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Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin
Petra Nemcova
"The Super Model Survivor"
PRO DANCER PARTNER: Dmitry Chaplin
Born and raised in Karvina, in the Czech Republic, Petra Nemcova took the modeling world by storm after being discovered by a modeling scout on the streets of her native country. She has graced the pages and covers of magazines such as Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Shape, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.
In 2004, Petra suffered a broken pelvis and severe internal injuries while on vacation in Thailand during the devastating Tsunami. After her recovery, she created the "Happy Hearts Fund" (www.happyheartsfund.org), a charitable organization and campaign dedicated to improving children's lives through education and sustainable programs in natural disaster areas.
Happy Hearts Fund, since its inception in 2006, has rebuilt 47 schools and kindergartens, with eight currently on their way, and has presence in nine countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Sri Lanka, Haiti, India, Chile and Hurricane Katrina-affected areas of the United States. 100 percent of all donations received are directed to children's programming.
Petra has obviously stepped up to great challenges in the past. Now she'll have one more to embrace as she takes to the stage on Dancing With The Stars!
Photo Credit: 2010 Wire Image
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Dmitry Chaplin
CELEBRITY PARTNER: Petra Nemcova
BACKGROUND:
We first saw this young pro transition from So You Think You Can Dance to DWTS two seasons ago, when he was paired up with Holly Madison. Now he's shuffling back for more action in Season 12!
Dmitry's ballroom dancing career began at the age of 12 in his home town of Rostov–on-Don in Russia. His perfect combination of technique and performance soon got him noticed by judges and teachers in his home country.
After moving to the United States, his commitment to dance brought him to work with some of the best coaches in the ballroom world, including Louis Van Amstel and Shirley Ballas. Dmitry studied in both America and the United Kingdom, and began representing the U.S. at famous ballroom competitions around the world as one of the best dancers in the Under 21 division.
In 2006, Dmitry's dance career took a different course when he joined the cast of the hit TV show So You Think You Can Dance. He became one of the Top 10 dancers, representing the ballroom world and establishing himself as an audience favorite. In the following season, Dmitry was invited back to choreograph for the show both in the U.S and for its international versions.
Dmitry became the winner in the 2002 English Open Championships and a semi-finalist in the 2003 International Open to the World.
That same year, Dmitry became the Open to the World Grandprix Champion (held in Tokyo) and was a semi finalist in the Dutch Open World Championships. In 2006 he was invited to represent the United States in the U.S. National Championships where he became a finalist.
Dmitry also performed in the 2008 Idol Gives Back fundraiser for American Idol, and served as a judge the Broadway Dreams Dance Competition in Canada that same year.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
Ohio Star Ball Latin Finalist 2005 U.S. National Finalist 2006
PRIOR CELEBRITY PARTNER:
• Mya
• Holly Madison
ABC
