Elena Grinenko Biography:
Elena Grinenko was a born in Moscow, Russia and has been dancing since she was seven years old. She has been trained in ballroom dancing, ballet and Russian folk dancing. She worked with the Ballroom Formation Team of Russia, and when she reached her third year as a competitive professional dancer, she became a Soviet Union Finalist. In 1994, she emerged as the Latin Division winner at both the Moscow and National Championships. She graduated from high school in 1995, and from there went on to study various kinds of dances at the Art Academy of Russia. In 1998, she moved to the United States, where she became one of the fastest rising stars in the dancing industry. After four years of dancing with Michael Nadtochy, she decided to form a new partnership with
Maksim Chmerkovskiy , which proved beneficial for her career, as they were able to capture numerous titles, such as All England Champions, US Champions and World Rhythm Champions.
In 2006, Grinenko found herself competing against her partner, Chmerkovskiy, when she was selected to join the cast of the third season of Dancing with the Stars. Unfortunately, she and her partner on the show, journalist
Tucker Carlson , were eliminated after the first dance challenge. Currently, Grinenko is back for the fourth season, and has been partnered with NBA star
Clyde Drexler .
Dancing with the Stars Season 4:
Elena Grinenko and Cylde Drexler
Season 3:
Tucker Carlson and Elena Grinenko
(Photos courtesy of ABC)