Bruno Tonioli (born November 25 1955 ) is an Italian-born British dancer and professional choreographer. He was born and raised in Ferrara in North-East Italy.[1] He is best known as a judge on both the British television series Strictly Come Dancing and its American adaptation, Dancing with the Stars. He is well known for a cry of "TEN!" followed by a punch of his left arm up and out when he gives a couple an aforementioned 10/10 for their dance. As a toddler Bruno would dance in front of the radio to entertain people. In the late seventies and early eighties he was a leading dance teacher at London's acclaimed Dance Centre, with a huge following. He also choreographed and centre staged in Elton John's "I'm Still Standing" video. In 1980, he participated in A Song for Europe, the UK heat of the Eurovision Song Contest choreographing Duke & the Aces. The song, "Love is Alive", finished seventh. He is fluent in English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian.[2] Bruno will judge the new BBC talent show DanceX. He will also star on the ABC show Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann, premiering in January 2008. He is openly gay and has been with his partner Paul for over twenty years.[1] Tonioli had a cameo role in the 2003 French & Saunders Christmas Special, where he played an extra in the infamous Madonna and Britney "Against the Music" sketch. Tonioli also appeared as a guest judge on the Australian edition of Dancing With The Stars. He appeared only in the 2007 Seasons' Premiere Episode.
References
- ^ a b Robertson, Peter (2005 November 26), "I Was the Only Gay in My Village .. Humour Helped Me to Beat the Bullies", The Daily Mirror, <http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16415592&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=i-was-the-only-gay-in-my-village----humour-helped-me-to-beat-the-bullies--name_page.html>. Retrieved on 2007-10-18
- ^ "Bruno Tonioli", TV.com, <http://www.tv.com/bruno-tonioli/person/87811/biography.html>. Retrieved on 2007-10-18
External links
- Judges' biography at BBC Strictly Come Dancing site
- Biography at ABC Dancing with the Stars site
- Biography at TV.com
- Bruno Tonioli at the Internet Movie Database
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| Series | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 |
| Hosts | Bruce Forsyth • Tess Daly • Natasha Kaplinsky (2004) |
| Judges | Craig Revel Horwood • Arlene Phillips • Len Goodman • Bruno Tonioli |
| Celebrity Winners | Natasha Kaplinsky • Jill Halfpenny • Darren Gough • Mark Ramprakash • Alesha Dixon |
| Professional Winners | Brendan Cole • Darren Bennett • Lilia Kopylova • Karen Hardy • Matthew Cutler |
| Celebrity Runners-Up | Christopher Parker • Denise Lewis • Colin Jackson • Matt Dawson • Matt Di Angelo |
| Professional Runners-Up | Hanna Karttunen • Ian Waite • Erin Boag • Lilia Kopylova • Flavia Cacace |
| Related programmes | It Takes Two • Dancing with the Stars (US version) • Dancing with the Stars (International versions) |
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| Series | 1 |
| Hosts | Ben Shephard |
| Judges | Arlene Phillips · Bruno Tonioli · Ashley Wallen · Joshua Alamu · Derek Hough · CeCe Sammy |
| Winners | Pulse |
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| Seasons | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 |
| Hosts | Tom Bergeron • Lisa Canning (Season 1) • Samantha Harris • Drew Lachey (Season 5 - temporary) |
| Judges | Len Goodman • Carrie Ann Inaba • Bruno Tonioli |
| Celebrity winners | Kelly Monaco • Drew Lachey • Emmitt Smith • Apolo Anton Ohno • Hélio Castroneves |
| Professional winners | Alec Mazo • Cheryl Burke (Seasons 2 & 3) • Julianne Hough (Seasons 4 & 5) |
| Celebrity runners-up | John O'Hurley • Jerry Rice • Mario Lopez • Joey Fatone • Melanie Brown |
| Professional runners-up | Charlotte Jørgensen • Anna Trebunskaya • Karina Smirnoff • Kym Johnson • Maksim Chmerkovskiy |
| Related programmes & media | Dancing with the Stars • Strictly Come Dancing • Dancing with the Stars (video game) • Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann |
