Len Goodman
Goodman in 2007
Born	Leonard Gordon Goodman (1944-04-25) April 25, 1944 (age 68) Bethnal Green, London, England
Occupation	Television personality, dance teacher, dancer
Years active	1963–present
Spouse	Sue Goodman

Leonard Gordon 'Len' Goodman (born 25 April 1944)^[1] is a British professional ballroom dancer, dance judge, and coach. He is a leading personality on television dance programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars and runs a ballroom dance school in Dartford, Kent.^[2]

Early life and career[link]

Goodman was born in Bethnal Green,^[3] the son of Louisa (née Eldridge) and Len Goodman.^[4] He moved to Blackfen near Welling (then in Kent) when he was six years old and attended Westwood Secondary Modern School where he was a member of the cricket team.^[5] He started dancing at the age of 19 after a short time as an apprentice welder (for Harland and Wolff in Woolwich). He tried dancing only in an attempt to recover from a foot injury sustained while playing football.^[3] He turned professional, won various competitions, and retired from dancing after winning the British Championships at Blackpool in his late twenties.^[3] He is a recipient of the Carl Alan Award, in recognition of outstanding contributions to dance. In 2006 and 2007, he was nominated for the Emmy Award in the Outstanding Reality/Competition Program category.^[1]

As of 2011, he appears as head judge on the television dance competition Strictly Come Dancing for the BBC in the UK and one of three judges on its American adaptation, Dancing with the Stars. He has appeared in all series of each programme since 2004 and 2005 respectively.

In October 2011 Goodman appeared on the 2011 series of the UK's celebrity genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?,^[6] in which he discovered that one of his maternal ancestors was a silk-weaver who died a pauper in the Bethnal Green workhouse. His great great grandfather Wincenty Sosnowski came from Poland,^[7] where he fought for freedom in the anti-tsarist November Uprising^[8] for which he was awarded Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage.^[9]

For the 100th anniversary of the voyage and sinking of RMS Titanic, Goodman hosted a three-part BBC One documentary, shown from 30 March - 9 April 2012. It capitalises on his experience as a welder at Harland and Wolff. It was broadcast in the United States by PBS.^[10] Len interviewed descendants of survivors and introduced viewers to memorials and significant sites in the United Kingdom.

Len Goodman on the cover of Dartford Living, October 2008

Personal life[link]

He married his dancing partner Cherry Kingston on 27 April 1972, but they were later divorced.^[11] He has a son, James William Goodman (born 1981)^[2] who is currently teaching dance at the Goodman Dance Centre. His second wife Lesley (mother of James) also taught dancing at his dance schools in Dartford and Gravesend. He is currently married to his third wife, Sue,^[11] who is 37 years his junior. He appeared on the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs in June 2011.

Goodman is a staunch West Ham United fan and was featured on the BBC football magazine show Football Focus on 26 September 2009.^[12]

Goodman was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March 2009,^[13] which was treated surgically at a London hospital.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Len Goodman

• Official website
• James Goodman Dance Website
• Goodman bio at his own Len Goodman's Best Of... site
• Goodman bio at BBC site
• Goodman bio at ABC's Dancing with the Stars site
• Interview with Len Goodman in local Dartford Living Magazine
• Len Goodman at the Internet Movie Database
• Len offers his advice on public speaking from BBC2's The Speaker
• Goodman celebrates 25 years hosting competitions at Pontin's

Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Maksim Chmerkovskiy on May 2, 2007
Born	Maksim Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy (1980-01-17) January 17, 1980 (age 32) Odessa, Ukraine
Occupation	Dancer Choreographer Instructor

Maksim (Maks) Aleksandrovich Chmerkovskiy (Ukrainian: Максим Олекса́ндрович Чмерковський, Maksym Oleksándrovych Čmerkovsʹkyj, pronounced [mɑkˈsɪm olɛkˈsɑndroβ̞ɪtʃ ˈtʃmɛrkou̯sʲkɪj]; Russian: Максим Александрович Чмерковский; born January 17, 1980) is a Ukrainian-American Latin Ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. He is best known as one of the professional dancers on the American television series Dancing with the Stars, on which he first appeared in season two. In his ten appearances on the show, Chmerkovskiy has made it to the final round four times, with two runner-up and two third place finishes.

Early life[link]

Born on January 17, 1980, in Odessa (Ukraine) to Aleksandr and Larisa Chmerkovskiy, he began dancing at the age of four. His brother, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, is also a champion dancer.^[1] His father is Jewish and his mother is Christian.^[2][3] Chmerkovskiy's Ukrainian heritage was referenced on an episode of Dancing with the Stars.^[4]

The challenges of immigration for Chmerkovskiy and his family included financial and language barriers. A skiing accident as a child broke Chmerkovskiy's right leg. Doctors informed him that there would be difficulties with his leg and that dancing might not be possible.^[5] He made a successful recovery and went on to become a professional Latin Ballroom dancer.

Chmerkovskiy owns four dance studios in the New York City area, one of which is the Rising Stars Dance Academy (RSDA).^[6] The other three studios are social dance studios located in Ridgefield, New Jersey, and Glen Head, New York, as well as the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan. He has been a resident of Edgewater, New Jersey.^[7]

Chmerkovskiy is one of the creators and directors of Dance Team USA, a non-profit educational and charitable organization dedicated to recruiting, supporting, and training future DanceSport participants. This sport is particularly popular with Eastern European families. Through his company Maksim Chmerkovskiy Productions, he organizes performances globally.

A ballroom and DanceSport choreographer, among his professional works is the Wynn Las Vegas's water-based show Le Rêve.^[8] He implemented ballroom-inspired numbers in the Franco Dragone production.

[edit] Dancing with the Stars

Chmerkovskiy first appeared in the 2nd season of the ABC series Dancing with the Stars partnered with actress Tia Carrere. They finished in sixth place. The following season, he and partner singer Willa Ford came in seventh place. Chmerkovskiy returned to Dancing with the Stars in March 2007 for Season 4, this time partnered with boxer Laila Ali, the daughter of Muhammad Ali. They made it to the finals and finished in third place. In Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars, he was partnered with Mel B and had his best finish to date; the couple received second place. Chmerkovskiy did not participate in Season 6, although he and former partner Mel B made an appearance for the 100th episode.

He returned for the show's 7th season, this time paired with two-time Olympic volleyball gold medalist, Misty May-Treanor. Chmerkovskiy and May-Treanor were forced to withdraw from the competition in Week 3 on October 6, 2008. During a practice for their jive, May-Treanor ruptured her Achilles tendon and required surgery. Her withdrawal gave them a finish in tenth place.

On February 9, 2009, on Good Morning America it was announced that he would be paired with Denise Richards for the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars. They were eliminated second in the competition, on March 24, 2009, giving the pair a finish of 12th place. In the ninth season, he was paired with actress Debi Mazar, during which they were eliminated 4th. In season 10, Chmerkovskiy, returning for his 8th season, was partnered with Erin Andrews.^[9] They ended up coming in 3rd place during the two hour finale on May 25, 2010.

For season 11, Chmerkovskiy partnered with singer and actress, Brandy. They made it to the semi-finals but were eliminated on November 16, 2010, giving them a 4th place finish.^[10] For Season 12, he was paired with actress Kirstie Alley. On week 3, his leg gave out causing her to fall heavily on him, earning 21 out of 30. The next week, Alley's shoe fell off during their routine. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba called Alley The Queen of the Unexpected Mishap; they earned 22 out of a possible score of 30. They made it to the finals and finished in second place.

For season 13, he was partnered with Hope Solo and they finished in 4th place.

For season 14, he is partnered with actress Melissa Gilbert. In week 4, while performing the paso doble, Gilbert hit her head on the dance floor and suffered a mild concusion. She was rushed to the hospital and was unable to be at the results show the following night due to recovering. The couple was called safe. Chmerkovskiy also suffered a injury. He pulled a muscle in his shoulder. However, he told host Tom Bergeron on the results show that he was okay. The couple was eliminated four weeks later, finishing in 5th place.

Dancing With the Stars performances[link]

• Season 4 - With celebrity partner: Laila Ali (Average - 27.0)

• Season 5 - With celebrity partner: Mel B (Average - 27.6)

• Season 7 - With celebrity partner: Misty May-Treanor (Average - 21.0)

• Season 8 - With celebrity partner: Denise Richards (Average - 18.3)

• Season 9 - With celebrity partner: Debi Mazar (Average - 18.0)

• Score was awarded by stand in judge Baz Luhrmann.

• Season 10 - With celebrity partner: Erin Andrews (Average - 25.1)

• Season 11 - With celebrity partner: Brandy (Average - 26.3)

• Season 12 - With celebrity partner: Kirstie Alley (Average - 24.7)

• Season 13 - With celebrity partner: Hope Solo

• Season 14 - With celebrity partner: Melissa Gilbert

Dancing titles[link]

• 2005 Yankee Classic Professional Latin Champion^[11]
• 2005 Blackpool Dance Festival Semi-Finalist
• 2004 Manhattan Dancesport Professional Latin Champion
• 2004 Nevada Star Ball Champion
• 2004 World Masters Finalist
• 2004 Moscow Kremlin Cup Finalist
• 2004 Philadelphia Dancesport Festival Champion
• 2003 All England Champion
• 2003 Ohio Star Ball Latin Champion
• 2003 La Classique du Quebec Champion

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Maksim Chmerkovskiy web site

Chaz Bono
Chaz Bono, 2010
Born	Chastity Sun Bono (1969-03-04) March 4, 1969 (age 43) Los Angeles, California, US
Other names	Chaz Salvatore Bono
Occupation	Writer, musician, activist
Years active	1972–present
Known for	Sonny & Cher's only child together, LGBT activism, writing
Parents	Sonny Bono, Cher

Chaz Salvatore Bono^[1] (born Chastity Sun Bono; March 4, 1969) is an American transgender advocate, writer, and musician. He is the only child of American entertainers Sonny and Cher, though each had children from other relationships.^[2][3] Bono is a transgender man.

In 1995, after several years of being outed as lesbian by the tabloid press, he publicly self-identified as such in a cover story in a leading American gay monthly magazine, The Advocate. Bono went on to discuss the process of coming out to oneself and to others in two books. Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families (1998) includes his coming out account. The memoir, The End of Innocence (2003) discusses his outing, music career, and partner Joan's death from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.^[4]

Between 2008 and 2010, he underwent female-to-male gender transition. A two-part Entertainment Tonight feature in June 2009 explained that his transition had started a year before.^[5] In May 2010, he legally changed his gender and name.^[6] A documentary on Bono's experience, Becoming Chaz, was screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and later made its television debut on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.^[7]

Early life[link]

Bono is the only child of Cher and Sonny Bono of the pop duo Sonny & Cher, stars of a TV variety show on which the young child often appeared. Bono was named Chastity Sun Bono after the film Chastity, which was produced by Sonny and in which Cher (in her first feature film) played a bisexual woman.^[8]

Bono came out to both parents as lesbian at age 18. In Family Outing, Bono wrote that, "as a child, I always felt there was something different about me. I'd look at other girls my age and feel perplexed by their obvious interest in the latest fashion, which boy in class was the cutest, and who looked the most like cover girl Christie Brinkley. When I was 13, I finally found a name for exactly how I was different. I realized I was gay."^[9]

Ceremony[link]

Bono began a short music career with the band Ceremony,^[4] which released one album, Hang Out Your Poetry, in 1993. The band featured Bono on vocals, acoustic guitar, and percussion. Other members were Steve March Tormé (backup vocals), Heidi Shink a.k.a. Chance, Pete McRae, Steve Bauman, Louis Ruiz, and Bryn Mathieu. All but one of the band's songs were written or co-written by Bono, Shink, and Mark Hudson. They used no synthesizers or digital effects on the album; Shink noted, "We turned our back on technology. [ ... ] It's reminiscent of the 60s, but more a tip of the hat than emulating it. We took the music we love and rejuvenated it, made it 90's."^[10]

The song "Could've Been Love" was released as a single from the album. The album's other tracks are "Goodbye Sunshine", "Steal Your Heart", "Day by Day", "Ready for Love", "Ready for Love (Refrain)", "Hang Out Your Poetry", "Turn It Over", "Trust", "2 of 1", "First Day of My Life", "Breathless", "Living in a Paradise", and "Livin' It Up". Sonny and Cher recorded backing vocals (uncredited) for the last song.

LGBT activism[link]

In April 1995, Bono came out as lesbian in an interview with The Advocate, a national gay and lesbian magazine.^[11] The 1998 book Family Outing detailed how Bono's coming out "catapulted me into a political role that has transformed my life, providing me with affirmation as a lesbian, as a woman, and as an individual."^[12] In the same book, Bono reported that Cher, who was both a gay icon and ally to LGBT communities, was quite uncomfortable with the news at first, and "went ballistic"^[13] before coming to terms with it: "By August 1996, one year after I came out publicly, my mother had progressed so far that she agreed to 'come out' herself on the cover of The Advocate as the proud mother of a lesbian daughter."^[12] Cher has since become an outspoken LGBT rights activist.

Bono's paternal relationship became strained after Sonny became a Republican Congressman from California. The differences in their political views separated them, and the two had not spoken for more than a year at the time of Sonny's fatal skiing accident in January 1998.^[11]

Bono worked as a writer at large for The Advocate.^[4] As a social activist, Bono became a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, promoted National Coming Out Day, campaigned for the reelection of Bill Clinton for US President, campaigned against the Defense of Marriage Act, and served as Entertainment Media Director for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).^[4] Bono was a team captain for Celebrity Fit Club 3 (2006) and was supported by girlfriend Jennifer Elia, who orchestrated exercise and training sessions.^[5][14]

Gender transition[link]

In mid-2008, Bono began undergoing a physical and social gender transition from female to male. This was confirmed in June 2009 by his publicist,^[5] who identified Bono's preferred name as Chaz Bono and said, "It is Chaz's hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his coming out did."^[15] GLAAD and the Empowering Spirits Foundation were quick to offer praise and support for the announcement.^[16] Bono's legal transition was completed on May 8, 2010, when a California court granted his request for a gender and name change. He chose the name "Chaz Salvatore Bono" in honor of his parents.^[6][17] Bono made Becoming Chaz, a documentary film about his gender transition that premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network acquired the rights to the documentary and debuted it on May 10, 2011.

In September 2011, he became a competitor on the 13th season of the US version of Dancing with the Stars, paired with professional ballroom dancer Lacey Schwimmer.^[18] The duo was eliminated October 25, 2011.^[19]

Bibliography[link]

• Family Outing (with Billie Fitzpatrick) (1998) ISBN 0-316-10233-4
• The End of Innocence: A Memoir (with Michele Kort) (2003) ISBN 1-55583-795-6
• Bono, Chaz, and Billie Fitzpatrick. Transition: the story of how I became a man. New York: Dutton, 2011. Print.

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• The Official Chaz Bono Website
• Chaz Bono at the Internet Movie Database
• Allmusic.com entry on Bono's band Ceremony

The Jive Aces
The Jive Aces in concert
Background information
Origin	Billericay, Essex, England
Genres	Jive Swing
Years active	1989—present
Labels	Right Recordings
Website	www.jiveaces.com
Members
Ian Clarkson – vocals, trumpet, ukulele Ken Smith – double bass Vince Hurley – piano Peter Howell – drums John Fordham – saxophone Alex Douglas – trombone, washboard, bongos, blues harp, kazoo, spoons, vuvuzela

The Jive Aces, winners of BBC TV's Opportunity Knocks,^[1] formed in 1989.^[2] They are a six-piece UK based, high energy,^[3][4] jive and swing band, who have many albums and singles to their name,^[5] and have performed at many music festivals.^[6][7][8] They received an award from the Variety Club of Great Britain for their charity work,^[9] and the City of Derry International Music Award in 2006.^[10] The band performs both cover versions and original material.^[11]

The Jive Aces played at the Berkeley Dress Show Ball in April 2010, and were featured in Hello! magazine. They also played at another prestigious society event, The Berkeley Square Ball, in 2009 and were pictured in OK! magazine with singer Rhyddian.

On 9 July 2010, the Jive Aces headlined at the first ever swing dance at the Royal Albert Hall. They played to approximately 1,400 dancers on the 5,000-square-foot (460 m²) dance floor, along side the Back To Basie Orchestra and Top Shelf Jazz.^[12]

In late August 2010, the Jive Aces performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in a show tributing one of their musical heros, Louis Prima. They had special guests, Keely Smith and Toni Elizabeth Prima, perform with them (Louis Prima's ex-wife and daughter respectively) and gained a five star review from Edinburgh Spotlight.^[13]

The Jive Aces performed at the Cork Jazz Festival in October 2010 and were featured in five newspapers, including the front page of the national paper The Irish Examiner ^[14] and The Irish Times.^[15]

In Feb 2011 the Jive Aces toured the US again. They were in the LA area recording and performing in Hollywood, Pasadena and Cerritos also playing at the Macallum Center in Palm Dessert. In Cerritos they opened for the legendary Keely Smith, former wife and partner of the Las Vegas star Louis Prima followed by performances in the Washington DC area performing at the Dulles Hilton and the Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park before a sold out show at the Metropolitan Room in New York City.^[16]

The Jive Aces self produced a music video for their cover of the well known Morecambe and Wise theme song Bring Me Sunshine in a Louis Prima, jive style. Initially released on {{YouTube]] on March 17th 2011, it had over 50,000 views in the first week and as of March 2012 it has over 1.8 million views, it went on to win several awards at film festivals. ^[17] for the video and this was presented to them on stage by DJ and face of Vintage TV Mike Read at the Twinwood Festival on Sunday the 28th August 2011.

On the 17th July 2011, The Jive Aces played at London's famous jazz venue Ronnie Scotts for the first time and it was sold out.^[18] They have since performed two more times to sold out crowds.

On the 7th August 2011 the Jive Aces held their annual charity swing festival called Summertime Swing featuring guests including Toni Prima, the daughter of Louis Prima and Si Cranstoun. The event raised £7000 for the Sussex Air Ambulance.

Britain's Got Talent 2012[link]

In January 2012 The Jive Aces auditioned for Britiain's Got Talent in front of celebrity judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams (Amanda being away on maternity leave). The audition aired on week 6 of BGT on Saturday 29th April, 2012.^[19] The band's version of the Jungle Book classic, I Wanna Be Like You, was pronounced "abolutely brilliant" by cartoon-loving head judge Simon Cowell, adding: "100 per cent yes. Those guys have put me in a good mood." Fellow judge David Walliams agreed the Jive Aces should go through to the next round, declaring: "101 per cent yes". Alesha Dixon's verdict: "A massive yes from me, guys. You are through to the next round." ^[20][21][22]

Performing for HM the Queen[link]

On Tuesday the 15th May 2012 the Jive Aces performed for HM the Queen on her visit to Bromley as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations. They played a song they wrote for the occasion called Diamond Jubilee with the wartime female vocal duo the Swingtime Sweethearts. The song caught on and had the catchy chorus including "Everyone say thank you Ma'am, its the Diamond Jubilee!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_9aTE_HHBA http://www.london24.com/news/jive_aces_from_busking_in_romford_to_singing_for_the_queen_1_1383950

Promotion of Scientology[link]

The band have been known to perform up to 300 times a year,^[23] often promoting Scientology^[24] (sometimes controversially)^[25] or presenting an anti-drugs message.^[26] They have been noted for their energetic and confident performances, which they attribute to "workable solutions found in Scientology religious principles".^[25] The Jive Aces have supported the Church of Scientology's Say No To Drugs campaign since 1996,^[27] performing to shoppers in city centres throughout the UK,^[28] to give a message to young people that it is "not cool to take drugs", and to collect signatures on a petition asking MPs for more effective drug education in UK schools.^[29] In April 2012, the band lent their support to the Multi-Marathon for a Drug-Free UK, a 130-mile run from London to Brighton and back to promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle and introduce a drug education programme to towns and cities along the way, as it passed through Crawley, West Sussex.^[30]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• saynotodrugs.org.uk - Jive Aces Team up with Churches of Scientology to Say “NO” to Drugs