Dasha Sushko

Dasha (Darya) Sushko was born in the city of Ufa, the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan, in Russia. She began her dancing career at the age of six and fell in love with Ballroom Dancing from the very first lesson. She danced competitively in Russia for 14 years, achieving outstanding results in both the International Style Standard and Latin divisions. Dasha became a 5-time Champion of the Republic of Bashkortostan in three different programs: International Style Standard, International Style Latin and 10-Dance among Juniors. Later on, she and her dance partner, Alexey Zemskih were rated among the 10 best couples of Russia in the Latin division at the National Championship among Amateurs.

At only 12 years old, Dasha began teaching younger dancers, in addition to training every day. Teaching and coaching became her second passion after dancing competitively.
In 2005, Dasha came to the United States of America where she continued both dancing and teaching. She started competing on a Professional level with Vladimir Popov. Together, they achieved many top placements in major dance competitions around the U.S. in the Professional Ballroom (Standard) Division.
In 2011, Dasha finally established her dream and became the founder and owner of Ballroom Dream Dance Studio. Dasha continued teaching and choreographing Ballroom Dancing for children, teens, and adults and also started to dance competitions with her adult students in the Pro-Am division.
Dasha specializes in Competitive as well as in Social Dancing, coaching many top dancers in her studio. Her students participate in dance competitions and perform in numerous social and charity events and shows throughout New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Dasha has raised many great Junior dancers who have become USA Dance National Champions!

One of Dasha’s other passions and hobbies is figure skating. The love of figure skating began when she was taught to skate by her mother at six years old. She has always loved this activity and wouldn’t miss watching any big Ice Skating Championship or Olympic Games on TV. Who knew that she would have a chance to work with 2-time Ice Skating Olympic and World Champion, Evgeny Platov. Through 2010-2014, Dasha was working with Platov’s students, coaching them Ballroom and Latin Dancing.

In 2017, Dasha also was coaching Ballroom Dancing to Laurie Hernandez, Gold and Silver Medalist of the 2016 Summer Olympics and winner of Dancing With The Stars. They met in 2016 when Laurie and her DWTS partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, used Ballroom Dream for their practices before the Show.
Currently, Dasha is concentrating on her studio, teaching and coaching Ballroom and Latin Dancing to adults and children, as well as judging dance competitions and championships all over the world.
Dasha is not only certified as a dance instructor and adjudicator under the National Dance Council of America (NDCA), but also under the World Dance Council (WDC) as a World Class Adjudicator as well. She has judged many prestigious National and International competitions, which have included the World Championships in Paris, the European Championships in Ukraine, as well as the United States Nationals. Dasha is also a member of the Professional Dancer’s Federation and the United States Terpsichore Association. Read more about Dasha on WikiDanceSport.