Driton Dovolani (born July 17, 1973),[2] commonly known as Tony Dovolani is an Albanian-American professional ballroom dancer, instructor and judge. He is known for his involvement in the American version of Dancing with the Stars on ABC. Dovolani also portrayed Slick Willy in the hit film Shall We Dance? and spent time coaching actress Jennifer Lopez.
Dovolani joined the show in its second season and was partnered with professional wrestler Stacy Keibler; they made it to the finals and finished in third place. In Season 3, he was partnered with country music star Sara Evans. Midway through the season, Evans withdrew from the competition for personal reasons. He returned to the show on March 19 for Season 4, this time partnered with talk show host Leeza Gibbons.[6] They were the third couple eliminated from the competition and finished in 9th place.
He competed in Season 5, partnered with actress Jane Seymour.[7] They were the seventh couple eliminated from the competition and finished in sixth place. In Season 6, his partner was Broadway actress Marissa Jaret Winokur. They were eliminated in the semi-finals and finished in fourth place.
Dovolani competed in Season 7 of Dancing with the Stars with actress Susan Lucci of All My Children as his partner. They were eliminated in Week 7 and came in sixth.
In the eighth season, he was originally paired with Nancy O'Dell, the then-host of Access Hollywood. However, on March 5 she withdrew from the competition because of a torn meniscus sustained during pre-season practice. With only two days to practice, Melissa Rycroft, fresh off her The Bachelor appearance, stepped in and became his new celebrity partner. They made it to the finals and took third place in the competition.
In the ninth season, he was partnered with former model and entrepreneur Kathy Ireland. They were the third couple to be eliminated, finishing in 14th place. For Season Ten, Dovolani was partnered with former reality star Kate Gosselin from Jon and Kate Plus 8/Kate Plus 8. They were the fourth couple eliminated, finishing in 8th place.
For the eleventh season, he was partnered with The Hills star Audrina Patridge. They were the sixth couple eliminated, finishing in 7th place. For Season 12, his partner was talk show host Wendy Williams. They were the second couple eliminated, finishing in tenth place. For Season 13, his partner was singer Chynna Phillips. Phillips was eliminated in week four.
For Season 14, his partner was the tennis champion Martina Navratilova. They were the first couple to be eliminated. Dovalani was once again partnered with Melissa Rycroft for All-Stars season 15 and they became champions of the season, making him the oldest pro winner at age 39. For season 16, he partnered with country singer Wynonna Judd and was eliminated in the third week of the competition. For season 17, he was partnered with actress Leah Remini and finished in 5th place.
For Season 18, he was partnered with Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes and was eliminated on the seventh week of competition, finishing in seventh place. For season 19, he paired with fashion designer Betsey Johnson. They were eliminated in the fourth week of competition, finishing in tenth place. For season 20, he paired with actress & author Suzanne Somers.[8] They were eliminated on Week 5 and finished in 9th place.
For season 21, he was paired with reality star Kim Zolciak-Biermann.[9] After suffering from a mini-stroke, Biermann had to withdraw from the competition during Week 3 because she was not clear to travel.
For season 22, he was partnered with actress Marla Maples. They were eliminated on April 11, 2016, and came in 10th place.
On February 8, 2018, Dovolani revealed that he had officially left Dancing with the Stars.[10][11]
Ballroom dancing is all about the woman, according to Dovolani. He believes the man is meant to be the frame for the picture of beauty as presented by the woman.
Dovolani and his partner Elena Grinenko have recently retired from competing in the American rhythm division. Prior to his partnership with Elena, he danced with Inna Ivanenko[12] and Lisa Regal.
Achievements
2006 nominated for an Emmy for outstanding choreography for Dancing with the Stars for episode #208 (Dance: Jive).
Dovolani and fellow dancers Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Elena Grinenko have created a website called the Ballroom Dance Channel. It is to help bring awareness to dancing. Dovolani and best friend Chmerkovskiy can often be found interviewing each other. The website is called ballroomdancechannel.com
Dovolani is the driving force behind the Superstars of Ballroom Dance Camp, an opportunity for people to learn from celebrity Pros from hit television shows. www.superstarsofballroom.com
Dovolani along with Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Valentin Chmerkovskiy opened Dance with Me Studio in Stamford, CT on April 16, 2012.[15] The Stamford location is the fourth in the chain and the first in Connecticut started by Dovolani, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Valentin Chmerkovskiy and their partners. The other studios are in Ridgefield, N.J., Long Island, N.Y., and Soho, N.Y. Tony left Dance With Me in middle 2018, to return to Fred Astaire, where he started learning ballroom. [15]
Tony is married to wife Lina, and the couple have 3 children, a daughter named Luana and twins born when Luana was 3 years old. The twins, son Adrian and daughter Ariana, were born on September 8, 2008. Tony met Lina on a blind date in 1998 and proposed to her four hours later.[1] Tony was in the middle of rehearsals for the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars with partner Susan Lucci when he got the call that Lina had gone into labor.[17]
