Celebrity Judges
What makes a good competition even better? The judges! The success of Dancing with the Stars television show is due in large part to the judges. Their striking personalities, witty remarks, banter amongst one another, and on-point fashion give an element of entertainment and excitement to the weekly event that keeps America tuning in season after season. Knowing this, Dancing Stars of Greenwich has once again assembled an incredible panel of star-studded celebrity judges for our attendees' and dancers' delight.
Our past celebrity judges have included award-winning actor Brendan Fraser, award-winning writer and producer Jeff Greenstein, Sports-Illustrated swimsuit model and former Cover Girl Paulina Porizkova, co-anchor for Good Morning America, Lara Spencer, actress and producer Ali Wentworth, and Tony Dovolani, Fred Astaire's national co-dance director, who has also captured the hearts of millions as a professional dancer performing on the ABC's Dancing with the Stars show.
The Dancing Stars of Greenwich judges and Fred Astaire professional dancers are not only celebrities and media personalities, but they are also visionaries who are invested in the cause and committed to building the next generation of dancers. Our goal is to make every competition one you will always remember and most of all enjoy.
Tony Dovolani - Emcee
Born in Prishtina, Kosovo, Tony Dovolani was dancing almost as soon as he could walk - proficient in Albanian folk dance by age three and inspired early on by the timeless films of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. After immigrating to the United States at fifteen, Tony trained at a Connecticut Fred Astaire dance studio, quickly rising to become one of the most dominant competitive dancers in the country.
A two-time dance champion and certified world judge, Tony brought his expertise to Hollywood, coaching Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere for the 2004 film Shall We Dance, in which he also appeared in a small role. He went on to join Dancing with the Stars for its second season, capturing audiences' attention alongside partner Stacy Keibler with a third-place finish in the finals. Years later, during the show's All-Star Season (Season 15), Tony and partner Melissa Rycroft took first place, winning the coveted Mirrorball Trophy. Tony returns to the Dancing Stars of Greenwich for the second time as a featured celebrity.
Justin Neto
Justin Neto is a choreographer and dance instructor with over 15 years of experience in the industry. Throughout his career, he has taught thousands of dancers both in person and online, sharing his work and passion for dance across the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, France, Italy, and Portugal. In Brazil, Justin also served as a TV host on a dance reality show, combining his experience in dance, education, and entertainment.
Billy Blanks, Jr.
Billy brings 20-plus years of on-camera television work, video editing, and producing and directing to the judge's panel this year. His Lifestyle YouTube channel gets an average of 1.5 million views each month, for which he is the director, producer, and editor. Billy's dance fitness program rivals Zumba and has over 1500 instructors throughout the U.S., Japan, Germany, Mexico and Belgium. Billy is no stranger to hard work.
Before all of this, Billy built up four Los Angeles 5-star restaurants as the general manager. As an artistic director, he helped build up and bring The Wall Street Theater in Norwalk, Connecticut, out of bankruptcy by creating such programs as Connecticut's Got Talent, Dancing with The Stars of Connecticut, a hit talk show on Lifetime Network called Dance It Out, and his own Broadway teen program BTOC. He is also a beloved supporter of Abilis, hosting the last several online spring Gala's for the organization as well as leading the 2024 and 2025 Spring for Abilis Gala as the emcee for the evening. He rounds out his partnership with Abilis as the standard-bearer emcee for the annual Walk/Run for Abilis fall event. We are grateful to have him back with us this evening and thank him for his support of Abilis.