Dancing with the Stars cast members Alec Mazo and Edyta Sliwinska, whose 2007 wedding with each other was celebrated in People magazine, opened up Genesis Dance Sport Studio to share their expertise with kids and adults. Before stepping into the role of business owner, Sliwinska found success on the international dance circuit and in TV commercials in her native Poland before meeting the Russian-born Mazo at a ballroom-dance competition in England. The duo danced together for years at national and international events before skyrocketing to fame on the popular ABC dance show where Mazo won the first season's competition with General Hospital star Kelly Monaco. Sliwinska has twirled with a slew of celebrities—including Evander Holyfield and Joey Lawrence—during her 10 glamorous seasons with the show. The husband-and-wife team has also produced the instructional DVDs “Dancing like the Pros” and “Fitness with the Pros," which help people improve their moves and become agile enough to solve a Rubik's Cube with their feet.
Sliwinska currently acts as both an instructor and the creative director of the studio, which is a welcoming, down-to-earth space that Mazo's parents originally opened in 1994. Here, she and the other experienced instructors boost students' self-confidence and social skills as they teach them the cha-cha, rumba, and swing. Many of their students have even gone on to garner accomplishments within the dance industry. The studio also offers courses for weddings and dance-based fitness classes that combine ballroom moves with plyometric training and yoga.
