Bruno Tonioli

He lives in London since 1975. Bruno is a polyglot who is fluent in English, Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese languages.

He is a gay and is quite outspoken about it. He has revealed about the homophobic bullying he faced in his youth. However Bruno does not prefer to divulge much about his private life. According to sources, he is in a long time relationship with Jason Schanne whom he began dating way back in 2000 and had a commitment ceremony following the end of season 14 of ‘Dancing with the Stars’.

He was born on November 25, 1955, in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy to bus driver Werther and his wife Fulvia who stitched car-seat upholstery. Bruno and his family lived with Werther’s parents till Bruno became 12 years of age.

He was passionate about dancing since an early age and started spending much of his time choreographing. He received full support from his parents when he resolved to become a dancer. With time he proved his mettle dancing his way to stardom with sheer talent, hard work and dedication for the art.

He participated at the 1980 ‘A Song For Europe’ competition as part of the Duke and the Aces group. Twelve songs were selected by the Music Publisher's Association at this UK contest to select the UK representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest 1980.

‘A Song For Europe’ competition was held at the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush on March 26 1980. The song ‘Love is Alive’ written by Paul Curtis was performed by Duke and the Aces including Bruno, who also choreographed the act. However the UK band ‘Prima Donna’ became the eventual winners of the contest with their song ‘Love Enough for Two’.

He remained a member of La Grande Eugène, a Paris-based company, in the early 1980s. Later he joined the dance company of English dancer, choreographer, mime artist, actor and teacher Lindsay Kemp. He also has an extensive career as freelance dancer.

Over the years he has thrived in the music industry in the capacity of a choreographer working with several artists and bands on their stage shows, tours as also music videos. Some such renowned names include Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Sinitta, Sting, Boy George, ‘Duran Duran’, the ‘Rolling Stones’ and ‘Dead or Alive’.

He appeared as one of the dancers in video of the 1983 song ‘I'm Still Standing’ by Elton John. The video was directed by Australian film director Russell Mulcahy.