Donnie Burns
Encyclopedia
Donnie Burns MBE was born in Hamilton
, South Lanarkshire
, Scotland
in 1961. He is a Scottish
professional ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin dance.
He and his former partner Gaynor Fairweather
were 14-time World Professional Latin champions: this is by some way the record for this title. They were also eleven times International Latin American Dance Champions
, and this is also a record. On their competitive retirement both were honoured by appointment as MBE. Donnie was undefeated in any competitive dance contest for nearly 20 years of continuous competition, a record in any major category of ballroom dance; this is now in the Guinness Book of Records. During this period he won major titles in countries throughout the world.
He is now Vice-President and Chairman of the World Dance Council
. He is a winner of the Carl Alan Award for outstanding services to dance and is widely considered the "Michael Jordan" of ballroom dancing. In 2008, Burns married swing dance and International Latin dancer Heidi Groskreutz
.
Burns was the hero of the character Mr. Aoki in the 1996 Japanese film Shall We Dance?.
Burns appeared during week 7 of the 12th season of Dancing with the Stars and made an error in his scoring of the final dance of the night, giving Romeo and Chelsie Hightower's Samba a 7 but holding up the 8 paddle when the judges revealed their scores.
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
, South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1961. He is a Scottish
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
professional ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin dance.
He and his former partner Gaynor Fairweather
Gaynor Fairweather
Gaynor Fairweather is a British professional ballroom dancer. She and her partner, Donnie Burns, were 14-time Professional World Latin Dance Champions and 11 times Professional International Latin American Dance Champions. This is by some way the record number of wins in both these top competitions...
were 14-time World Professional Latin champions: this is by some way the record for this title. They were also eleven times International Latin American Dance Champions
International Latin American Dance Champions
The International Latin American Dance Championships were created after the Second World War in England by Elsa Wells, and are now organised by Dance News special events...
, and this is also a record. On their competitive retirement both were honoured by appointment as MBE. Donnie was undefeated in any competitive dance contest for nearly 20 years of continuous competition, a record in any major category of ballroom dance; this is now in the Guinness Book of Records. During this period he won major titles in countries throughout the world.
He is now Vice-President and Chairman of the World Dance Council
World Dance Council
The World Dance Council Ltd , is a registered limited company, and the legal successor to the International Council of Ballroom Dancing, and was established at a meeting organised by P.J.S Richardson on 22 September 1950 in Edinburgh...
. He is a winner of the Carl Alan Award for outstanding services to dance and is widely considered the "Michael Jordan" of ballroom dancing. In 2008, Burns married swing dance and International Latin dancer Heidi Groskreutz
Heidi Groskreutz
Heidi Groskreutz is a ballroom dancer, specializing in the fields of Latin and swing dancing. She is known for making the final in the second season of the Fox TV series So You Think You Can Dance.-Biography:...
.
Burns was the hero of the character Mr. Aoki in the 1996 Japanese film Shall We Dance?.
Burns appeared during week 7 of the 12th season of Dancing with the Stars and made an error in his scoring of the final dance of the night, giving Romeo and Chelsie Hightower's Samba a 7 but holding up the 8 paddle when the judges revealed their scores.