Tony Meredith

Tony Meredith began to dance as a toddler while growing up in Samoa, surrounded by the sounds of drums, guitars, and ukuleles. He credits American Bandstand and Soul Train for helping him to hone his skills and to keep up with the latest moves.
He discovered Ballroom Dancing after replying to a newspaper advertisement seeking dance teachers. His cousin taught him how to Hustle in the garage which ignited his love of dancing.

In San Diego, California, in the year 1981, Tony met Melanie LaPatin. The two subsequently formed a Professional partnership which has lasted over 30 years, traveling the world representing the United States 12 times in the Professional World Latin-American Dance Championships. They eventually moved to New York to train and open a studio, (Dance Times Square).

Tony and Melanie married in 1989, but divorced amicably following the opening of their studio. With Melanie, Tony captured over 100 first place trophies and in 1995, won the Professional Latin Division of the U.S. DanceSport Championships. The couple retired from competitive dance in 1998. After retiring from the competitive dance floor, Tony and Melanie continued to choreograph for film, television, Broadway, and a new generation of competitive dancers as well as celebrities such as Pierce Brosnan, Renee Russo, Vanessa L. Williams, Tim Robbins, Cameron Diaz, Megan Mullaley, Matthew Morrison, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Biel, Lisa Lampanelli, Steven Dorff, Patrick Stewart, Leslie Caron, Jennifer Beals, Campbell Scott, Rob Schneider, Barbara Walters, and more.

Tony Meredith currently serves as the dance director, instructor, and choreographer at Danceville, USA, a Ballroom Dance studio in Columbus, Ohio. He is also the co-organizer of the Chicago Crystal Ball, Aloha Ball, and has just recently founded ICON DanceSport, his own competition held the 2nd week of October in Columbus, Ohio which made its debut in October of 2015.

Currently, Tony serves as a Ballroom Dance competition adjudicator, coach, and choreographer and possesses a wide range of versatility: from Cha-Cha to Swing, Tango to Hustle, Mambo and Salsa to American Rhythm, Blues, etc.

TV and Film
Tony Meredith has been behind the scenes as appearing in films, TV shows and Broadway, including feature film performances in Dance with Me, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, Take the Lead, The Thomas Crown Affair, Let It Be Me, The Last Days of Disco, Dancing with the Stars, Ballroom Dancing Basics, and Full Frontal Fashion. He has also co-hosted seasons 1 and 2 of the PBS series America’s Ballroom Challenge with Marilu Henner.
Tony and Meredith have appeared fairly regularly as guest choreographers on the Fox dance competition reality show So You Think You Can Dance. Tony also finished filming Season 5 of the PBS series America’s Ballroom Challenge with Mary Murphy.