Printable Biography of Edyta Sliwinska

Edyta Sliwinska was born on May 6, 1981 in Warsaw, Poland. At 11 years old, Sliwinska took her first dancing class and fell in love with the art. In 2000, Edyta moved to the United States to form a dancing school with professional dance partner and husband Alec Mazo. For seven years, Sliwinska has been the director and choreographer at the San Francisco chapter of “Genesis DanceSport,” but she also has an LA studio. Sliwinska and herpartner Alec has participated in numerous competitions across the country, winning the 2001 International Grand Ball in San Francisco, the 2001 Holiday Ball in Las Vegas and the Emerald Ball Latin Amateur Championships.

In 2004, the 5-time US Finalist Edyta Sliwinska easily beat other professional dancers for a part in the new reality dancing competition, “Dancing with the Stars.” In season 1 of the show, Edyta was paired with boxer Evander Holyfield and was able to reach 5th place. The following year, Sliwinska had a chance to dance with actor George Hamilton, but also came out in fifth place. Edyta had better luck in season 3 when she was partnered with actor Joey Lawrence and the pair finished third. From December 2006 to February 2007, Edyta and Joey danced for the show’s performance tour.

In the fourth and fifth season of “Dancing with the stars,” Edyta’s then-fiancé Alec Mazo joined the show and competed against Sliwinska. For the fourth season, Edyta danced with actor John Ratzenberger and the pair finished sixth place. On the fifth season, Sliwinska andpartner soap star Cameron Mathison did a little better and finished fifth.

Edyta Sliwinska had her best result ever when she was paired with NFL star Jason Taylor in season 6 and the duo finished second place. The following season, Edyta andpartner comedian Jeffrey Ross were the first couple to be eliminated, but Sliwinska temporarily replaced Julianne Hough as Cody Linley’s professionalpartner until Julianne recovered from surgery. For season 8, Edyta will dance alongside NFL player Lawrence Taylor.

Aside from her TV show gig, Edyta Sliwinska has also appeared in a Jared’s Jewelry ad and guest-starred on “CSI: NY,” where she played a salsa dance teacher involved in murder. Edyta and Alec Mazo, who got married on September 1, 2007, recently starred and produced an instructional DVD “Dancing Like the Pros” and a fitness DVD called “Fitness with the Pros.” The couple has danced together for more than six years, usually performing in the results show for ‘Dancing with the Stars.