Aric Yegudkin is an Australian choreographer and professional dancer born on 14 November 1985. Yegudkin is best known as a professional dancer on the Australian Dancing with the Stars.
Early life
Yegudkin started taking ballroom dance lessons at 8 years old after his parents noticed him dancing to Michael Jackson songs. They chose ballroom for their son because they were Russian as was the local ballroom dance teacher.[1] Yegudkin competed as a Latin American dancer in dancesport competitions.[2] In July 2001, Yegudkin partnered with Masha Belash, and the two began competing together in the youth category of dancesport.[2] Together the pair won the Australian National Youth Latin American Championship three times.[2][3]
Yegudkin is an accredited Dancesport Australia instructor.[2] He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales.[2]
Career
Yegudkin first competed as a professional dancer Australian Dancing With the Stars in season 3. He won his first season of the reality dance competition with celebrity partner Ada Nicodemou.[1] After winning their season of Dancing with the Stars, Nicodemou and Yegudkin competed against past winners Tom Williams and Kym Johnson in a special televised competition. Both couples performed three dances over two weeks for the panel of judges. Nicodemou and Yegudkin won the competition and were given the "Champion of Champions" trophy.[4] Yegudkin's other past Dancing With the Stars partners include Haley Bracken, Zoe Cramond, Rhiannon Fish and April Rose Pengilly.[1] For the fifteenth season of Dancing with the Stars, Yegudkin was partnered with presenter Emma Freedman in which they won on 7 September 2015.[5] In October 2016 Channel Seven announced Dancing with the Stars would not return, making Freedman and Yegudkin the final winners of the series on Seven Network.[6][7] After Network Ten revived the show in 2019, Yegudkin returned partnering Michelle Bridges in season sixteen and then Claudia Karvan in season seventeen.[8][9]
Yedgukin's Dancing with the Stars results are shown on the table below:
Outside of television, Yegudkin has served as a choreographer and dancer in the Australian touring stage show Shake, Rattle 'n'Roll.[1] Yegudkin has also performed in productions of Burn the Floor and Dance, Dance, Dance.[1] In January 2017, Yegudkin and Belash announced they would be opening a dance studio in Sydney called Move by Aric and Masha.[7]
Personal life
Yegudkin proposed to his professional dance partner Masha Belash in 2013. Yegudkin and Belash married in October 2018. Their wedding was featured in Vogue Australia the following April.[10] The couple are parents to twin daughters born in 2020.[11]