REVIA Magazine Issue #11

destiny – to prolong our bloodline
and give our kids everything we have.
Not only in a material sense, but in
an emotional, spiritual and cultural
way. And the love…it’s unconditional,
deep and very overwhelming. The
amount of love you feel – it’s an
incredible feeling, and you never
imagine you could love someone like
that. This is a completely different
kind of love. So that was a surprise
too!
REVIA: How did you get started in
dancing – and are you and Alec
currently dancing?
EDYTA ŚLIWIŃSKA: It’s funny –
no one else in my family dances
professionally, but I heard my
Babcia was really good at dancing;
best dancer in the village! [Laughs].
Actually, in my family, I’m the
only one who pursued dancing
professionally.
I always loved dancing and
performing, and as a girl I would
perform in front of my family and
friends. When I was 10, I signed up
for a dance class at school, and just
got deeper and deeper into dancing
until I fell in love with it! My first
partner wasn’t really into it. He
danced because I think he liked me
[Laughs]. Well, he realized quickly
that I was serious about dancing –
and didn’t want to just hang out.
Eventually, I found a partner equally
involved in dancing and we started
competing at regional competitions,
then later traveling to compete in
different countries. I started out
taking class 2 days a week, which
turned into almost every day, for
very many hours. But because I
loved it, it seemed very natural.
Alec and I still love doing show
dances. We’ve even produced
Broadway-style performances
and corporate events. I produced
the show, Dancing Pros Live, a
competition held on stage where the
best pro dancers battle it out and
the audience chooses the winner –
right from their seat! So we are on
the other side of the entertainment
industry now, but still perform
occasionally. We’ll be in Chicago
performing at the Harvest Moon Ball
Dance Championships in October.
But in general, we are rather at the
end of our careers as competitive
dancers.
REVIA: How did you initially land a
spot on Dancing with the Stars?
EDYTA ŚLIWIŃSKA: Some of the
professional dancers on Strictly
Come Dancing were personal friends
of ours, so it was easy to find out
where to send our resumes and
audition videos. We knew a lot about
the show and so when we heard it’s
going to be produced in America,
we thought it would be a good idea
to try. I was 25 at the time, and Alec
and I were at the point in our careers
where we were unsure if we wanted
to stick with competitive dancing.
We both loved performing and
thought DWTS would be something
different since it’s still a competition,
but the main focus is on celebrity
performances. The opportunity really
came at the perfect moment; we were
both invited to audition and got on
the first season of DWTS. That’s how
it all started. I did 10 seasons of the
show, and got along with everyone
very well. I had the opportunity to
dance with some great people like
Miami Dolphins football player,
Jason Taylor, and Cameron Mathison
from the fifth season, who was a lot
of fun – very energetic and positive.
One of the blessings of the show is
you get to meet so many different
and unique people.
But, dancing is a profession that
22 revia reviamagazine.com #11, #10, 2015