James Jordan (dancer)

For other people named "James Jordan", see James Jordan (disambiguation).

James Jordan
Born	13 April 1978 (1978-04-13) Gillingham, Kent
Occupation	Dancer
Spouse	Ola Jordan (2003-present)

James Jordan (born 13 April 1978) is a British ballroom dancer and choreographer. His dance partner is wife Aleksandra "Ola" Jordan, with whom he turned professional in 2000.

Dancing career

Jordan was born in Gillingham, Kent and started dancing at the age of 13. He now dances with his wife, Aleksandra "Ola" Jordan (née Grabowska). Aleksandra previously danced with Przemek Lowicki in Poland; Jordan previously danced with Agnieszka Melnicka, but they split in 1999. He also danced with Kate Pothecary (1996) and Elisabeth Haraldsdottir (October 1997–December 1997).

Jordan and Grabowska's first recorded dance as a partnership was in the Dutch Open in 2000, though they did not turn professional until 2003. The couple retired for a while, in favor of teaching Latin American dancing in Hong Kong, though they returned to competition later.

In May 2006, the couple came second in the Blackpool Professional Rising Stars Latin event, and in November they came third in the British Championship, Professional Latin. In 2010, he was a choreographer in So You Think You Can Dance.

Strictly Come Dancing

Both James and Ola took part in the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing during the show's fourth series, partnering Georgina Bouzova and Spoony respectively. Ola and Spoony were the third pair to be voted off, with James and Georgina exiting the following (fourth) week. In series five, he danced with television presenter Gabby Logan, while Ola partnered Gabby's husband, Scottish rugby union footballer Kenny Logan – the first time two married couples had competed against each other. Gabby and James were voted out in Week 4 of the competition. Kenny and Ola were voted out in Week 9 (ending up in 5th place).

In the sixth series of Strictly Come Dancing, James danced with Cherie Lunghi, while Ola's partner was the GMTV presenter Andrew Castle. After having exited so early in his previous series, James was concerned he was under a "four week curse", which was then broken. He and Lunghi were voted off in Week 9, in a dance-off against Lisa Snowdon. In January/February, James danced with Cherie Lunghi on the Strictly Come Dancing Tour 2009. In series 7, he was partnered by actress Zöe Lucker but they left the competition in week 7. James said that "winning that trophy is my dream but I wouldn't give up this wonderful lady for that ball." Wife Ola won the competition partnered with Chris Hollins. In 2010, James reached the final of the competition for the first time partnered with comedienne and psychologist Pamela Stephenson. The pair made it to the final of "Strictly Come Dancing" but eventually finished in third place behind Kara Tointon and Matt Baker. In 2011, James is currently partnering The One Show presenter Alex Jones.

2009 performance

Week No.	Dance	Judges' score
		Horwood	Goodman	Dixon	Tonioli	Total
1	Group Mambo	Unscored group performance
2	Waltz	7	8	7	8	30
2	Rumba	8	7	8	8	31
3	Paso Doble	7	8	8	8	31
4	Foxtrot	8	9	8	8	33
5	Jive	7	8	8	7	30
6	American Smooth	8	8	9	8	33
7	Samba	7	8	9	8	32

Other television appearances

James together with Ola took part in a celebrity version of television programme Total Wipeout which was broadcast on 26 December 2009.

External links

• "James and Ola Jordan". Official website of the partnership. http://www.jamesandolajordan.co.uk/. 
• "James Jordan". Internet Movie Database page. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2390391/.