Denis Generalov

Independent Dance Instructor

Denis Generalov began dancing at an early age in Russia, where he was born and raised. His mother was a dance teacher, so when he was little he spent a lot of time at her dance school, watching group classes and listening to dance music. Denis began taking Ballroom and Latin classes and entering dance competitions in Russia when he was 8 years old and by the time he was 10 he was winning local junior competitions. Denis moved to the United States at the age of 16 and before long he was back on the dance floor competing in the Open Amateur Standard Ballroom and Latin American divisions.

Over the course of several years of competition Denis, with his partner and wife Jolie, have placed into the finals of many major Championships, including the Ohio Star Ball, the International Grand Ball, the San Francisco Open, and the California Open to name a few. They have earned first place titles in the Standard Ballroom division at the International Grand Ball, the San Francisco Open Championships, the Galaxy Dance Sport Championships, the San Francisco Holiday Ball, the Autumn Dance Classic, as well as the title of the United States Amateur National Ten-Dance Champions.

Denis began teaching Ballroom dancing professionally in 2002 in the San Francisco Bay Area, specializing in both social and competitive styles of Ballroom and Latin and coaching the young generation of dancers to prepare them for competition.

In January 2008 Denis and Jolie decided to make Austin their new home, and even though they've stopped competing, they still enjoy dancing together as a favorite past time.