About my partner
One of the best things about participating in Dancing with the Forsyth County Stars has been the chance to get to know my partner, Ranko Bogosavac.
Ranko, 27, is a world-class dancer, internationally known, with a list of awards and competition wins that goes on and on. If you could see him dance, you’d understand why. The professionals on TV’s “Dancing with the Stars” have nothing on Ranko. He’s that good.
In fact, he was one of the professionals on the TV version of “Dancing with the Stars” in his native Yugoslavia.
He wasn’t always a dancer, though. From ages 6 to 11 his focus was on gymnastics. But he didn’t see a future in it. “You don’t have longevity with your career in gymnastics,” he said.
He started dancing at the urging of his best friend, who needed a partner. Around the time of their third lesson, he saw a professional ballroom exhibition.
“I was hooked,” he said.
What got him, he said, is that dancing is physical, but it’s also an art. “It’s like talking through your body,” he said. “It’s a story, but it’s still a sport.”
Over the years, he grew into a national champion, specializing in rhythm and Latin dancing.
He started getting recruited by dance studios, everywhere from Moscow to Italy to the United States. But he decided that he needed to finish college before making a move. After getting his degrees in sociology and philosophy, he decided it was time to come to the United States.
He got offers from studios in New York, California, Miami, Boston, New Jersey and Florida. He could have gone anywhere. But he chose to join the Fred Astaire studio in Clemmons, based partly on advice from his manager, who reminded him of the importance of being in a place with fewer distractions, where he could concentrate on his dancing.
He and the other dancers at the studio travel around the country for competitions, but when they’re home, “we spend most of our time in the dance studio,” he said.
He has formed a tight bond with the owners of the studio, Mike Krawiec and Jenny Clark. They even invited him to share their home. He has also grown close to a local Bosnian family, the Kajtazovics. They’ve all made him feel much more at home here, he said, and have given him a sense of family, since his actual family is still in the former Yugoslavia.
“I’m eternally grateful to all of them,” he said.
Mike said that Ranko has been a remarkable addition to the studio. “To see his exuberance and his fire for what he does inspires me and helped reignite my fire for what I’m doing,” he said.
“He’s just a poster child for hard work and everything a dancer should be.”