Dancing with the Stars pros Anna Trebunskaya and Tristan

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dancing with the Stars pros Anna Trebunskaya and Tristan MacManus join WSO for Ballroom with a Twist, May 22-­‐24 Winnipeg, MB – April 28, 2015 – The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is pleased to close the 2014-­‐2015 season with Ballroom With A Twist celebrity pros Tristan MacManus and Anna Trebunskaya from ABC’s Dancing With The Stars for three WSO Air Canada Pops shows May 22-­‐
24. American Idol Finalists Gina Glocksen-­‐Ruzicka and Von Smith will join the high-­‐energy show as well as Finalists from So You Think You Can Dance. On Dancing With The Stars, Tristan MacManus has partnered with actress Pamela Anderson, TV personality Nancy Grace, singer Gladys Knight and Olympic champion Dorothy Hamill. He began dancing in his home of Dublin, Ireland before moving on to compete around Europe eventually winning numerous Juvenile, Junior and Amateur competitions. Anna Trebunskaya is one of the fan favourites on Dancing With The Stars for over 10 seasons and has danced with celebrities and athletes such as NFL greats Jerry Rice and Kurt Warner, Olympian Evan Lysacek, boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, UFC fighter Chuck Lidell, actor Steve Guttenberg, fashion guru Carson Cressley and soap opera legend Jack Wagner, and 98 Degrees heartthrob and Broadway actor Drew Lachey. The lively Ballroom With A Twist program will have the orchestra playing hits such as I Got Rhythm, You Can't Stop the Beat, Without Love, The Prayer, Feeling Good and many more as 15 incredible dancers from some of today’s top TV shows light up with stage with sizzling dance. Air Canada Pops Ballroom with a Twist Friday, May 22 -­‐ 8:00 PM Centennial Concert Hall Saturday, May 23 -­‐ 8:00 PM Sunday, May 24 -­‐ 2:00 PM Julian Pellicano, conductor Featuring Dancing With The Stars' Tristan MacManus & Anna Trebunskaya, Celebrity Pros Oksana Dmytrenko With American Idol Finalists Gina Glocksen-­‐Ruzicka & Von Smith And So You Think You Can Dance Finalists Legacy, Jonathan Platero, Jordan Casanova & Nick Garcia And Starring Yana Blinova, C J Bair, Amy Bennett, Patricia Kaniowski, Stephen McCann, Tony Pututau, Jana Sapir & Jaymz Tuaileva Lighting Designer & Production Manager: Michael White Dance Captain: Patricia Kaniowski Publicity: B. Harlan Boll, Lisa England, BHBPR Costumes By: Randall Designs Production Manager: Michael White Associate Producer: Christopher Powich Music Editor: Will Hollis Exclusive Tour Representation by Scott Stander & Associates, Inc. Pops Series Sponsor: Presenting Media Sponsor: Musicians In The Making Pre-­‐concert performance on the Piano Nobile Friday, 7:15 p.m. Beautiful Savior Lutheran School Saturday, 7:15 p.m. St. Germain Music Studio Sunday, 1:15 p.m. Jacqueline Ryz Piano Studio Tickets start at $25 and are available through the WSO Box Office: 204.949.3999 or wso.ca or Ticketmaster: 1.855.985.ARTS and Ticketmaster.ca Soundcheck tickets start at $15 and are available at the WSO Box Office: 204.949.3999 The WSO is integral to Winnipeg's rich cultural life, delighting more than 100,000 audience members each year with innovative programming and musical excellence. The WSO presents educational programs for more than 40,000 students annually and tours to communities across Manitoba. -­‐30-­‐ MEDIA: For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact: Sarah Panas, Marketing & Communications Coordinator p. (204) 949-­‐3970 f. (204) 956-­‐4271 e: spanas@wso.mb.ca ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES Tristan MacManus, Dancing With The Stars Celebrity Pro Tristan Macmanus is known throughout the US as one of the Professional Dancers on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars. He has partnered with actress Pamela Anderson, TV personality Nancy Grace, singer Gladys Knight and Olympic champion Dorothy Hamill Tristan began dancing in his home of Dublin, Ireland before moving on to compete around Europe eventually winning numerous Juvenile, Junior and Amateur competitions. After appearing in Ella Enchanted, he performed in theatre productions throughout Ireland, most notably in Cork City Opera House and The Gaiety Theatre, including Bryan Flynn's production of Oliver! and Aladdin, among others. Next, he joined the UK tour of Simply Ballroom and, after a successful tour in London and Las Vegas, went on to Australia and America where he toured as a featured dancer with Burn The Floor and Floorplay. After numerous world tours and a year teaching Ballroom and Latin dancing in Boston, he returned to Europe to join the cast of Dirty Dancing serving as Dance Captain. He then went on to do a second stint on The West End stage in London. Anna Trebunskaya, Dancing With The Stars Celebrity Pro With her breathtaking red hair and sexy moves, Anna Trebunskaya is one of the fan favourites on the ABC hit competition show Dancing With The Stars. Over 10 seasons on the top rated program, Anna has waltzed, fox trotted, tangoed and cha-­‐ cha’ed with celebrities and athletes such as NFL greats Jerry Rice and Kurt Warner, Olympian Evan Lysacek, boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, UFC fighter Chuck Lidell, actor Steve Guttenberg, fashion guru Carson Cressley and soap opera legend Jack Wagner, and during the All-­‐Star season she was partnered with 98 Degrees heartthrob and Broadway actor Drew Lachey. Anna has been twinkling her toes since the age of six -­‐ winning her first competition at the veteran age of seven. She moved to the United States at 17-­‐years-­‐old with her parents who are former pro ballroom dancers and studio owners. With grace, a stellar personality and the humour of a standup comedian, Anna is the perfect mix of vixen and girl next-­‐door. The Russia beauty has been featured in various media outlets including Shape Magazine, Life & Style, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, TV Guide, Runway, InTouch, People, US Weekly and others. A wonderful pitch woman, Anna has been on ABC's Shark Tank as an endorsee of PostureNow and has appeared in the infomercial for Total Gym. Giving birth to her daughter Amalya in January 2014, Anna is a spokesperson for various baby and mommy brands. Anna is one of the hosts of the recap show of Dancing With The Stars on AfterBuzzTV.com and she blogs for Good Morning America in the off-­‐season of DWTS. You can see on the light up the dance floor as part of the Ballroom With A Twist tour. The 2013 and 2014 seasons have allowed Anna to take the stage as the live host of the show as well. With a passion for acting, Anna has been training with acting coaches Joanne Barren and D.W. Brown for several years. An entrepreneur, Anna owns the You Can Dance ballroom studio in Hermosa Beach, CA. Website www.annatrebunskaya.com Twitter: @atrebunskaya Gina Glocksen-­‐Ruzicka, American Idol Finalist Gina Glocksen-­‐Ruzicka gained international fame as the 9th place finalist of the 6th season of American Idol. Although Gina was pegged as the ‘rocker chick’ for her season, her musical style stretches far beyond the realm of rock. Since her time on Idol Gina continues tossing throughout North America and beyond. From intimate clubs to major arenas, Gina has performed for audiences on all scales. Some of Gina’s most memorable experiences include performing with Marvin Hamlisch and the San Diego Symphony in the summer of 2012, and her band opening for legendary rock band Heart. Gina has been one of the featured vocalists for Ballroom With A Twist since 2009 and considers the BWAT cast her second family. "I love being part of such an amazing ensemble cast!” When Gina is not touring with BWAT, she performs with her band in Chicago and continues to write and record her original music. Von Smith, American Idol Finalist Von Smith was most recently seen on Nigel Lythgoe's Opening Act on the E! network, where his experience was documented as Lady Gaga chose him to be her opening act for her tour in Australia in 2012. Since then he's been featured on TimeMagazine.com after appearing in several viral videos with the band Postmodern Jukebox, garnering several million views on YouTube. The Kansas City native was introduced to the world when his version of And I Am Telling You (I'm Not going) from Dream Girls became a viral sensation on YouTube in 2007, Von has garnered a legion of fans and performed on some of the most celebrated stages, including ABC's The View (invited by Rosie O'Donnell), Bravo's The Kathy Griffin Show, BET's 106th and Park, featured on MTV News, VH1's Best Week Ever, E's The Soup, TV Azteca's La Academia (Mexico), Up Junior (China), and American Idol season 8 as one of the top 17 finalists. When not rocking out on national stages across the country with fellow Idol buddies, or performing in front of symphonies conducted by the likes of the late Marvin Hamlisch, Von can be found in the recording studio, where he just completed his first EP, On To Something, available now on ITunes. Keep up with Von at VonSmithOfficial.com, on Twitter @VonSmith, and on Instagram @VonSmithOffical!