Anya Garnis



Anya Garnis (born 3rd January 1982) is a Russian-born Latin dancer from New York City, with eight years of formal training in Russia. She started dancing at the age of 9 and has reached the finals at the 2004 U.S. Open Ballroom Championship. She lists Mikhail Baryshnikov as her favorite professional dancer. Garnis was the only person in her family to ever dance worked in a law firm in Russia before moving to the United States in 2001 and has been dancing with partner and fellow finalist Pasha Kovalev for nine years. Although she has her ballroom costumes sewn by a dressmaker in New York City, Garnis designs them herself.

Garnis was the first contestant on Mary Murphy's "Hot Tamale Train" which is now a re-occurring theme on the show. Participating in the show at the age of 26 years old, Garnis was the oldest female competitor of her season where she was partnered with Danny Tidwell. She was eliminated after making it to the Top 12 in Season 3 of SYTYCD on July 19, 2007 but went on the tour as a special guest. In 2008, Garnis and Pasha Kovalev came in fifth in the American Ballroom Challenge finals. She and Pasha Kovalev appeared on the seventh season of the television show ''Dancing With The Stars. ''The results show performance had the couple dancing to "Come On Over" by Jessica Simpson. She also performed with Pasha on the international dance show "Superstars of Dance", representing Russia in the duet category. Anya Garnis is returning as an All-Star in Season 7.