Free Reality Check featuring fan favorites of Season 13 of Dancing With The Stars to give special performance and signing at Mohegan Sun
WHAT: Dancing With The Stars champions J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff are free-styling their way to Mohegan Sun for a very special Reality Check performance on Sunday, January 22nd. This free live event begins at 1:00pm, and will feature a question & answer segment along with a dance performance in The Shops at Mohegan Sun. A free signing event will follow at 2:00pm.
WHEN: Sunday, January 22nd at 1:00pm
The Shops at Mohegan Sun
IN DETAIL: Presented by The Shops at Mohegan Sun, Reality Check is an exciting and interactive event that brings the best and brightest stars from the reality TV world to Mohegan Sun. Reality Check events provide fans with the ultimate exposure to their favorite reality stars with engaging, live exhibitions in The Shops at Mohegan Sun followed by intimate signing events. Events are free and open to all ages.
ABOUT J.R. MARTINEZ:
J.R. Martinez and dance partner Karina Smirnoff are the winners of the mirror ball trophy of Season 13 of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. He is an actor, spokesman and retired soldier. He played Brot Monroe on the Emmy Award winning daytime drama All My Children.
At 17, J.R. and his family moved to Dalton, GA where he played strong safety in his senior year at Dalton High, a team that went to the Georgia State Championship.
An injury during the season derailed his plans of playing ball in college and possibly beyond. The Army came next and by September of 2002, J.R. underwent training at Fort Benning, GA where he gained skills as an 11-B Infantryman. In March of 2003, J.R. was deployed to Iraq and less than a month into his campaign while serving as a driver of a Humvee in Karbala, his tire hit a land-mine. Three other soldiers were ejected from the burning vehicle, while J.R. was trapped inside suffering smoke inhalation and severe burns to more than 40 percent of his body. He spent 34 months in recovery from the vicious injury he suffered. His story from this point on is one of sheer determinedness, will, dignity and resilience. It’s these qualities along with what ended up being legitimate dancing talent that made him such a beloved figure on Season 13 of Dancing With The Stars. He is continually called on upon for a wide range of speaking engagements and has been featured in the LA Times, The Washington Post, The New York Times and PEOPLE Magazine as well as numerous national TV news and network talk shows.
ABOUT KARINA: For the past six years, Karina Smirnoff has made her mark on primetime television as one of the professional dancers on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. She is the reigning champion, winning Season 13 with her inspirational partner, J.R. Martinez. She came to the series during season three with a plethora of accomplishments including five U.S. National Championships, the U.S. Open, the Asian Open and the U.K. Open. Smirnoff was even ranked number two in the world. In June 2009, she made her Broadway debut in the show Burn the Floor which opened to rave reviews and sold out performances.
Born and raised in Ukraine, the multi-talented dancer started to study dance when she was a mere five-year-old. Her parents exposed her to a multitude of activities including ice skating, gymnastics, ballet and piano lessons. Ultimately, it was dance that prevailed. She started to compete in ballroom dancing by age 11. Her family’s move to the U.S. when she was a teenager provided her with new opportunities; however, it was her strict training and the discipline gleaned from growing up in Ukraine that provided her with the foundation that she needed to be a successful competitor.
ABOUT MOHEGAN SUN: Mohegan Sun, owned by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, is one of the largest, most distinctive and spectacular entertainment, gaming, shopping and dining destinations in the United States. Situated on 185 acres along the Thames River in scenic southeastern Connecticut, Mohegan Sun is within easy access of New York, Boston, Hartford and Providence and located 15 minutes from the museums, antique shops and waterfront of Mystic Country. More information is available by calling 1.888.226.7711 or visiting mohegansun.com.