Ieva Pauksena was born in Riga, Latvia and started dancing at 5 years old. Right from the beginning she fell in love with the sparkly dresses and how much fun it was to be with friends in a dance studio. She was so busy with dancing after school that it taught her from a young age how to organize her schedule. She learned to mange her dance classes as well as finishing all her school work on time and also learning the importance of team work with her dance partners. As Ieva become older, she became very serious about dancing and committed to becoming the best. She became 3 time Latvian Amateur Champion and started to teach younger dancers in her dance club. She wanted to take her dancing to the next level so she moved to the USA in 2001 to partner with Victor Fung. Together they won all amateur competitions in the USA and soon became

 

• USA Amateur Standard Champions (2001)

• Blackpool Dance Festival Amateur Standard Finalist (2001)

• World Amateur Standard Finalist (2001)

 

    In 2002 she turned Professional, partnering with Giampiero Giannicco. They began to win many major competitions in the USA and all over the world. Soon they become

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• USA Professional Standard Vice Champions (2002-2004)

• Blackpool Dance Festival Professional Standard Finalist (2004)

• World Professional Standard Finalist (2004)

 

    In 2006 she became partners with Linas Koreiva and also maintained a great professional career/partnership and achieved great results together. But eventually they both decided to concentrate on teaching the next generation of champions. Ieva retired from competitive dancing in 2008. She was always very competitive and now shifted her goals to winning through her students. 

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    Ieva is now a National and World Class Adjudicator and has trained many US Amateurs and Professional Champions. She is also co-creator of a big dance group called NY Dance Force. NY Dance Force has preformed at many top dance competitions and prestigious events such as Dance Legends. Ieva has also worked as a choreographer for “Dancing With The Stars“ and  “So You Think You Can Dance” Canada.

 

    Ieva was taught by world class teachers from England and Italy whom which she learned so much from. She continues to learn to better teach her students, picking up knowledge from ballet, contemporary ballet, martial arts, and yoga where she studies body mechanics, movement, and new skills. Teaching dance is her life passion  and she loves to see changes and improvements in her students not only in a technical level but through learning teamwork, improving their confidence and improving their performances. Ieva says this will be a strong aspect for a successful life.