I’m a off the old block
Dance legends’ son making his mark
SMART MOVE
With sequinned genes like these, nine-year- old Domenico Burns is destined to become a champion of the dance world.
His mum is Heidi GroskreutzBurns, a five-times World and US Swing Dance Champion.
And dad is former Dancing With The Stars judge Donnie Burns – 16-times World Champion and a Scottish legend of the Latin American dance scene.
Donnie, from Hami lton but who now lives in California, said: “Domenico had not been dancing very long when Covid hit, placing everything on hold. But he has been competing properly now for the past 12 months and has done spectacularly well. “His partner Dasha is much better than him but she wanted to be his partner, so he’s improving all the time.
“If he sticks at it, I think he could be a champ. He has a good si lhouet te, face and personality.” A YouTube interview shows Domenico and Dasha after their success at the 2022 Desert Classic DancesportDan Championships in PalD Palm Springs in the summer. Domenico said: “I feel I want to carrycar on my parents’ legacy and becomebec a good dancer too. I learned from the best and work really hard.” HeH said the best advice he got fromfro his parents was: “Don’t practisepra until you can get it right – practisepra until you can’t get it wrong.” A Glasgow audience will get a first glanceglan of Domenico’s prowess on the dancef loor when he and his parents jet in from the US next month. They’ll take part in Strictly Beatson, a sold- out fundraising dance contest evening being staged by the cancer charity.
Donnie, 64, will act as head judge as five teams with a connection to the Beatson battle it out for the honours.
He and Heidi, 41, will deliver a dancing masterclass to an audience of over 500 at the Doubletree by Hilton Glasgow Central Hotel before Domenico and his eight-year- old partner Dasha Dragunov bring the curtain down on the evening.
The timing – on October 8 – could not be better as Strictly Come Dancing resumed on our TV screens on Friday, with the full competition getting under way last night, returning for its 20th series.
Organisers of the event are thrilled Donnie and his entourage agreed to give their services for free and fly halfway across the world for one charity night.
Susan Brodie, of The Beatson, said: “I hadn’t realised what a big impact Donnie had on the world of dance. We can’t wait for the night.”
Donnie shot to stardom in the 70s after joining a dance school in Glasgow’s Gorbals. He travelled the world as one of the biggest Latin American dance stars before settling in the US. He married Heidi in 2008.
Heidi said: “I’ve visited Scotland many times. What I learned is you can’t be in a room with Scottish people and not have a great time. We’re buzzing for the event.”