Elena Grinenko is a professional ballroom dance choreographer, adjudicator, and instructor. She currently owns the Dance Stars Festival with Karina Smirnoff, a ballroom dance competition in San Jose, California. She is organizer of BB x Lena Events “Fabulous Ladies” online camps with Babette Brown and Host on Dance Talk TV.

In 2002 Elena partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy and, in their first competition together, won the National Rising Star title in the Latin division at Emerald Ball. They went on to win the Rising Star Championship at the International Championships in London England. By January of 2003, they were ranked among the top twelve professional dancers in the world.

In 2005, Grinenko partnered with Tony Dovolani in the American Rhythm category.  With only five weeks of practice, they won their first Ohio Star Ball title by placing first in all dances. Over the next 2 years, they won many National and World American Rhythm titles and were undefeated. They appeared on PBS’s America’s Ballroom Challenge.

After her competitive dance career, Elena Grinenko became a familiar face on television. In 2007, she was offered a role on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and was partnered with Tucker Carlson in Season 3.  Tucker Carlson, a conservative political commentator, was best known being co-host of Crossfire, CNN’s once-popular and lively political debate program, and currently, a New York Times Best-Selling author and Fox News host. In Season 4 of Dancing With The Stars, Grinenko danced with NBA All-Star Legend Clyde Drexler, a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team and known as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

IG: @elenagrinenko