Jaana Kunitz is an award-winning ballroom dancer

Ballroom dance

Ballroom dance refers to a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. Because of its performance and entertainment aspects, ballroom dance is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television....

 and fitness program creator.

Biography

Jaana Kunitz, born in Taivalkoski, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 in 1972, is a professional dance instructor based in San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

. 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

Dance with Me (film)

Dance with Me is a 1998 drama film on love and dance directed by Randa Haines and starring Vanessa L. Williams and Puerto Rican singer Chayanne.-Plot:...

, starring Vanessa L. Williams

Vanessa L. Williams

Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American pop-R&B recording artist, producer, dancer, model, actress and showgirl. In 1983, she became the first woman of African-American descent to be crowned Miss America, but a scandal generated by her having posed for nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine...

.

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

Julia Powers

Julia Powers is a ballroom dance champion and fitness program creator.-Biography:Julia Powers is a Russian-American ballroom dancer, and was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. She received dance instruction from her mother as a child, and danced in Japan and in East Russia as a young woman...

. 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

Mary Murphy (choreographer)

Mary Ann Murphy is a ballroom dance champion, accredited dance judge, and a judge and choreographer on the Fox dance competition-reality show So You Think You Can Dance.-Biography:...

 of So You Think You Can Dance

So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)

So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...

and Len Goodman

Len Goodman

Leonard Gordon 'Len' Goodman is a British professional ballroom dancer, dance judge, and coach. He is a leading personality on television dance programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars and runs a ballroom dance school in Dartford, Kent.-Early life and career:Goodman was...

 & Tony Dovolani

Tony Dovolani

Driton "Tony" Dovolani is an Albanian-American professional ballroom dancer, instructor and judge based in New York City. He is known for his involvement in the American version of Dancing with the Stars on ABC. Dovolani also portrayed a Latin bad boy in the hit film Shall We Dance? and spent time...

 of Dancing with the Stars

Dancing with the Stars

Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...

.

The program is led in-person at the Champion Ballroom Academy

Champion Ballroom Academy

The Champion Ballroom Academy is a dance studio in San Diego, California. The studio's main specialties are social partner-dancing, competitive ballroom dance The Champion Ballroom Academy (founded April 1990) is a dance studio in San Diego, California. The studio's main specialties are social...

, in San Diego, California.

See also

• U.S. National Dancesport Champions (Professional Latin)
  U.S. National Dancesport Champions (Professional Latin)
  The United States national professional ballroom dance champions are crowned at the United States Dance Championships , as recognized by the National Dance Council of America and the World Dance & DanceSport Council ....
  
  
• Champion Ballroom Academy
  Champion Ballroom Academy
  The Champion Ballroom Academy is a dance studio in San Diego, California. The studio's main specialties are social partner-dancing, competitive ballroom dance The Champion Ballroom Academy (founded April 1990) is a dance studio in San Diego, California. The studio's main specialties are social...
  
  

External links

• Jaana and James Kunitz Official Website
• http://www.dsninternational.com/members/pages/body/pro-directory.html