Aric Yegudkin

Aric Yegudkin
Born (1985-11-14) 14 November 1985 (age 39)
Alma materUniversity of New South Wales
Occupations
Years active2005—present
Notable work
Spouse
Masha Belash
​
(m. 2018)​

Aric Yegudkin is an Australian choreographer and professional dancer born on 14 November 1985. Yegudkin is best known as a professional dancer on the Australian Dancing with the Stars.

Early life

Yegudkin started taking ballroom dance lessons at 8 years old after his parents noticed him dancing to Michael Jackson songs. They chose ballroom for their son because they were Russian as was the local ballroom dance teacher.[1] Yegudkin competed as a Latin American dancer in dancesport competitions.[2] In July 2001, Yegudkin partnered with Masha Belash, and the two began competing together in the youth category of dancesport.[2] Together the pair won the Australian National Youth Latin American Championship three times.[2][3]

Yegudkin is an accredited Dancesport Australia instructor.[2] He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales.[2]

Career

Yegudkin first competed as a professional dancer Australian Dancing With the Stars in season 3. He won his first season of the reality dance competition with celebrity partner Ada Nicodemou.[1] After winning their season of Dancing with the Stars, Nicodemou and Yegudkin competed against past winners Tom Williams and Kym Johnson in a special televised competition. Both couples performed three dances over two weeks for the panel of judges. Nicodemou and Yegudkin won the competition and were given the "Champion of Champions" trophy.[4] Yegudkin's other past Dancing With the Stars partners include Haley Bracken, Zoe Cramond, Rhiannon Fish and April Rose Pengilly.[1] For the fifteenth season of Dancing with the Stars, Yegudkin was partnered with presenter Emma Freedman in which they won on 7 September 2015.[5] In October 2016 Channel Seven announced Dancing with the Stars would not return, making Freedman and Yegudkin the final winners of the series on Seven Network.[6][7] After Network Ten revived the show in 2019, Yegudkin returned partnering Michelle Bridges in season sixteen and then Claudia Karvan in season seventeen.[8][9]

Yedgukin's Dancing with the Stars results are shown on the table below:

Season Partner Place
3 Ada Nicodemou 1st
11 Haley Bracken 2nd
12 Zoe Cramond 3rd
13 Rhiannon Fish 2nd
14 April Rose Pengilly 10th
15 Emma Freedman 1st
16 Michelle Bridges 7th
17 Claudia Karvan 3rd
18 Ada Nicodemou 3rd
19 Kylie Gillies 9th
20 Mary Coustas 3rd
21 Nikki Osborne TBA

Outside of television, Yegudkin has served as a choreographer and dancer in the Australian touring stage show Shake, Rattle 'n'Roll.[1] Yegudkin has also performed in productions of Burn the Floor and Dance, Dance, Dance.[1] In January 2017, Yegudkin and Belash announced they would be opening a dance studio in Sydney called Move by Aric and Masha.[7]

Personal life

Yegudkin proposed to his professional dance partner Masha Belash in 2013. Yegudkin and Belash married in October 2018. Their wedding was featured in Vogue Australia the following April.[10] The couple are parents to twin daughters born in 2020.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Bliss, Raylene. "Aric is shaking up rock 'n' roll". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Aric Yegudkin". Prime 7. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Professional dancers a world class act at ABBA". Champion Post. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Ada a shining Star". The Age. 23 November 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  5. ^ "Who will be Dancing with the Stars?". Yahoo TV. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  6. ^ Moran, Johnathan (23 October 2016). "Subscribe to The Daily Telegraph". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Dancers Take Next Step". The Daily Telegraph. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017 – via pressreader.com.
  8. ^ Davies, Alex (19 February 2019). "Dancing With The Stars Australia 2019 cast: Who is on Dancing With The Stars?". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  9. ^ Morgan, Michaela (14 January 2020). "'Dancing With The Stars' 2020: Meet The Celebs Shimmying Their Way Into The Spotlight". 10daily.com.au. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  10. ^ Algar, Emily (29 March 2019). "Inside a festive, love-filled wedding in the heart of Sydney". Vogue Australia. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Instagram". 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.