Coordinates	33°55′31″N18°25′26″N
Name	Nicole Scherzinger
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger
Born	June 29, 1978Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Genre	Pop, R&B;
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, dancer, model
Years active	1999–present
Label	Interscope
Associated acts	Pussycat Dolls, Eden's Crush
Url

Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger (born June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and occasional actress who is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls.

Previously, Scherzinger was a backing vocalist for the late-1990s rock group Days of the New, then she was part of reality TV girl group Eden's Crush. After the disbandment of the group she joined the Pussycat Dolls and became the lead vocalist during the transition to a popular music group. So far, the Pussycat Dolls have released two albums, PCD and Doll Domination, with two supporting tours. More recently, in early 2010, Scherzinger became the winner of the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars.

Early life

Nicole Scherzinger was born on June 29, 1978, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father, Alfonso Valiente, is of Filipino descent, and her mother, Rosemary, is of Hawaiian and Russian descent. In an interview, Scherzinger said: "I’m Filipino-Russian-Hawaiian, but people think I’m from Pakistan". Her mother Rosemary was eighteen at the time of Scherzinger's birth and lived in an inner city neighborhood. with her sister Ke'ala and her German American stepfather Gary Scherzinger. She first attended Meyzeek Middle School as an adolescent. Growing up, Scherzinger states that she didn't have a lot of money and the singer thanks her mom for all the support she gave her to become what she is today. Scherzinger began performing in Louisville, attending the Youth Performing Arts School at duPont Manual High School and performing with Actors Theatre of Louisville. but put her studies on hold in 1999 to sing backing vocals for the rock band Days of the New.

Music career

2001–03: Eden's Crush and Pre:Pussycat Dolls

In 2001, Scherzinger competed in the premiere season of The WB's television show Popstars, on which she earned a spot in the all-girl pop group Eden's Crush. She became one of the main vocalists for the group. Their 2001 US single "Get Over Yourself (Goodbye)" peaked at number one in sales and hit the top ten on Billboard Hot 100. They toured in support of both *NSync and Jessica Simpson. Later however, their record company, London-Sire Records, folded and the group eventually disbanded. In November 2007, Scherzinger spoke of her time in Eden's Crush: It was hell. [...] I was in a band with five other girls and every day was torture for me. We were on TV all the time and the atmosphere was awful. [...] Every day I was in that band I cried my eyes out. The band was meant to be fun and frivolous but the reality was that it was miserable. [...] I was too sensitive back then, but I got toughened up. I couldn't have gone into the Dolls without my experience in Crush. Scherzinger later worked with Yoshiki of Japanese rock band X Japan on his Violet UK project. She sang the English version of "I'll Be Your Love" live with the Tokyo Symphonic Orchestra. The track also appeared on the 2003 Various Artists album Exposition of Global Harmony.

2003–06: The Pussycat Dolls and PCD

In May 2003, Scherzinger joined the Pussycat Dolls burlesque troupe, who were being re-cast as recording artists. She had first seen them performing on The Late Show with David Letterman in November 2002, where Carmen Electra sang "Big Spender" from the Bob Fosse musical Sweet Charity. In 2006, Scherzinger said "It caught my eye because I’d played Velma Kelly in [Fosse's] Chicago in college."

The success of PCD brought Scherzinger into the media spotlight and she went on to record a series of duets/guest vocals with a wide array of male vocalists. In 2005, she appeared on recordings by Shaggy, Vittorio Grigolo and Will Smith. In 2006 she sang co-lead vocals with Avant on his single "Lie About Us" , and Diddy's hit "Come to Me" (which she also co-wrote). Other appearances are listed in discography. In the biography section of her official website she says that everyone recognises her from the Pussycat Dolls's debut single "Dont Cha" which although amazing doesn't fulfill her musical desires. When asked what she intended to achieve with her solo career she commented "Some people only have their glasses half full, but there was never a limit to mine." The purpose of the album was to appeal to younger audiences, show them "the heart of Nicole" and show that she is "not always strong and fearless". She told MTV "I've always said that in the Pussycat Dolls, I kind of feel like Superwoman. But that's just one of my alter egos. I've got the vulnerable, lovesick side of me amongst others which all appear on my record."

The album saw Scherzinger work with a wide roster of producers and song writers some of whom had worked with Scherzinger for albums with the Pussycat Dolls. Sean Garrett and Polow da Don worked on "Whatever U Like" (featuring T.I.) which was released as the album's lead single on July 24, 2007 but deemed unsuccessful reaching just 57 in Canada. "Baby Love" was the second single released on September 10, 2007. Although well received and compared to the Pussycat Dolls' song "Stickwitu" In 2010 during an interview with X magazine she also revealed that "I Hate This Part", a song which became a top-ten hit in Europe for the Pussycat Dolls, was also intended for her own solo album. Christopher "Tricky Stewart" and The-Dream were also working with Scherzinger and produced, wrote and recorded at least two songs for the album. Both of the known recordings, "Punch You In Your Sleep" and "I'm a Cheat" were re-allocated to The-Dream's ex-wife Christina Milian who has recorded them for her fourth studio album Elope due in 2010. Furthermore it was revealed that Keri Hilson (a writer who has been heavily involved in writing for the Pussycat Dolls) had written a song called "Alienated" for Scherzinger, however when the album was delayed and shelved Hilson reclaimed the song and instead recorded the song with producer Cory Bold for her own debut studio album In a Perfect World… Reviews later went on to give the song critical acclaim for its "electro-blips and whispery raps that are alluring." In September 2009 it was confirmed that the teary ballad, "Just Say Yes" was reclaimed by Gary Lightbody who has since re-tooled and reworked the song. It was released as the lead single from his band, Snow Patrol's compilation album Up to Now, on November 2, 2009.

Addressing the delayed release of her solo album, in September 2008 Scherzinger said, "Despite what other people might write, it was my decision, ultimately. I actually put some of my solo songs on the Pussycat Dolls' new album Doll Domination. Everything is all about timing. I believe it will come out next year, and it will be able to coexist wonderfully with the Dolls' album. It's completely separate from what you've heard with "Baby Love" and "Whatever U Like," and I'm still working on it — that's what happens when you're a perfectionist." She was interviewed by Billboard magazine in April 2009 regarding her own career plans as well as what The Dolls were up to. She said "the current incarnation of the album is just in talks and in the writing process. I haven't started recording yet." She plans to enter the studio again after the Pussycat Dolls have finished their World Domination Tour. Speaking about the project Scherzinger said she will be working again with Will.i.am, Timbaland as well as with new associates Lady Gaga and A.R. Rahman.

In April 2008, Scherzinger recorded a cover version of "Rio" by Duran Duran for an advertising campaign for Unilever's Caress brand of body wash. A commercial video was released, and the single was released via download only, after May 2008. In 2008, in support of Barack Obama, she was one of many musicians to contribute to a track by will.i.am called "Yes We Can". Also on September 5, 2008, Scherzinger joined an all-star cast to perform the charity song "Just Stand Up" on live TV.

The Pussycat Dolls returned to the Music scene on May 27, 2008 with the new single "When I Grow Up" which reached number nine on the U.S. Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play. The song topped several European charts and became a worldwide top ten hit. The follow-up single "Whatcha Think About That" with Missy Elliott failed to enter the U.S. charts but managed to reach top 20 in several other countries including the UK with a limited release.

After a slight delay and with two singles released the album, Doll Domination was finally released as a standard and deluxe edition. The latter featured a disc with a solo song by each of the girls. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, with 79,000 copies sold in its first week beating their debut album by one chart position but selling 20,000 less copies. It only spent seven weeks in the top 100, compared with their debut album which sat in the top 100 for nearly one year. In January 2009 it re-entered the top 100 following several more successful singles. The album in original form spawned two other singles, worldwide top 20 hit "I Hate This Part" and the number-one club song "Bottle Pop" which only received a limited release in the US and Oceania. On January 2009 they embarked their second world tour called Doll Domination Tour to support their sophomore Doll Domination. Lady Gaga opened for them in Europe and Australia, while Ne-Yo supported the Pussycat Dolls in the UK leg. In mid-2009 they opened for Britney Spears' tour The Circus Starring Britney Spears on the first leg in North America. In April 2009 Scherzinger confirmed to Billboard that the album would be re-released to give more people a chance to get their music. In Europe the album was re-released with three or four new songs. In Australia a compilation called Doll Domination 2.0 was released with six songs from the original version plus four new songs whereas the UK received a six-song EP called Doll Domination: The Mini Collection released on April 27, 2009 featuring four of the original songs plus a remix and a new song. In August 2009 the album was repackaged once more, this time as Doll Domination 3.0 to include all of the previously released bonus songs on one CD with the original album. Its release was limited to Europe and the UK where the group's singles had all reached top 20.

The repackaged versions spawned two more singles: the worldwide number one "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" (featured on the soundtrack for Slumdog Millionaire) and euro-pop remix of "Hush Hush" (retitled "Hush Hush; Hush Hush")

Scherzinger performed "America the Beautiful" at WWE's WrestleMania XXV in Houston, Texas at the Reliant Stadium on April 5, 2009. Nicole Scherzinger performed with guitarist Slash on October 2 in Las Vegas.

2010–present: Untitled debut album

Scherzinger confirmed that she has done one song with Slash for his solo album Slash released in April 2010. On February 1, 2010 along with other artists Scherzinger had re-recorded "We are the World", a charity single for the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The song debuted during NBC's coverage of the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics. It was released as a single on iTunes on February 12, 2010 accompanied by the music video.

Reports of a second attempt at a solo album surfaced in January 2010 when Contactmusic reported that singersongwriter Ne-Yo is working with Scherzinger on new material. Ne-Yo had previously given two songs he wrote, "Save Me From Myself" and "Happily Never After", to Scherzinger for Her Name Is Nicole. Of the new collaborations he said,"she is putting all her energy into her work". He was also quoted as saying }}

On January 26, 2010, it was revealed that Jay Sean and Scherzinger were both working on something in the studio together. The video was originally posted to twitter but has been uploaded to the general internet too and shows the pair having a good time at Hit Factory (Criteria) record studios in Miami, Florida. In the video Scherzinger reveals she has been recording in the studio which Mariah Carey created some of her best known material as well as 'Studio F' where Sean recorded "Down" with Lil Wayne and where Scherzinger previously laid down vocals for Timbaland's hit single "Scream" with Keri Hilson. The pair also made note to T-Pain and Lil Wayne who were present at the studio. It is unknown whether the pair achieved any musical success e.g. recorded any usable songs and it is unknown if the records are for an upcoming single for Jay Sean, the upcoming third album from the Pussycat Dolls or Scherzinger's own heavily delayed studio album which is also due for release in 2010. Separately it was reported that she was working with Chuck Harmony whose previous credits include Rihanna's top-ten hit "Russian Roulette" (2009) as well as multiple credits on Ne-Yo's Year of the Gentleman (2008) and Mary J. Blige's Growing Pains (2007). "My music that I’m working on now for my album might have a little more rock, funk, soul edge, but it’s basically in the genre of popular music and it’s just honest music, fun music".

Rap Up first reported her intention to release a new song on May 23, 2010 stating that "The single ["Nobody Can Change Me"] is an empowering song, so it’s very much like Pussycat Dolls, but it’s just [Nicole] singing the same thing". Scherzinger herself described the single as "uplifting and powerful song with a deep meaning" During one radio interview she the song was recorded at night whilst she was competing on season ten of U.S. reality competition ,Dancing with the Stars. It was mastered on May 23, 2010 ready for its premiere on Ryan Seacrest's KIIS FM radio show the following day. Amongst the first to review the song was Beck Bain of Idolator. She was not impressed, "after listening to the treacly pop tune, we think she has a better shot at becoming a full-time sailor than reviving her solo career anytime soon. ... Her voice sounds a little bit higher/squeakier than usual, and the overproduction of the track certainly doesn’t help—we know this girl can saaang, and this generic pop song about empowerment or independence or some other vague 'let me be me' message does nothing to utilize her vocal range. ... And if Nicole wants to win the public back, it’s probably in her best interest to release a thumping dance track with sex appeal than an uninspired, uninteresting message song." However Amos Barshad of New York magazine actually liked the song stating that "there’s none of the Pussycat Doll’s forced sexiness here; instead, it sounds like something that could have just missed the final cut on a Kelly Clarkson album (that is sort of supposed to be a compliment, yeah)."

Then in August 2010 Moroccan electropop producer RedOne was interviewed by the BBC. In the interview he revealed he had been working on Scherzinger's album. "I just finished her album. Her last one never came out because it was collecting hamburgers, like fast food. One from McDonalds, one from Burger King, and so on. It tasted good, but it wasn't consistent. Her new record - people are really going to go crazy about it because it's the real her." Scherzinger confirmed these reports in a September 2010 interview with X magazine. In reference to Her Name is Nicole she said "It was actually my decision not to put it out, not the label's". Then she said "I've been working with RedOne, which is an honour. He's an unbelievable producer and musician. He had made some amazing songs with Lady Gaga. Now, there is someone with the 'x factor'. I can't touch GaGa or RedOne in that space, but I know that we've created something unique of our own." It is due for release on November 29, 2010. A picture from the video shoot was revealed by MTV, showing Scherzinger dressed provocatively. On November 18, 2010, she joined Prince on-stage during his concert in Abu Dhabi. While working with RedOne she has also recorded vocals for songs which will be included on Mohombi's debut album. Mohombi is the first signee to RedOne's record label. Scherzinger will appear at the Jingle Bell Ball at London's O2 Arena on December 4, 2010. She will also appear on the Cosmo Love Show in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on December 7, 2010.

Other ventures

Scherzinger has made minor appearances as an actress. She appeared in the TV comedy, Half & Half, My Wife and Kids and the 2003 film Love Don't Cost a Thing. She also had a role in 2001 as one of the "Pop Stars" in the episode "Finally!" of the show Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, in Wanda at Large, Chasing Papi, Be Cool and Cane. She provided the voice of Dora Maddingly, a ghost that is a cinderella like princess that can transform into a dragon in the episode 'Beauty Marked' of the tv show Danny Phantom Scherzinger was supposed to cast in one of the lead roles in the upcoming movie with the Filipino Boxing Champion Manny Pacquiao together with professional wrestler Dave Batista. She was about to play the leading lady of the Filipino Champ but it was cancelled and her role went to the filipina actress Ruffa Mae Quinto. She also made an appearance in the Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush show as herself.

In 2006, she made a "Bench Body" brand underwear commercial in the Philippines and in October 2008, she promoted Clear Shampoo and Conditioner. Both commercials were reportedly aired throughout Southeast Asia. She appeared in a Nike shoe commercial with basketball player LeBron James. In 2010 she made a commercial for the C&A; campaign. In late 2009, it was reported that Scherzinger is working closely with Andrew Lloyd Webber on the Phantom of the Opera sequel, Love Never Dies.

In December 2009, Scherzinger served as a celebrity judge on NBC's reality singing competition, The Sing-Off, along with singer-songwriter Ben Folds and Boyz II Men bandmember Shawn Stockman. The show was hosted by singer Nick Lachey. Scherzinger's role was to critique performances of the competitors and vote on eliminations in all but the final round, which was determined by audience vote. In the show finale, Scherzinger performed "You Don't Own Me" with competition finalists the Beelzebubs of Tufts University. She returned to her role as judge for a second season of The Sing-Off in December 2010.

On March 1, 2010, it was announced that Scherzinger would be a celebrity contestant on Dancing with the Stars for the tenth season and would be partnered with Season 7 Champion Derek Hough. On May 25, 2010 Nicole won Dancing with the Stars season 10. On June 4, 2010, it was announced that Nicole would take on the role of Maureen in the Hollywood Bowl production of the rock musical Rent, directed by Neil Patrick Harris. She played the role from August 6–8, 2010.

On July 1, 2010, MTV reported the media mogal Simon Cowell had hired Scherzinger as a guest judge for season seven of the UK reality TV series The X Factor after regular judge Danni Minogue went on maternity leave. Fellow judge Cheryl Cole had previously said that "Scherzinger doesn't stand out". Then on July 9, 2010, as planned, Scherzinger appeared at the Manchester auditions. According to The Daily Mail she is one of several celebrities being considered for a role on the U.S. version of The X Factor and so the role on the UK version served as an important screen test and opportunity to impress the producers. Following praise from the show's producers, Scherzinger was asked to return as a guest judge after it was discovered that permanent judge Cole had contracted maleria and was unable to film the 'bootcamp' stages of the competition. Scherzinger was the guest judge who was asked to return to fill the week-long role. One of her fellow judges and permanent panel member Louis Walsh praised Scherzinger saying "My favourite though was Nicole who I had never met before. This girl has the X Factor in every way. She just got it, was incredibly impressive and ticked every box." The host of the show, Dermot O'Leary also praised Scherzinger saying she was his favourite guest judge. "She was brilliant, tailor-made for it and hilarious too. We were all stunned by her beauty." Scherzinger left her mark on the competition after she persuaded producers to change the ages of the judging categories. An X Factor spokesman told the media that "At Nicole's suggestion, and agreed by Simon and Louis, the boys' and girls' category age limit has been increased to 28. The judges believe this will strengthen the competition and talent." Additionally it was reported that Scherzinger will be asked to help Cowell or Walsh during the "judges' houses" stages of the competition where each judge is given a category of acts to mentor and then, with the help of other celebrities and musicians, they choose three acts to take through the live finals.

She makes a appearance in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother in the 9th episode of the 6th season as the ex-best-friend of Robin.

She has also recorded a remake of the theme song "GoldenEye", for the 2010 GoldenEye 007 video game. The song plays during the introduction of the video game.

Personal life

She dated actor Talan Torriero from 2005 to 2007. and in 2010 landed at number twenty-four.

Scherzinger has also frequently appeared in FHM Magazine's 100 Sexiest Women poll, ranking at #73 in 2010, #60 in 2009, #49 in 2008, #22 in 2007 and #49 in 2006.

Discography

As a Main artist

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |+ List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year ! scope="col" colspan="9"| Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Album |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|US ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|UK ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|IRE |- ! scope="row"| "Whatever U Like" (featuring T.I.) | rowspan="4"| 2007 | — || — || 57 || — || — || — || — || — || — | rowspan="4"|Her Name Is Nicole | 2011 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — |- |colspan="14" | "—" denotes songs which did not chart or were not released in the region. |}

As a featured artist

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |+ List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year ! scope="col" colspan="10"| Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;" | Certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Album |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|US ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|UK ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|CAN ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|GER ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|AUT ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|SWI ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|NZ ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|SWE |- !scope="row"| "Lie About Us"(Avant featuring Nicole Scherzinger) | rowspan="2"|2006 | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | — |Director |- !scope="row"| "You Are My Miracle" (Vittorio featuring Nicole Scherzinger) | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | — |Vittorio |- !scope="row"| "Come to Me" (Diddy featuring Nicole Scherzinger) | rowspan="2"|2007 | 9 || 4 || — || 11 || 6 || 3 || 8 || 3 || 25 || 44 | — |Press Play |- !scope="row"| "Scream" (Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson & Nicole Scherzinger) | — || 12 || 41 || 20 || 9 || 10 || 18 || 45 || 9 || 8 | — |Shock Value |- !scope="row"| "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" (with Artists for Haiti) | rowspan="2"|2010 | 2 || 50 || 7 || 18 || — || 9 || — || — || 8 || 17 | — | Charity single |- !scope="row"| "Heartbeat" (Enrique Iglesias featuring Nicole Scherzinger) | — || 8 || 72 || 5 || — || 24 || — || — || 9 || 52 | AUS: Platinum |Euphoria |- |colspan="14" | "—" denotes songs which did not chart or were not released in the region. |}

Music videos

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |+ List of music videos with their respective directors ! scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Title ! scope="col"| Year ! scope="col" style="width:12em;"| Director |- !scope="row"| "Lie About Us" (Avant featuring Nicole Scherzinger) | 2006 |Benny Boom |- !scope="row"| "Come to Me" (Diddy featuring Nicole Scherzinger) | rowspan="3"|2007 |Chris Robinson |- !scope="row"| "Whatever U Like" (featuring T.I.) |Ray Kay |- !scope="row"| "Baby Love" (featuring will.i.am) |Francis Lawrence |- !scope="row"| "Scream" (Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson & Nicole Scherzinger) | 2008 |Justin Francis |- !scope="row"| "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" (with Artists for Haiti) | rowspan="3"|2010 |Paul Haggis |- !scope="row"| "Heartbeat"(Enrique Iglesias featuring Nicole Scherzinger) |Hiro Murai |- !scope="row"| "Poison" |Joseph Kahn |}

Album appearances

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |+ List of appearances as a featured artist on album songs ! scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Title ! scope="col"| Year ! scope="col" style="width:20em;"| Album |- ! scope="row"| "Breakfast in Bed" (Listed/Credited as Nicole Kea) | 2004 |50 First Dates Official Soundtrack |- ! scope="row"| "Don't Ask Her That" (Shaggy featuring Nicole Scherzinger) |- ! scope="row"| "Fire" (50 Cent feat. Young Buck & Nicole Scherzinger) | 2007 |Curtis |- ! scope="row"| "Until U Love U" |rowspan="2"|2009 |Doll Domination |- ! scope="row"| Hotel Room Service (Remix) (Pitbull feat. Nicole Scherzinger) |Rebelution |- ! scope="row"| "Baby Can't Drive" (Slash feat. Alice Cooper & Nicole Scherzinger) | 2010 |Slash |}

Awards and nominations

References

;Notes

;References

External links

Category:1978 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Actors from Hawaii Category:Actors from Kentucky Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Dancing with the Stars (US TV series) participants Category:American musicians of Filipino descent Category:American musicians of Russian descent Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Hawaii Category:Native Hawaiian people Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Honolulu, Hawaii Category:People from Louisville, Kentucky Category:People of Native Hawaiian descent Category:Pussycat Dolls members Category:Reality show winners Category:The X Factor judges Category:Wright State University alumni Category:The X Factor (UK)

Coordinates	33°55′31″N18°25′26″N
Playername	Mark Ramprakash
Country	England
Fullname	Mark Ravin Ramprakash
Nickname	Ramps, Bloodaxe, The Hips
Living	true
Dayofbirth	5
Monthofbirth	9
Yearofbirth	1969
Placeofbirth	Bushey, Hertfordshire
Countryofbirth	England
Heightft	5
Heightinch	10
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right arm off-spin
Role	Batsman
International	true
Testdebutdate	6 June
Testdebutyear	1991
Testdebutagainst	West Indies
Testcap	549
Lasttestdate	3 April
Lasttestyear	2002
Lasttestagainst	New Zealand
Odidebutdate	25 May
Odidebutyear	1991
Odidebutagainst	West Indies
Odicap	114
Lastodidate	13 October
Lastodiyear	2001
Lastodiagainst	Zimbabwe
Club1	Middlesex
Year1	1987–2000
Club2	Surrey
Year2	2001–present
Clubnumber2	77
Deliveries	balls
Columns	4
Column1	Tests
Matches1	52
Runs1	2,350
Bat avg1	27.32
100s/50s1	2/12
Top score1	154
Deliveries1	895
Wickets1	4
Bowl avg1	119.25
Fivefor1	0
Tenfor1	0
Best bowling1	1/2
Catches/stumpings1	39/–
Column2	ODIs
Matches2	18
Runs2	376
Bat avg2	26.85
100s/50s2	–/1
Top score2	51
Deliveries2	132
Wickets2	4
Bowl avg2	27.00
Fivefor2	–
Tenfor2	–
Best bowling2	3/28
Catches/stumpings2	8/–
Column3	FC
Matches3	442
Runs3	34,839
Bat avg3	54.60
100s/50s3	113/144
Top score3	301*
Deliveries3	4,171
Wickets3	34
Bowl avg3	64.58
Fivefor3	–
Tenfor3	–
Best bowling3	3/32
Catches/stumpings3	249/–
Column4	LA
Matches4	407
Runs4	13,273
Bat avg4	40.22
100s/50s4	17/85
Top score4	147*
Deliveries4	1,734
Wickets4	46
Bowl avg4	29.43
Fivefor4	1
Tenfor4	–
Best bowling4	5/38
Catches/stumpings4	136/–
Date	28 August
Year	2010
Source	http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1989/1989.html CricketArchive

Mark Ravin Ramprakash (born 5 September 1969) is an English cricketer, playing for Surrey and England. A right-handed batsman, he initially made his name playing for Middlesex, and was selected for England aged 21. Despite being among the most gifted and heavily scoring English batsman of his generation at county level, he rarely performed well during a long but intermittent international career. He has been a particularly prolific run scorer since his move to Surrey in 2001, averaging over 100 runs per innings in successive seasons (2006 & 2007). He is one of only 25 players in the history of the sport to have scored 100 first-class centuries.

Career

Mark Ramprakash was born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and is of Indian and English descent. His father, born in the Caribbean, was an Indian from Guyana and his mother was English. He attended Gayton High School (now Harrow High School), and then Harrow Weald Sixth Form College. His first local club was Bessborough Cricket Club in Headstone Lane where he showed early promise as a fast bowler before concentrating on his batting. He played his first match for Middlesex aged just 17, scoring 63 not out against Yorkshire, and top-scoring with 71 in his second match against Essex at Chelmsford(he was still a sixth-form student at the time). He scored his maiden first-class century at Headingley against Yorkshire in 1989, and captained the England U-19 team. He came to national prominence when, at the age of only 18, he won the man-of-the match award in the 1988 NatWest Trophy Final after his innings of 56 helped Middlesex beat Worcestershire.

During his early days in first-class cricket, Ramprakash had a reputation as a something of a mercurial and stormy character. Nicknamed "Bloodaxe" by Middlesex team-mates for his short temper, Ramprakash's younger days are now sharply contrasted with the laconic mellowness of his thirties.

Test career

Ramprakash was selected for his first Test match for England against the West Indies at Headingley in 1991. This was the same game in which Graeme Hick made his England Test debut, and like Hick, he struggled to impress producing a series of scores in the 20s. He was dropped in 1992 after a number of poor performances. However, his consistent heavy scoring in county cricket meant that he was always on the fringes of selection.

He was recalled to the England team for the final Test of the 1993 Ashes series. With Australia already 4-0 up it was a dead rubber, but he produced his first substantial innings for England by scoring 64 to help the team grab a consolation victory. This booked him a place on the subsequent tour of the West Indies. However, another string of low scores meant he was dropped and out of the selectors' plans. Ramprakash was not selected in the touring party for the 1994-95 Ashes series, but was chosen as vice-captain for the England A tour to India. However, an injury to Graeme Hick meant that he was flown out to play in the final Ashes Test scoring a useful 72. He was in and out of the England team over the next few years, never assured of selection but still scoring very heavily for Middlesex.

A breakthrough of sorts came in the 1997-98 Test series against the West Indies when he scored 154 in the fifth Test in Barbados. It was his first Test century and it earned him regular selection for the England team for the next few years. While he scored a number of fifties against various teams (notably Australia), he was only able to add one more century to his tally - 133 against Australia at The Oval in the 2001 Ashes series. He was not picked again after England's tour of New Zealand in March 2002.

During the build-up to the final Ashes Test of 2009, with the series poised at 1-1, Ramprakash was widely touted in the press as a possible choice to improve the struggling England middle order, with a number of pundits, including Alec Stewart, suggesting his selection. However, Jonathan Trott was selected instead, going on to score a Test century on debut.

At Surrey

In 2001, thoroughly disillusioned with the organisation at Middlesex, who were by now playing second division level cricket, he joined London rivals Surrey. His form improved markedly as a result. In the 2003 season, he became the first player to have scored a century against all 18 county teams, and completed the set with a century against his former county Middlesex. Only Carl Hooper and Chris Adams have since achieved this feat.

Ramprakash became the first man to captain both Middlesex and Surrey when he stood in for the injured Mark Butcher at the start of the 2005 English cricket season. Butcher did not recover until the middle of August, and Ramprakash remained captain for most of the season. Ramprakash's move to Surrey, which some Middlesex members still carry a grudge about, seemed to backfire in 2005 when Surrey were relegated after a poor season. However, in their final Championship game, against Middlesex, who were also in danger of relegation themselves, Ramprakash gained consolation by hitting 252, sharing a Surrey record for a fifth-wicket partnership of 318 with Azhar Mahmood as Surrey made 686 for five declared, and duly won by an innings and 39 runs.

In 2006, Ramprakash, relieved of the unwanted burden of captaincy, displayed outstandingly good form, making a career-best 292 against Gloucestershire in May, then improving that still further with 301 not out against Northamptonshire in early August. Later that month against Worcestershire he made 196 in the first innings, and in the process passed 2,000 runs in first-class cricket for the summer in only his 20th innings (a record). Ramprakash, the leading run scorer in 2006, was the first man to score 2,000 runs in a season since the Australian Mike Hussey in 2001, and the first Englishman to do it since Ramprakash himself back in 1995. He also became the first man to score over 150 runs in an innings in five consecutive matches. He ended with 2,278 runs at an average of 103.54, only the sixth man to average over one hundred over eight or more completed first-class innings in an English season. Surrey gained promotion back into the first division. His excellent form led some commentators to say that the England selectors should consider him for that winter's Ashes tour: Mike Selvey called him "the best technician of his generation with a good record in trying circumstances in Australia" and said that he should be considered as a possible replacement for Marcus Trescothick. He was not, however, chosen. His 2006 form also won him the Professional Cricketers' Association Player Of The Year Award and selection as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year.

His fine form continued in 2007, and Ramprakash was once again the most prolific batsman in county cricket. He finished the season with 2,026 first class runs, including ten centuries, at an average of 101.30, becoming the only man to average over 100 in two consecutive English seasons. His twin hundreds in the final game of the season, against Lancashire, are widely said to have ended Lancashire's hopes of winning the championship. His form and professionalism led to further remarks that he should be recalled to the England side. Ramprakash himself stated that whilst he found this attention flattering, he had more or less abandoned any hope of being recalled to the England team, given the present selection policy targeted towards youth.

In 2008 Ramprakash scored a century in his first innings of the season - his third consecutive first-class century, all against Lancashire - and another (his 99th) two matches later. He finally scored his 100th 100 against Yorkshire at Headingley on 2 August 2008, becoming only the 25th player to reach this mark. It mirrored his very first century, also scored at Headingley. He hit 200 not out vs Somerset to get his 101st first class hundred.

In 2009 there was, yet again, much media speculation that Ramprakash should receive an England call up for the final Test match of the 2009 Ashes series. He averaged 90 for Surrey in 2009.

In 2010 Ramprakash again emerged as county cricket's leading run-getter - albeit in the 2nd division. After 16 matches and 28 innings he ended the season with 1595 runs at an average of 61.34, including 5 hundreds with a highest score of 248.

Mark Ramprakash has now played 442 first class matches, 729 innings, and scored 34839 runs at an average of 54.6. Moreover, he has struck 144 fifties and 113 centuries with a best of 301 n.o. With those 113 hundreds he is at 16 in the all-time list of first class century-makers, just one behind Sir Viv Richards's 114 and four behind Sir Donald Bradman's 117. To put his achievement into perspective, modern greats Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting have notched 76 and 73 first class hundreds respectively, and they are the only ones still playing who are anywhere near Ramprakash's mark - Australian Justin Langer retired in 2009 with 86. As such, it is highly unlikely that any other cricketer will ever achieve 100 first class hundreds.

Outside cricket

In 2006, Ramprakash and Karen Hardy won the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. He lived in Northwood, London, with his wife, Vandana, and his two daughters, Cara and Anya; but the couple were divorced in July 2010.

On 9 March 2008, Ramprakash appeared on the CBBC show Hider in the House, setting up dad Ian Smeeton, with Ian's wife Wendy, two children Will and Pippa Smeeton, and their friend Dougy in Cambridge. He completed all his challenges.

In a special edition of Strictly Come Dancing for Sport Relief on 14 March 2008, Ramprakash and partner Kara Tointon were the winners after performing a samba. In 2008, he appeared on a special Strictly Come Dancing episode of The Weakest Link, being the fifth one voted off.

Mark used to be on the books of Watford Football Club as a schoolboy, but gave up the game to concentrate on his cricket. He also did a stint as a P.E. teacher at St. Martin's School, Northwood, in 2003, teaching football for a brief period as a consideration for a job after cricket.

Notes

External links

Mark Ramprakash from Surrey County Cricket Club

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:English cricketers Category:England One Day International cricketers Category:England Test cricketers Category:British people of Indo-Guyanese descent Category:English people of Indian descent Category:English people of Guyanese descent Category:Middlesex cricket captains Category:Middlesex cricketers Category:People from Bushey Category:Reality show winners Category:Strictly Come Dancing participants Category:Surrey cricket captains Category:Surrey cricketers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:MCC cricketers

Coordinates	33°55′31″N18°25′26″N
Name	Mark Ballas
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Mark Alexander Corky Ballas Junior
Born	May 24, 1986Houston, Texas, USA
Genre	Pop/Rock
Occupation	Singer, dancer, guitarist
Years active	1999–present
Label	Hollywood Records
Associated acts	Julianne HoughDerek Hough
Url	Official Site

Mark Alexander Corky Ballas Jr. (born May 24, 1986) is an American performer. At a young age, he moved to London, in the UK, where he began his performing career. He remained in London until 2007, when he moved to the US.

Ballas is a professional ballroom dancer on the ABC program Dancing with the Stars. He began competing on the show in the fall of 2007. He is also a singer/songwriter/musician for the group Ballas Hough Band, where he composes the group's music, plays lead guitar and sings lead vocals.

Early life

Ballas was born in Houston, Texas, with family ties in Laredo, Texas. His paternal grandparents are George Charles Ballas and Maria Luisa Marulanda Ballas of Mexican, Spanish and Greek background. His parents are Corky Ballas and British-born Shirley Ballas (née Rich). Grandfather George Balls is the inventor of the Weed Eater lawn-trimming device.

At the age of 11, he earned a full time slot at the Academy, as well as earning a full scholarship to the college. In 2005, he was awarded "Performer of the Year". He then moved on to win championships at The British Open to the World, The US Open to the World and The International Open to the World. With his former partner Julianne Hough, he won the Junior Latin American Dance Championship and the gold medal at the Junior Olympics.

As a youth, Ballas was a member of a pop singing trio called "2B1G"(2 Boys 1 Girl"), along with Julianne Hough and Derek Hough.

Career

Acting

As an actor, Ballas played the lead role of Tony in the musical Copacabana and was the lead dancer in the UK national tour of the Spanish musical Maria de Buenos Aires. He was also the understudy for the role of Ritchie Valens in the UK national tour of Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story. In October 2008, Ballas made a guest appearance on the season premiere of Samantha Who. In September 2010, Ballas had a guest appearance on his former Dancing With the Stars partner Melissa Joan Hart's new series, Melissa & Joey.

Dancing with the Stars

On the fifth season of Dancing With The Stars, Ballas was partnered with Cheetah Girls star Sabrina Bryan. On October 30, 2007, the pair was voted off the show. Ballas' partner for Season 6 of Dancing With The Stars was Olympic Gold Medal-winning figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. On August 25, 2008, ABC announced the cast of the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars, with Ballas paired with reality television star Kim Kardashian. They were the third couple eliminated, finishing in eleventh place, on September 30, 2008. For the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars, Ballas was paired with Olympic gold-medal winning gymnast Shawn Johnson, winning that season's competition on May 19, 2009. He was partnered with actress Melissa Joan Hart for the show's ninth season. They were voted off in week six and came in 9th place. For season 10, Ballas was partnered with actress Shannen Doherty. They were the first couple eliminated, on March 30, 2010. For season 11, Ballas was partnered with Bristol Palin, daughter of politician Sarah Palin. They made it to the finale and finished in third place.

Dancing with the Stars performances

With celebrity partner Sabrina Bryan (average: 27.0):

With celebrity partner Kristi Yamaguchi (average:28.3):

With celebrity partner Kim Kardashian (average:18.0):

With celebrity partner Shawn Johnson (average:26.94): With celebrity partner Melissa Joan Hart (average:21.2):

With celebrity partner Shannen Doherty (average:19.0):

With celebrity partner Bristol Palin (average: 22.6):

Week 4 - Double Score Showdown - Technique/Performance

Music

He began playing the guitar at age of 4, and at 12 began to write and perform his own music, playing guitar, drums, and bass. The Hough siblings and Ballas formed a pop music trio called 2B1G (2 Boys 1 Girl). With his friend Derek Hough, he formed the band Almost Amy, the name of which was later changed to the Ballas Hough Band. The other members of the band are singer Emily Grace, who plays flute, saxophone, and piano; Sam Marder, who plays bass; and Harry Sullivan, who plays drums.

References

External links

http://www.learning2dance.com

http://www.almost-amy.com/

Mark Ballas official Fan Site

Category:1986 births Category:Actors from Texas Category:American dancers Category:American male singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American ballroom dancers Category:Dancing with the Stars (US TV series) participants Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American people of Spanish descent Category:American people of Mexican descent Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Houston, Texas Category:People from Houston, Texas Category:People from London

Coordinates	33°55′31″N18°25′26″N
Name	Kym Johnson
Birth date	August 04, 1976
Birth place	Australia
Occupation	Dancer/Model
Years active	2001–present

Kym Johnson (born 4 August 1976) is an Australian former professional ballroom dancer, model, and television celebrity. She lives in Sydney NSW, Australia but is currently based in America for Dancing with the Stars.

Dance biography

Johnson began dancing at the age of two. She began ballroom dancing at 13 years old. In 1998, she and her partner, Lithuanian Tomas Atkocevicius, placed second at the Australian Dancesport Championships in the Open Amateur Modern Ballroom. They also were finalists as the U.K. Ballroom Championships at Blackpool. She retired from competitive ballroom dance in 2001, but continued dancing on stage.

Since 2001, she has appeared in a number of events and films, including:

Burn the Floor, a touring ballroom dance production.

Performing at Elton John's 50th Birthday party.

Dancing at the Blade Runner launch party

Dancing in the film Strictly Ballroom

Television appearances

Kym Johnson became a celebrity after appearing on Dancing with the Stars, a televised ballroom dance competition.

She appeared on Seasons 1-3 of Dancing with the Stars in Australia in 2004 and 2005. In Season 2, she and her partner, television presenter Tom Williams were the winning couple; they both then performed in the Champion of Champion series. Kym also made a cameo during the 4th Australian series Dancing with the Stars Grand Final, performing with musician Alex Lloyd.

In early 2006, she appeared on the Australian program Celebrity Survivor on behalf of the Merry Makers .

Later the same year (2006), Kym appeared on season 3 of the US Dancing with the Stars, partnering with talk show icon Jerry Springer. They proved to be very popular and were the 7th couple sent off. During the series Kym wrote a Behind the Scenes' Diary for OK! Magazine Australia.

Kym later continued to tour America with the Dancing with the Stars Tour, but was unable to perform in every show due to an arm injury.

Kym returned to the ballroom on March 19 for Season 4, this time partnered with member of N'Sync Joey Fatone. She became the runner-up professional dancer of this season. After the completion of Dancing with the Stars, Kym and Joey Fatone celebrated by going on the inaugural Mediterranean cruise for the Disney Cruise Line. The two performed for the ship's guests on June 2, 2007. Billionaire Mark Cuban was her Season 5 Partner; they were voted off in the fifth week. In season 6 she competed with magician Penn Jillette, but they were the 1st voted off in the Double-Elimination in the 2nd Week. Johnson recently competed on season 7 and was partnered with former NFL Player Warren Sapp. They finished in 2nd place behind Brooke Burke and Derek Hough. This was Kym's second time being the professional runner-up.

Kym returned to the ballroom for Season 8, and she was paired with actor David Alan Grier. They were eliminated in the fifth week of competition on April 7, 2009

For Season 9, Kym was paired with Donny Osmond. Donny and Kym were crowned the champions on November 24, 2009, making Kym the only dance professional to have won the title in two different countries. During this season, Kym wrote a Behind the Scenes, blog, of her experiences for www.okmagazine.com

In Season 11 Kym is partnered with Actor & Businessman David Hasselhoff. Unfortunately Hasselhoff and Johnson were the first to be eliminated, making the second time she was eliminated in the first round including the double elimination in Season 6.

Along with Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Ashly DelGrosso-Costa, Kym appears in the DVD .

Dancing with the Stars Australia

{|class="wikitable" align="left" !Season !Partner !Place |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Justin Melvey |align="center" bgcolor="cc9966" | 3rd |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|2 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"| Tom Williams |align="center" bgcolor="gold" | 1st |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|3 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"| Michael Caton |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6" | 9th |}

Dancing with the Stars Performances

(Season 3) With Jerry Springer -average: 21.0

{|class="wikitable" align="left" |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Week # |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Dance/Song |colspan="3" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Judges' score |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Result |- |- |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Inaba |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Goodman |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Tonioli |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Cha Cha Cha/ "Hey Daddy" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|2 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Quickstep/ "Sing, Sing, Sing" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|3 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Tango/ "Hernando's Hideaway" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bottom 2 |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|4 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Waltz/ "Tennessee Waltz" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Samba/ "Eso Beso" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bottom 2 |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Paso Doble/ "Habañera"Disco/ "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7No |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6Scores |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5Given |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|No Elimination |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Foxtrot/ "My Way"Mambo/ "Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|87 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|88 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|87 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Eliminated |}

(Season 4) With Joey Fatone -average: 27.47

{|class="wikitable" align="left" |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Week # |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Dance/Song |colspan="3" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Judges' score |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Result |- |- |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Inaba |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Goodman |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Tonioli |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Cha Cha Cha/ "You Should Be Dancing" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|No Elimination |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|2 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Quickstep/ "Tell Her About It" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|3 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Tango/ "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|4 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Paso Doble/ "Collecting the Ballots" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|10 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Rumba/ "Besame Mucho" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Samba/ "A Little Respect"Swing/ "Rock This Town" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9No |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9Scores |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9Given |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Foxtrot/ "The Way You Make Me Feel"Jive/ "Slippin' and Slidin'" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1010 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|910 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1010 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Waltz/ "AlwaysMambo/ "Pump It" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|910 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|99 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|810 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bottom 2 |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Foxtrot/ "My Guy""Jive/ "Jump, Jive, and Wail" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1010 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1010 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1010 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|10 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Cha Cha Cha/ "Groove Is in the Heart"Freestyle/ "Last Dance"Tango/ "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|91010 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|81010 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|91010 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Runner Up |}

(Season 5) With Mark Cuban -average: 20.4

{|class="wikitable" align="left" |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Week # |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Dance/Song |colspan="3" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Judges' score |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Result |- |- |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Inaba |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Goodman |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Tonioli |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Foxtrot/ "King of the Road" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Bottom 2 |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|2 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Mambo/ "Ride wit Me" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|3 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Jive/ "New Shoes" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|4 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Viennese Waltz/ "Mr. Bojangles" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Samba/ "I Dream of Jeannie" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Eliminated |}

(Season 6) With Penn Jillette -average: 16.5

{|class="wikitable" align="left" |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Week # |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Dance/Song |colspan="3" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Judges' score |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Result |- |- |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Inaba |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Goodman |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Tonioli |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Cha Cha Cha/ "Fool In Love" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|No Elimination |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|2 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Quickstep/ "Man With the Hex" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Eliminated |}

(Season 7) With Warren Sapp -average: 24.8

{|class="wikitable" align="left" |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Week # |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Dance/Song |colspan="3" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Judges' score |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Result |- |- |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Inaba |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Goodman |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Tonioli |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1 A |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Cha Cha Cha/ "Do I Do" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1 B |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Quickstep/ "Ding Dong Daddy Of The D-Car Line" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|2 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Paso Doble/ "Malagueña" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|3 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Viennese Waltz/ "Lovin' U" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|4 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Samba/ "Bounce With Me" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Hustle/ "Funkytown" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Rumba/ "Irreplaceable" Old School Hip Hop/ "It Takes Two" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8No |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9Scores |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8Given |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Foxtrot/ "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" Paso Doble/ "Rocks" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|710 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|79 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|710 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Tango/ "Peter Gunn Theme""Jive/ "Hallelujah I Love Her So" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|109 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|98 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|99 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Mambo/ "Tequila""Jitterbug/ "That Old Black Magic" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|89 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|88 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|88 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Last To Be Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|10 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Samba/ "Blame It On the Boogie"Freestyle/ "Proud Mary""Hustle/ "Funkytown" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|999 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7109 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|999 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Runner-Up |}

(Season 8) With David Alan Grier -average: 20.8

{|class="wikitable" align="left" |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Week # |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Dance/Song |colspan="3" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Judges' score |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Result |- |- |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Inaba |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Goodman |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Tonioli |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Waltz/ "You Light Up My Life" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|2 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Salsa/ "El Cumbanchero" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|3 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Foxtrot/ "Come Rain or Come Shine" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|4 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Lindy Hop/ "Bandstand Boogie" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |rowspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Viennese Waltz/ "I Put a Spell on You" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Dance Off |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Viennese Waltz/ "I Put a Spell on You" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Eliminated |}

(Season 9) With Donny Osmond -average: 25.5

{|class="wikitable" align="left" |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Week # |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Dance/Song |colspan="3" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Judges' score |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Result |- |- |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Inaba |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Goodman |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Tonioli |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Foxtrot/ "All That Jazz"Salsa/Get Busy |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7Awarded |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|610 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7Points |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|2 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Jive / "Secret Agent Man" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|3 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Rumba/ "Endless Love" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|4 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Charleston/ "Put a Lid on It" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Argentine Tango/ "Tango a Pugliese"Hustle/"The Hustle" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|10No |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9Scores |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|10Given |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|6 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Jitterbug/ "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie"Mambo/ "Ran Kan Kan" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8Awarded |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|87 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8Points |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|7 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Quickstep/ "Sing, Sing, Sing" Tango/ "You Give Love a Bad Name" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|89 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|89 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|810 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|8 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Viennese Waltz/ "You Don't Know Me" 80's Paso Doble/ "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|98 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|88 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|98 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Tango/ "Black and Gold"Samba/ "One Bad Apple"Jitterbug/"Jump Shout Boogie" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|789 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|799 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|799 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Safe |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|10 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|"Cha-Cha-Cha/"September"Megamix/"You and Me"/ "Whenever, Wherever" / "Maniac"Freestyle/"Back in Business"Argentine Tango/ "Tango a Pugliese" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9Awarded10Awarded |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9281030 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|9Points10Points |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|WON |}

(Season 11) With David Hasselhoff -average: 15

{|class="wikitable" align="left" |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Week # |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Dance/Song |colspan="3" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Judges' score |rowspan="2" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Result |- |- |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Inaba |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Goodman |bgcolor="CCCCCC" width="10%" align="center"|Tonioli |- |- |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|1 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Cha Cha Cha/ "Sex Bomb" |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|5 |align="center" bgcolor="FAF6F6"|Eliminated |}

Other media coverage

She posed in March 2006 for Australian men's magazine FHM

References

External links

Jerry Springer and Kym Johnson eliminated, MSNBC

Kym Johnson Official Website

Category:1976 births Category:Australian dancers Category:Australian female models Category:Australian ballroom dancers Category:Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) participants Category:Dancing with the Stars (US TV series) participants Category:Living people

Coordinates	33°55′31″N18°25′26″N
Name	Karen Hardy
Birth date	July 1970 (age 40)
Birth place	Weymouth, Dorset
Occupation	Ballroom dancer and coach
Nationality	English

Karen Hardy (born Weymouth, Dorset July 1970) is a professional ballroom dancer, coach, teacher and adjudicator. In 1998 she won the professional International Latin American Dance Championship, with one of the greatest dancers in this genre, Bryan Watson. She also won the United Kingdom Open, British National, European and World Masters championships. She now runs a dance studio at Imperial Wharf, London.

Dancing career

She started dancing aged five in her home town of Bournemouth, and competed in the United States for two years from the age of 18 winning both East and West Coast amateur championship titles. She returned to the UK in 1990 after two years in America where she teamed up with new partner Mark Lunn. It only took 6 months before they broke into the finals worldwide, representing England.

Karen turned professional in August 1994, after being asked to partner South African dancer Bryan Watson. They were highly successful from 1995–1999. In January 1995 they entered the Professional Final of the Pioneer United Kingdom Open Championship finishing fourth. Their progress to the top continued over the coming year going from fourth to first. The couple won the Carl Alan award for services to the dance world, and were named the most outstanding Latin American couple in 1995 by the Ballroom Dancers' Federation. During their 5 year partnership they were World Masters, Osaka World Trophy, United Kingdom Open, International Open, British National, Italian Open, London Open, Yankee Classic Professional Latin American Champions.

Discussing her success, she writes:

To create a step and then see it copied around the world is an indescribable reward. They don't come any more dedicated and focused than Bryan, and that's why we were able to break what had been set in stone for so long.

Hardy retired from competitive dancing in 1999 and moved into coaching. She was named Teacher of the Year in 2002 and 2003 at the Crystal Palace Dance Championships. She is also an adjudicator and now judges all of the Grand Slam events worldwide which she had previously competed in and more. She is a Senior Commentator for EuroSport DanceSport Series. Karen also co-hosts as the Master of Ceremonies in the International Open to the World Championships held annually at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Karen participated in the television series Faking It (Series 4) for Channel 4. Along with Paul Harris they mentored a young lady kick boxer to become Latin American Dancer

Strictly Come Dancing

After seven years retirement from competitions, Karen appeared in the third series of the BBC's television series Strictly Come Dancing. She appeared with journalist and presenter Bill Turnbull, in the 2005 Christmas show with former World Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield, and won the 2006 series with cricketer Mark Ramprakash. She danced in the 2007 series with actor Brian Capron. They were eliminated in the first round.

In June/July 2007 Karen completed filming the DVD "Strictly Come Dancersize" with Erin Boag. The DVD went on general release on 4 December 2007.

In the 2008 series of Strictly Come Dancing, Karen partnered Gary Rhodes. They were knocked out in week 3. The Daily Mail newspaper reported that she had been "axed" from Strictly Come Dancing on 4 August 2009, although many ballroom fans suspected that she had retired from the show voluntarily to concentrate on her new dance school. She does however continue to make regular appearances on sister-show giving her professional opinion on the couple's training and performances.

Personal life

At the age of eight Hardy was diagnosed with a rare and acute form of ear cancer. Despite successive operations the cancer returned three times, before a last-ditch operation when she was twenty one cleared the cancer permanently. As a result of the cancer Hardy has lost 70% of the hearing in her left ear.

In 2003, Karen married a former dancer from New Zealand, Conrad Murray, on the Greek island of Santorini. They have a son named Callum born March 2005. She suffered from post natal depression for some time after the birth of her son.

References

External links

Personal website

Karen Hardy Studios Website

Category:1970 births Category:People from Bournemouth Category:Living people Category:British dancers Category:British ballroom dancers Category:Dance instructors Category:Strictly Come Dancing participants

Coordinates	33°55′31″N18°25′26″N
Name	Kara Tointon
Birthname	Kara Louise Tointon
Birth date	August 05, 1983
Birth place	Essex, England, United Kingdom
Yearsactive	1994 - present
Nationality	British
Ethnicity	White British
Parents	Ken and Carol Tointon
Relatives	Hannah Tointon (sister)
Television	EastEndersStrictly Come Dancing
Occupation	Actress

Kara Louise Tointon Together with her actress sister, Hannah (born 1987), Tointon was raised in Leigh-on-Sea. Both sisters attended St Michael's School, Leigh, and St. Hilda's School, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. Tointon is dyslexic and had speech and drama lessons at school. She was diagnosed at age seven.

In August 2009, she was unveiled as the new face of Michelle for George underwear at Asda.

She co-starred with then partner Joe Swash in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Bristol in the 2009/2010 pantomime season. The couple split-up during the performance run, but after getting back together finally split in May 2010.

In July 2010, she recorded a documentary for BBC Three called Kara Tointon: Don't Call Me Stupid. The programme examined the impact dyslexia can have on people's lives and the difference different learning styles can have on people with dyslexia. Tointon revealed that she suffers from dyslexia, and resultantly has a reading age of 12. During the programme, Tointon visited Shapwick School in Somerset, which specialises in the education of pupils with dyslexia, and talked with the pupils about their experiences. Tointon was taught various line learning and organisational techniques by Dyslexia Tutor Claire Salter.

Strictly Come Dancing

In 2008, Tointon won the Sport Relief special edition of Strictly Come Dancing with Mark Ramprakash. Her Samba was enough to get her the Glitterball Trophy.

In September 2010, it was announced that Tointon would be appearing as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing season 8, this time partnered with Artem Chigvintsev. The pair achieved good scores in the first five weeks of 30, 32, 31, 32, and 37. In week 5, Tointon was awarded the first 10 of the series by Alesha Dixon for her Pasodoble. In week 6 she was top of the leaderboard with her Salsa. She also had good scores for the next five weeks of 36, 38, 35, 34, and 38. In week 11, she got her highest score of 39 for the Viennese Waltz and Rumba and got the maximum 5/5 for the Swing-a-thon. Tointon made it to the final along with Matt Baker and Pamela Stephenson, where she made it to the final two, then went on to win and be crowned champion beating Matt Baker and his partner Aliona Vilani.

Personal life

In January 2011, Tointon announced that she and Strictly Come Dancing partner Artem Chigvintsev are officially together.

Filmography

(2010) - Herself

Strictly Come Dancing (2010) - Herself (Winner)

The Bill (2010)

EastEnders (2005–2009) - Dawn Swann

''Strictly Come Dancing (Sport Relief) (2008) - Herself (Winner)

Just My Luck (2006) Uncredited, along with sister Hannah, most likely to be herself

America Or Busted (2004) - Herself

The Fete (2004) - Lizzie

The Football Factory (2004) - Shie/Tameka

Mile High (2004) - Geneveve

Keen Eddie (2004) - Fred Friedman

Boudica (2003) - Poppaea

Dinotopia (2002) - 18 year old Le Sage

Harry and Cosh (2002) - Gabby

Never Play with the Dead (2001) - Victoria

Teachers (2001) - Pauline Young

Dream Team (1999, 2004–2005) - Gina Moliano

References

External links

Profile on agent site

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:English film actors Category:English soap opera actors Category:English television actors Category:People from Southend-on-Sea Category:Reality show winners Category:Strictly Come Dancing participants

Javier Matías Pastore (born 20 June 1989) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for Italian Serie A club Palermo. He is usually nicknamed "El Flaco" and, more occasionally, "Huesito".

Early life

Pastore started his youth career in Talleres, the team he supported as a youngster.

Club career

Talleres

Pastore slowly worked his way up to the first team. In 2007, he made his debut in the Argentine second division under the wing of manager Ricardo Gareca. In 2007, he only managed to play five games.

Huracán

During the 2008 season, he was loaned to Club Atlético Huracán of the Argentine Primera. Pastore made his professional debut for Huracán on 24 May 2008 in a 1–0 loss with River Plate. In the Clausura 2009 championship, he established himself as a regular first team player for the club under the management of Ángel Cappa. This was his breakthrough tournament, where his side narrowly missed out on the championship title. His performance against River Plate was particularly lauded where he opened the scoring with a 25-yard shot and then scored again with a piece of individual brilliance helping Huracán win 4–0 in the club's biggest win against River Plate in over 60 years.

He ended up as the team's top scorer with seven goals and three assists. Pastore and teammate Matías De Federico were integral to Huracán's title challenge that season.

Palermo

On 11 July 2009, Palermo formally announced the signing of Pastore for five years until 30 June 2014, with the transfer fee being about $8 million. Before his move to Palermo, the player was also linked to number of other top European clubs, including Manchester United, FC Porto, AC Milan, and Chelsea.

His debut was on 15 August in the Coppa Italia, while his debut in Serie A was eight days later. His breakthrough game was on 4 October against Juventus, when he assisted Edinson Cavani's goal in a 2–0 win, appearing in all the websites and national newspapers. He scored his first Serie A goal on 30 January 2010 in a 2–4 away defeat to Bari. In his first season at Palermo, Pastore proved himself as being a promising but inexperienced youngster, playing mostly as a second half substitute under head coaches Walter Zenga and, later, Delio Rossi. He then established himself as a regular under the tutelage of Rossi, playing usually in a role behind the regular striking duo of Fabrizio Miccoli and Edinson Cavani. Thanks to his performances, all praised by fans and pundits, Palermo finished off the season in 5th place, qualifying for the Europa League.

In the 2010–11 season, on 14 November, Pastore scored his first career hat-trick in a derby match against Catania.

International career

Following a string of good performances in his first season at Italian Serie A level, Argentina head coach Diego Maradona called up Pastore for national squad duty against a Catalan representative team for an unofficial friendly game on 22 December 2009. Pastore made his debut as a second half substitute scoring a goal in the process. As the game was not a FIFA recognised representative game, Pastore did not receive a cap.

He was subsequently called up by Maradona again for a friendly game against Germany, but did not get onto the pitch. His official debut was against Canada on 25 May 2010. Pastore was included by Maradona in Argentina's 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. On 22 June, Pastore made his World Cup debut when he came on the pitch in the 77th minute against Greece, replacing Sergio Agüero. Argentina won the match 2–0. On 27 June, he was again substituted on against Mexico in the 87th minute, this time replacing Maxi Rodríguez. Argentina won the match 3–1.

Career statistics

.

International goals

:Argentina's goal tally first.

References

External links

2010 FIFA World Cup Profile

Palermo Profile

Javier Pastore at Football Talent Factory

BDFA profile

Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:People from Córdoba, Argentina (city) Category:Argentine footballers Category:Argentine expatriate footballers Category:Association football midfielders Category:Talleres footballers Category:Huracán footballers Category:U.S. Città di Palermo players Category:Primera División Argentina players Category:Serie A footballers Category:Expatriate footballers in Italy Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Italy Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:Argentina international footballers Category:Argentine people of Italian descent

Coordinates	33°55′31″N18°25′26″N
Name	Donny Osmond
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Donald Clark Osmond
Born	December 09, 1957
Origin	Ogden, Utah, U.S.
Genre	Vocal, pop, rock, R&B;, bubblegum, blue-eyed soul, comedy, musical theatre
Occupation	Singer, musician, actor, presenter, former teen idol
Years active	1961–present
Label	Universal
Associated acts	Marie Osmond, The Osmonds
Url

Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, musician, actor and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk show and game show host, record producer, race car driver, and author. In the mid 1960s, he and his four elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long running variety program, The Andy Williams Show. Donny went solo in the early 1970s covering such hits as Go Away Little Girl and Puppy Love. From 1974, he was best known as half of the brother-sister singing duet Donny & Marie, with a four-year variety series of their own on ABC from 1978. Between a highly successful teen career in the 1970s and a rebirth in the 1990s, the singer/actor's career was to some extent stymied in the 1980s by what was sometimes perceived as his former 'boy scout' image. Osmond stated on the May 1, 2009 Larry King Live show, that Michael Jackson had suggested he change his name to overcome this. Osmond's agent even suggested that spreading false rumors about drug arrest charges might boost his career. In 1989, Osmond had two big-selling recordings, the first of which, Soldier of Love (Donny Osmond song), was initially credited to a 'mystery artist' by some radio stations. From 1992-1997 Osmond played Joseph in the Toronto production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Creator Andrew Lloyd Webber, impressed by Osmond's talents and the show's long run, chose him for the 1999 film version (which also starred Richard Attenborough as Jacob). On November 24, 2009, two weeks shy of his 52nd birthday, Osmond was crowned Dancing with the Stars season nine champion.

Early life

Osmond was born in Ogden, Utah, the seventh son of Olive May Osmond (née Davis) and George Virl Osmond. He is the brother of Alan, Jay, Jimmy, Merrill, Wayne, Marie, Tom, and Virl Osmond. Alan, Jay, Merrill, Wayne, and Donny were members of the popular singing group The Osmonds (also known as The Osmond Brothers, which later included tracks with youngest brother Jimmy as well). Donny was raised as a Mormon in Utah along with his siblings. Osmond later traced his family ancestry back to Merthyr Tydfil in Wales; his journey was documented in a BBC Wales program, Donny Osmond Coming Home. On the BBC's The One Show a plaque was unveiled in the town commemorating 'the ancestors of Donny Osmond'.

Music career

Teen idol: 1971 — 1978

The father of Andy Williams saw the Osmond Brothers (Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay) perform at Disneyland as a barbershop quartet. In short order, the group was invited to audition for The Andy Williams Show. They soon became regulars on the show and gained popularity quickly. Donny made his debut on the show at the age of 5 singing "You Are My Sunshine". The brothers continued to perform on the show throughout the 1960s along with a few visits from their sister Marie.

Donny became a teen idol in the early 1970s as a solo singer, while continuing to sing with his older brothers. He, Bobby Sherman, and David Cassidy were the biggest "Cover Boy" pop stars for Tiger Beat magazine in the early 1970s. He had his first solo hit with "Sweet and Innocent", which peaked at #7 in the U.S. in 1971. His solo songs "Go Away Little Girl" (1971) (#1 in the U.S.), "Puppy Love" (U.S. #3), and "Hey Girl/I Knew You When" (U.S. #9) (1972) vaulted him into international fame. The fame was further advanced by his appearance on the Here's Lucy show, where he sang "Too Young" to Lucille Ball's niece, played by Eve Plumb, and sang with Lucie Arnaz ("I'll Never Fall in Love Again").

Comeback: 1989 — 1990

In the 1980s, Osmond re-invented himself as a solo vocal artist and abandoned the earlier television show image crafted to appeal to young viewers. He made an unlikely appearance as one of several celebrities and unknowns auditioning to sing for guitarist Jeff Beck in the video for Beck's 1985 single "Ambitious", followed in 1986 by an equally unlikely cameo in the animated Luis Cardenas music video Runaway. He spent several years as a performer, before hiring the services of music and entertainment guru Steven Machat, who got Donny together with Peter Gabriel to see whether Machat and Gabriel were really alchemist. Whether they could turn the Tv image of Osmond into a contemporary young pop act. They succeeded with the hit song Soldier of Love. Returning to the US charts in 1989 with the Billboard Hot 100 #2 song "Soldier of Love" and its top twenty follow-up "Sacred Emotion". The campaign to market "Soldier Of Love" received considerable airplay with the singer being presented as a 'mystery artist', before his identity was later revealed. Launching an extensive tour in support of the Eyes Don't Lie record, he enlisted Earth Wind & Fire and Kenny Loggins guitarist Dick Smith along with keyboardist Marc Jackson.

Donny was often reluctant to perform his earliest songs, in particular "Go Away Little Girl", but was convinced to sing the song live for KLOS-FM's 'Mark & Brian Christmas Show' on December 21, 1990.

Current music career: 1991 — 2010

Osmond was the guest vocalist on Dweezil Zappa's star-studded version of the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" which appeared on Zappa's 1991 album Confessions. The song also included guitar solos from Zakk Wylde, Steve Lukather, Warren DeMartini, Nuno Bettencourt, and Tim Pierce. Osmond sang "No One Has To Be Alone", but the song was heard at the end of the film . He also sang "I'll Make a Man Out of You" for Disney's Mulan

In the 2000s, he released a Christmas album, an album of his favorite Broadway songs, and a compilation of popular love songs. In 2004, he returned to the UK Top 10 for the first time as a solo artist since 1973, with the George Benson-sampling "Breeze On By", co-written with former teen idol Gary Barlow, from the 1990s UK boy band Take That, reaching number 8.

In early 2011 he is scheduled to record a new album with legendary producer Todd Rundgren.

Donny & Marie in Las Vegas

Following Marie's stint on Dancing with the Stars in 2007, the pair teamed up for a limited engagement in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. Beginning September 2008, Donny and Marie began playing the 750-seat showroom at the Flamingo Hotel. "Donny & Marie" is a 90-minute variety show. The singing siblings are backed by eight dancers and a nine piece band. Donny and Marie sing together at the beginning and end of the show, and have solo segments in between. Patrons who purchase VIP tickets get to meet Donny and Marie after the show. "Donny & Marie" will appear Tuesday through Saturday (except for hiatus) through October 2010. On July 30, 2009, Donny and Marie made an official announcement on NBC's Today Show that they had just extended their contract for another 2 years, to go until October 2012.

Film and television

Hosting

Donny & Marie

In the mid 1970s, he and Marie co-hosted an episode of The Mike Douglas Show, and were then offered a show of their own, The Donny & Marie Show, a television variety series which aired on ABC between 1976 and 1979.

Donny also co-hosted together in 20 years. Though ratings were high and they were nominated for an award as best talk show, the series was canceled. In a 1999 episode featuring Jefferson Starship promoting their album Windows of Heaven, the hosts performed a rendition of "Volunteers" live with the band.

Other hosting opportunities

Osmond went on to host Pyramid, a syndicated version of the Dick Clark-hosted television game show that ran two seasons in the US from 2002–2004, and a British version of Pyramid on Challenge in 2007.

Osmond returned to ABC as host of The Great American Dream Vote, a prime-time reality/game show that debuted in March, 2007. After earning lackluster ratings in its first two episodes, the program was cancelled.

Osmond hosted the British version of the game show Identity on BBC Two during the daytime.

On April 11, 2008, Osmond also hosted the 2008 Miss USA pageant along with his sister Marie from Las Vegas.

Osmond appeared on Entertainment Tonight as a commentator covering the ABC show Dancing with the Stars during his sister Marie's run as a contestant on the 5th season of the American version of the popular show in Fall of 2007. He was seen at week 7 of the competition in tears in the audience watching Marie do a rumba after his and Marie's father died.

Music

Osmond's name was used in the lyrics of Alice Coopers song "Department of Youth" near the end. Cooper asks the kids doing the background vocals "who gave them the power", where the kids reply "Donny Osmond".

Musical theatre

His first foray into Broadway musical theatre was the lead role in a revival of the 1904 George M. Cohan show Little Johnny Jones. Osmond replaced another former teen idol, David Cassidy, who received negative reviews while the show was on its pre-Broadway tour. After 29 previews and only 1 performance, the show closed on March 21, 1982.

Osmond found success in musical theatre through much of the 1990s when he starred in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for over 2,000 performances. During his performances for the musical, he suffered from Social Anxiety Disorder, which caused him to feel light-headed and extremely nervous during his performances.

He returned to Broadway on September 19, 2006, in the role of Gaston in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. He was scheduled to perform for nine weeks but due to popular demand he extended his run through December 24. Liz Smith of the New York Post wrote "I am here to tell you he is charmingly campy, good-looking and grand as the villain "Gaston", patterned after our old friend Elvis and noting "Donny is divine". On July 29, 2007, Osmond played Gaston again for the final performance of Beauty and the Beast.

Donny and his sister Marie recently starred in a new holiday production called Donny & Marie - A Broadway Christmas, which was originally scheduled to play on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre from December 9 - 19, 2010. The show was then extended till December 30, 2010 and again till January 2, 2011.

Film

In the animated television series Johnny Bravo, Osmond voiced himself as a recurring character. He has also done guest spots on numerous other television shows such as Friends, , and Hannah Montana. He also appeared in a Pepsi Twist commercial during the Super Bowl with his sister, Marie, and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.

In 1998, Donny Osmond was chosen to be the singing voice of Shang in Walt Disney's Mulan. He sang "I'll Make a Man Out of You".

Also in 1998, he starred in the movie version of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber's request who said, "to me there is no better selection". In addition to playing the role of Joseph, he played with a cobra snake puppet during the "Poor, Poor Joseph" musical number.

Osmond remarked in an interview recently that with his movie appearance on College Road Trip and upcoming appearances on two Disney Channel shows that he would coming about full circle since he and his family were discovered by Walt Disney.

Osmond appears in the music video of "Weird Al" Yankovic's song "White & Nerdy". The song is a parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin'"; Osmond's role is analogous to that of Krayzie Bone's role in the original video. Yankovic asked Osmond to appear because "if you have to have a white and nerdy icon in your video, like who else do you go for?"

Dancing with the Stars

Osmond and professional Kym Johnson were paired for the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars; he participated in the show to prove he was a better dancer than his sister. It was very difficult for him to manage to get to rehearsals and host his show in Las Vegas with sister Marie. For the first week, the two were assigned to dance a Foxtrot and a 30-second Salsa. His Foxtrot was said to be "too theatrical" and was scored 20/30 from the judges. He however managed to maintain a good score when his Salsa scored 10 points and was safe that week. He danced a Jive the following week which was guest judged by Baz Luhrman. He scored 25 and was scored 2nd place, called first to be safe. That following week he danced a Rumba and scored 21. After his comments he "attacked" openly homosexual judge Bruno Tonioli, first kissing him, before embracing him and tipping him back in a mock-passionate move after Bruno called Donny's dance "a bit airy fairy". The following week introduced 4 new dances including the Charleston which he danced and scored 24. That following week, the two danced an Argentine Tango which scored 29/30, the highest scored dance to date until it was beaten by then leader topping scorer and future runner-up Mýa and her 70s-themed Samba. He had also received that week's encore. Following that week, Osmond and Johnson danced a train-station themed Jitterbug and was scored a 24. He then danced a Mambo against all couples and was eliminated 6th receiving 7 points for a total of 31/40. The following week, he danced a Quickstep which he quotes "was one of the worst moments of my life" and scored 24 and a Team Tango along with Joanna Krupa and Kelly Osbourne and received 28/30 and the encore. In the 8th week of competition, Osmond was required to dance a Ballroom and decade-themed Latin dance. His Ballroom Viennese Waltz received 26 but his 1980's themed Paso Doble received 24 being quoted by judge Len Goodman as "the most scariest, bizarre Paso Doble we've ever seen" being awarded last place on the judges' leaderboard for the first time. Following that week, he danced a Tango and got advice from past runner-up Gilles Marini. He got tangled in Johnson's dress and received 21 and saying the cause was that "I saw Marie". He then danced a samba to a song originally recorded by his brothers and himself called "One Bad Apple", receiving 26 and a Jitterbug scored 27. He once again was scored last place. For the finals week, he danced a Cha-Cha-Cha (27), a Megamix dance alongside Mya and Kelly Osbourne (28), the only perfect-scoring Freestyle (30) and a repeat of his Argentine Tango (30) and won. As he accepted his trophy, he hugged fellow finalist Mya and grabbed sister Marie on stage.

Other projects

Donny and Marie were part of a Pepsi Twist commercial in 2006 with the Osbourne family. Osmond appeared in the North American version commercial for the PlayStation 2 video game Buzz! the Mega Quiz.

Donny and Marie began a six month run as the new headlining act at the Flamingo hotel in Las Vegas, on September 9, 2008. On October 27, 2008, the Flamingo announced that Donny and Marie's contract had been extended until October 2010. Then on July 30, 2009, Donny & Marie made an announcement on NBC's Today Show that they had again extended their contract to go until October 2012.

On the 15th December 2009, he appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show, along with his sister, Marie, being interviewed by the Channel 4 resident dinner lady, Susan.

Image struggle

Osmond states that he has had a tremendous public image struggle since Donny & Marie ended in 1979. He has been described as "unhip", as a "boy scout", and has been the butt of innumerable jokes, including appearing in "White and Nerdy" because Yankovic said he was the whitest guy he could think of. His image has seemed such a liability that one professional publicist even suggested that Osmond purposefully get arrested for drug possession in order to change his image. In March 2010, Osmond criticized Lady Gaga and Beyoncé for using profanity and sex in their Telephone video.

Personal life

Osmond married Debra Glenn on May 8, 1978, at the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. Together they have five sons: Donald Clark Osmond, Jr. (b. July 31, 1979), Jeremy James Osmond (b. June 8, 1981), Brandon Michael Osmond (b. January 29, 1985), Christopher Glenn Osmond (b. December 12, 1990), and Joshua Davis Osmond (b. February 16, 1998).

Osmond became a grandfather on August 21, 2005, when his second son Jeremy and daughter-in-law Melisa (married 2002) had a son, Dylan James Osmond. His granddaughter Emery Anne was born on February 25, 2008. Osmond's third son Brandon married Shelby Hansen in 2008. Their son, Daxton Michael was born on June 28, 2010. Donny's son, Don Osmond Jr, married Jessica Nelson on October 2, 2010, in Salt Lake City, Utah at a ceremony in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.

Like the rest of his family, he is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In retrospect, he has written, "It would have been nice to be able to have served a regular full-time mission, but when I was of that age, my career was such that everyone, including my parents and the leaders of the church, thought that I could do a lot of good in the world by continuing being in the public eye, by living an exemplary life and sharing my beliefs in every way that I could". He continues sharing his beliefs in an extensive letters-and-comments portion of his website.

In the aftermath of Proposition 8 in California, which received large Mormon support, Osmond stated that he opposes same-sex marriage but that he condemns homophobia. He believes that homosexual and lesbian Mormons should be accepted in the church if they remain celibate.

He has stated on his website that:

Discography

References

External links

Interview on Reel.com

Donny Osmond Interview on Fox News Radio

Donny Osmond in I Dreamed A Dream: The Susan Boyle Story

Osmondheaven Popular Fan Site

Category:1957 births Category:Actors from Utah Category:American film actors Category:American game show hosts Category:American Latter Day Saints Category:American pop singers

Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:MGM Records artists Category:Musicians from Utah Category:People from Ogden, Utah Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:Dancing with the Stars (US TV series) participants Category:Reality show winners Category:American child singers Category:American musical theatre actors Category:The Osmonds members

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Daniel (, meaning "My judge [is] God") is the central protagonist of the Book of Daniel. According to the biblical book, at a young age Daniel was carried off to Babylon where he became famous for interpreting dreams and rose to become one of the most important figures in the court.

Daniel's life.

The following is a summary of the biblical Book of Daniel

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim (BC 606), Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the young Jewish nobility carried off to Babylon. The four were chosen for their intellect and beauty to be trained as advisors to the Babylonian court,() Daniel was given the name Belteshazzar, i.e., prince of Bel, or Bel protect the king!(not to be confused with the neo-Babylonian king, Belshazzar). Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given the Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, respectively. At the close of his three years of discipline and training in the royal schools Daniel was brought out into public life. He soon became known for his skill in the interpretation of dreams (; ). Daniel made known and interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream; as well as a later dream preceding the king's descent into animal behaviour, and many years afterwards, when he was now an old man, amid the alarm and consternation of the terrible night of Belshazzar's impious feast (in which Belshazzar and his concubines drank wine out of the royal Jewish ceremonial goblets of the Temple), Daniel was called in at the suggestion of the queen-mother to interpret the mysterious handwriting on the wall. For successfully reading the cryptic handwriting by an angel of God, Daniel was rewarded by the Babylonians with a purple robe and elevation to the rank of "third ruler" of the kingdom. It is believed that the place of "second ruler" was held by Belshazzar as associated with his father, Nabonidus, on the throne (), though no where in the book of Daniel is Nabonidus mentioned by name and according to the book of Daniel Nebuchadnezzar was the father of Belshazzar. Nabonidus left Babylon in his son Belshazzar's care when he fled because of his refusal to accept the role of Marduk as the prime diety. The Hebrew word translated in the book of Daniel as "son" can mean any descendant. Belshazzar was actually the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel interpreted the handwriting, and "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain".

After the Persian conquest of Babylon, Daniel held the office of the first of the "three presidents" of the empire under the reign of Darius the Mede, and was thus practically at the head of state affairs, with the ability to influence the prospects of the captive Jews (), whom he had at last the happiness of seeing restored to their own land; although he did not return with them, but remained still in Babylon.

, R.A. (1840-1920), 1890 Manchester Art Gallery.]]

Daniel's fidelity to God exposed him to persecution by jealous rivals within the king's administration. The fact that he had just interpreted the emperors' dream had resulted in his promotion and that of his companions. Being favored by the King, Cyrus the Great, he was untouchable. His companions were vulnerable to the accusation that had them thrown into the furnace for refusing to worship the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar as a god; but they were miraculously saved, and Daniel would years later be cast into a den of lions (for continuing to practice his faith in YHWH), but was miraculously delivered; after which Cyrus issued a decree enjoining reverence for "the God of Daniel" (). He "prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Great," whom he probably greatly influenced in the matter of the decree which put an end to the Jewish Captivity (BC 536).

Daniel's ministry as a prophet began late in life. Whereas his early exploits were a matter of common knowledge within his community, these same events, with his pious reputation, serve as the basis for his prophetic ministry. The recognition for his prophetic message is that of other prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel whose backgrounds are the basis for their revelations.

The time and circumstances of Daniel's death have not been recorded. However, tradition maintains that Daniel was still alive in the third year of Cyrus according to the Tanakh (). He would have been almost 100 years old at that point, having been brought to Babylon when he was in his teens, more than 80 years previously. Many posit that he possibly died at Susa in Iran. Tradition holds that his tomb is located in Susa at a site known as Shush-e Daniyal. Other locations have been claimed as the site of his burial, including Daniel's Tomb in Kirkuk, Iraq, as well as Babylon, Egypt, Tarsus and, notably, Samarkand, which claims a tomb of Daniel (see "The Ruins of Afrasiab" in the Samarkand article), with some traditions suggesting that his remains were removed, perhaps by Tamerlane, from Susa to Samarkand (see, for instance, Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, section 153).

Apocalypse

From Chapter 7 to the end of the book of Daniel, an apocalyptic vision is being described, supposedly from the perspective of Daniel. In the Book of Daniel, the name is spelled with a middle letter suggesting the i of that name — but this letter is not included in Ezekiel, suggesting that the reference there may be to another person, possibly the "Danel" ("Judgement of God") known from Caananite Ugaritic literature (such as the Epic of Aqhat and Anat), whose reputation for wisdom and righteousness had made him legendary. (Vowel-points were not added to the consonantal Hebrew text before well into the Common Era, and the scribes may then have slipped in a vowel-point for "i" as a middle syllable.)

Habakkuk

In the Deuterocanonical portion of Daniel known as Bel and the Dragon, the prophet Habakkuk is miraculously transported by an angel to take a meal to Daniel while he is in the lions' den. In response, Daniel prays, "Thou hast remembered me, O God; neither hast thou forsaken them that seek Thee and love Thee".

Tomb

, Iran.]] There are six different locations claiming to be the site of the tomb of the biblical figure Daniel: Babylon, Kirkuk and Muqdadiyah in Iraq, Susa and Malamir in Iran, and Samarkand in Uzbekistan.

Liturgical commemorations

On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, the feast days celebrating St. Daniel the Prophet together with the Three Young Men, falls on December 17 (during the Nativity Fast), on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (the Sunday which falls between 11 and 17 December), and on the Sunday before Nativity. Daniel's prophesy regarding the stone which smashed the idol () is often used in Orthodox hymns as a metaphor for the Incarnation: the "stone cut out" being symbolic of the Logos (Christ), and the fact that it was cut "without hands" being symbolic of the virgin birth. Thus the hymns will refer to the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) as the "uncut mountain"

In the West, the Roman Catholic Church commemorates Daniel on July 21.

He is commemorated as a prophet in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod together with the Three Young Men (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), on December 17.

He is commemorated as a prophet in the Coptic Church on the 23rd day of the Coptic month of Baramhat.

Rabbinic literature

Modern Usage

Daniel is a very common and popular name nowadays in a variety of countries, notably those with a Judeo-Christian heritage. Usually used as a first name, it is followed by a last name.

Daniel in Islam

Muslims traditionally consider Daniel (Arabic: دانيال, Danyal) as an Islamic prophet, alongside the other major prophets of the Old Testament, namely Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Although he is not mentioned in the Qur'an, there are a few Hadith which bear his name and which refer to his time spent in the den of the lions. There are debates, however, that go on about Daniel's time of preaching and some Muslims believe that he was not a prophet but a saintly man.

See also

Islamic view of Daniel

Tanakh

Prophecy

Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon

Book of Daniel (book of the Bible)

List of names referring to El

Persian Jews

References

External links

Translated Inscriptions of Nabonidus (ANET)

Book of Daniel (Biblical Passage)

Daniel by Rob Bradshaw Detailed dictionary-style article.

Daniel in the TaNaKh Detailed authorized Jewish translation of the original

Who is Ezekiel's Daniel? : The Ugaritic Danel

An exposition of the book of Daniel

Daniel 11 in Context Overview of the allusions to the Syrian Wars in Daniel 11

Category:Hebrew Bible people Category:Jewish writers Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:Prophets in Christianity Category:Prophets of Islam Category:Year of death missing Category:Book of Daniel

Artem Chigvintsev (; born circa 1982) is a Russian professional dancer, born at Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic, RSFSR, Soviet Union, specialising in Latin dancing.

He came to the United States in 2003, and began dancing with champion ballroom dancer Giselle Peacock, who became his wife. Through this relationship he gained his Green Card, but the couple separated eight months later when he auditioned to appear as a contestant on the first series of So You Think You Can Dance. Chigvintsev was eliminated alongside his fellow contestant Melissa Vella, and became an assistant choreographer for season two.

He also made an appearance on Dancing with the Stars . While working on the show, Chigvintsev met and began dating Carrie Ann Inaba, one of the judges, but their relationship ended in 2008 after two and a half years.

Chigvintsev joined the cast of Burn The Floor, the worldwide dancing phenomenon that was first performed at Elton John's 50th birthday party. He performed both on Broadway and more recently in the West End, but was forced to rapidly return to the US in August 2010 after being threatened with deportation due to immigration laws stating that he cannot work more than 20 hours a week in a second job. As he was wanted for the West End musical for 38 hours on top of his Strictly schedule, he had to leave his role in the production.

He participated in the 2010 series of the UK dance show Strictly Come Dancing, dancing with Kara Tointon. The pair went on to win the competition, beating Matt Baker and Aliona Vilani in the second stage of the final. After their victory it was announced by Kara that she and Artem were a couple.

References

External links

Artem Chigvintsev on Myspace

Artem Chigvintsev on Twitter

Category:Living people Category:Russian dancers Category:Russian ballroom dancers Category:Strictly Come Dancing participants Category:Russian immigrants to the United States