Carrie Ann at nationals 2009

Carrie Ann Inaba, current judge on Dancing With the Stars will be judging at the USA Dance 2009 National DanceSport Championships.

by: Erica Colvin

hrough the years USA Dance has worked closely with ABC (America’s Broadcasting Company), pro- Tviding over 100 auditions for the kids’ competition on Dancing With the Stars. In fact, many of the pros from Dancing With the Stars started out as USA Dance members. Carrie Ann Inaba has been there for it all, encouraging young dancers who dream of becoming stars.

Now, USA Dance has announced that celebrity judge, Carrie Ann Inaba, will be judging at the Nationals competi- tion in Baltimore, M.D.

USA Dance DanceSport VP, Ken Richards, met Inaba on the set of Dancing With the Stars, and issued the invitation.

“I was thrilled to be so warmly received by her. Once she heard the credentials of USA Dance she wanted to be a part of it. She has such a strong affinity for working with chil- dren and an excitement for ballroom dancing to become an Olympic sport. She was very giving of her time and inter- est,” Richards said. “We have a great deal of respect for her as a keen eye and a trained dancer. Having someone of her celebrity stature, credentials and developed eye will be a great asset to our judging panel.”

Inaba joins the line-up of many prominent judges such as Jennifer Booth, Richard Booth, Wayne Crowder, Melissa Dexter, Esther Don, Olga Foraponova, Tonja Garamella, Judi Hatton, Paul Holmes, Stephan Krauel, Gary McDonald, Polina Pilipenchuk, Victoria Regan, Marco Sietas, Forrest Vance, Glenn Weiss and Lori Woods-Gay. Dan Calloway will Photo By Guiliano Bekor be acting as Chair of Adjudicators.

24 On Beat Dancing with the Stars pannal of Juges(Left) Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli Photo © (ABC/Craig Sjodin) © (ABC/Craig Photo

Although most of America knows Carrie Ann Inaba Ricky Martin, David Copperfield, Chayanne, and has from her participation on ABC’s hit show Dancing With made appearances on many shows and films most nota- the Stars, Inaba’s impressive career began much earlier. bly, in Austin Powers III: Goldmember.

According to the International movie database, Carrie Ann has been working in television staging Inaba was born in Honolulu, . Inaba was very and choreographing the majority of the most popular musically talented at an early age and grew up danc- reality shows. She is a go to resource in the community ing the hula among other dance styles. She also played of television for dance related productions. She has the piano, violin, sang in the choir and wrote staged and choreographed such shows music. as: , TV Land Awards, Miss America, World Super Models At age 16, Inaba and a close Live, America’s Got Talent, So friend won the Hawaii statewide You Think You Can Dance. She competition, “Search for Talent.” even staged a small section on After this incredible perfor- Dancing With the Stars when mance, Inaba was discovered by it first began. a scout and offered the chance to go to Japan and become a Carrie Ann also di- “Teen Idol.” Inaba is of Japanese, rected the first ever Dancing Chinese and Irish descent. With The Stars National Tour and co-conceived the format Inaba released three singles with which continues to be the base of Pony Canyon Records while attending the tour that thrills packed arenas to Sophia University. Inaba stayed in Tokyo, this day. Japan for two years learning about the entertain- ment industry and performing. However, she returned to Most recently, Carrie Ann co-hosted the premiere the United States and moved to California. ABC special: The American Music Awards Red Carpet: LIVE, where she brought her fun attitude and knowledge Her talent soon caught the eye of a producer who of- of the music business to the red carpet. She has also co fered her a spot in a music video. Her career only gained hosted on Extra, and in the past. momentum from there. If you haven’t made plans to attend Nationals in Her dancing opportunities include dancing for the Baltimore Apr. 3-5, 2009, now is your chance. Check out Emmy Award-winning television show, “In Living Color.” www.carrieanninaba.tv for more info about our newest Inaba has also performed with top artists like , Nationals judge. Circular Photo courtesy of Ken Richards, In photo: Roseanna and Ken Richards with Carrie Ann www.USADANCE.ORG January - February 25