stanley Tucci and Susan Sarandon. Then Richard came in one day and I had to dance with him just like that. I thought I had died and had gone to heaven.

"We did a twist and my rib bone came out. That's what my doctor said. It pinched a nerve and the spasms began and I couldn't move one way or the other. But they said they can fix it in three or four days."

"I just kept smiling, but it hurt."

"Mario has so much energy that by the end of the day, I just feel drained. I just sit in front of the TV set. I don't even know what's on. It's great to be with a person who has so much to offer. He's energetic, charming, handsome and intelligent. But it's a lot of work."

"Well, I think we're both very energetic and hyper people, and we love to, you know, take everything on very passionately, and that kind of brought us together and made the team work well."

"I've been dancing since I was 11 years old, yes. Too long."

"Mario's mom was watching a rehearsal, and we did a step that didn't look as aesthetically beautiful as we wanted it to. She said, 'Mario, you look like Bonito going to the toilet.' Bonito is her dog! And I was like, 'Great.' And then she said to me, 'If you need to spank him, go ahead.'"

It's better to be second while everyone is saying "You should have been first," than be first when everyone says 'You should be second.

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