Vrinda Bachchan
Emma Slater is a professional choreographer, best known for her appearances on ABC’s hit dance reality competition, ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ Emma has showcased her moves on the DWTS stage for nearly a decade now and continues to do so with the onset of season 29. She was the winner of Season 24, along with her partner Rashad Jennings, and came close to bringing home the Mirrorball trophy two other times but sadly, got eliminated in the finals. Emma is a trained ballroom dancer and also specializes in Latin American dance. If you’re curious to know more about the blonde dancing beauty, we have all the details on her personal and professional life right here.
Emma Slater: Age and Nationality
Emma was born on December 25, 1988, in Sutton Coldfield. However, she was raised in the medieval town of Tamworth in England. She is one half of a pair of twins, though not identical. Her sister, Kelly, works as a stylist and costume designer on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ which is why the twin sisters get to see each other quite often.
Emma began dancing at a very young age – at five, to be exact. Her mother enrolled both the twins in dance lessons because they had too much energy. While Kelly opted out of dancing to pursue her love of fashion and costumes, Emma continued and worked hard to achieve excellence in most contemporary dance forms. At the age of 10, Emma started her ballroom dancing training and also learned the Latin American dance style.
Emma Slater’s Husband
Emma is married to fellow DWTS pro dancer Sasha Farber. They started dating in 2011 and broke up in 2014. But it was a very amicable split, and they even continued to live together during that time, because, as Emma puts it, they were not just in a relationship, they were best friends too. Needless to say, the adorable couple got back together in 2015.
In 2016, while on the stage of DWTS, just after they’d performed an impressive number together, Sasha went down on one knee and asked Emma to marry him. She said yes as the screen behind them flashed her answer for the audience to see. They got married in March 2018 in the presence of many celebrities and their fellow DWTS dancers. The couple now lives in Los Angeles, and they have a cute little dog, whom they love immensely.
Apparently, Emma is the messy, disorganized one, while Sasha loves looking after his plants and is responsible for feeding their beloved dog, Ruby. For this very reason, Emma decided to move out for the duration of the filming of Season 29 since the production team has come up with this rule for married dancers to practice social distancing, keeping in mind the safety of all. Even though Emma admits it will be weird and difficult not to see her husband every day, she does agree that this is for the best.
As of today, Emma and Sasha (a Russian from Australia) don’t have any kids, but they do wish to start a family soon.
Emma Slater: Performances and Dancing Partners
At 31, Emma has had an illustrious career in dance so far. When she was 15, Emma featured in a George Michael music video, and at 16, she toured the UK, UAE, and South Africa with the renowned production ‘Simply Ballroom.’ Emma comes from a drama background and has given many theatrical performances, early in her career.
She has also won the 2005 British Under 21 Latin American Championship in Blackpool, England. For two years (2009-2011), Emma was the lead dancer in the Broadway, West End London, and world tour productions of ‘Burn The Floor’ – a ballroom dance live show. That’s where she met Sasha for the first time, before they joined ‘DWTS’ together.
Emma was a troupe member for three seasons before she got promoted as a pro dancer on ‘DWTS.’ So far, she has been paired with Bill Engvall, Billy Dee Williams, race-car driver Michael Waltrip, singer Redfoo, Vine star Hayes Grier, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, Property Brothers co-host Drew Scott, and singer John Schneider. In Season 24, Emma partnered with NFL running back Rashad Jennings, and they won the Mirrorball trophy for first place that season.
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