Hello....

I just watched a video of Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin..WOW!!!!!!!!.........I know they are retired....does anyone know how long ago they retired? Also.....are they a couple....I know that's not really important...I'm just curious because the chemistry they had in the videos I watched is amazing. Any info about them would be appreciated....including information about obtaining more video, either performance or instructional. Thank You.

They have a website tonyandmelanie.com. There is a contact us page, you could ask them about videos etc.
There are/were both terrific dancers and so when So You Think You Can Dance referred to Melanie as "Tony's assistant" I was livid. How insulting!

I heard the "Tony's assistant" comment too.....and was surprised by it. Thanks for the info.

Probably she was difficult to deal with (bitter and demanding) when they needed her help with 'filling in'... so they begrudgingly gave her a 'credit'. I also noted that they deleted as much as they could from the 'background' shots so that she was minimized.

As she had gained a great deal of weight and had a very 'sour' look about her I can only imagine the bitter attitude that went along with it. it's too bad considering how good she danced in the past; many times these folks are not good 'people' persons.

aanyn...........

I was seeking information about dancers who's work I truly enjoy. I was disappointed to see such negative remarks. I am a HUGE fan of Tony and Melanie and I have not seen anything that looks bitter and negative to me.....and that's not really the information I was seeking.

Dance-dance..........thanks for the info!!!!

Hi there... I'm a BIG fan of them both as well.. and have been ever since, well - no need to date myself, let's just say I never missed a competition.

1.) When you go from dancing constant competitions and flying across country for coachings to owning your own studio, you tend to gain a bit of weight. Nobody should point fingers, she's fantastic.

2.) They still own their studio in Times Square, it's amazing.

3.) I've spoken with Melanie herself and she's fantastic. A wonderful "people person", with a tender heart.

Ok, off my soapbox and on with dancing.

Thanks,
hfidanzo

This comment is really out of line. You have no way of knowing any of what you say and there's no excuse for anonymous character assassination.

If any guest choreographer has someone working with them, the show always calls them "assistant." I'm sure they don't want to complicate matters by always having to explain all the relationships of people who are on the show once and actually have little screen time. It's just TV, shaping reality to fits its story line, like they always do.

And don't forget that when the girl doing the routine Tony and Melanie taught, they had Melanie fill in and dance with the guy contestant. So much "minimizing" her screen time.

Oops, looks like my previous post ended up in the wrong place. It was meant as a reply to aanyn.

They were married years ago, but no longer. They had a studio in NYC - not sure of they still operate it. Melanie was on an episode of TLC's "What Not to Wear". She seems to be such fun. As far as I know, they are still business partners in the dance world.

I was also shocked when she was given the title of "assistant" on SYTYCD. The nerve!

Although divorced they maintain a professional relationship continuing to coach and teach from their premier ballroom studio in New York City - Dance Times Sqaure (http://dancetimessquare.com/index.php?page=29). They can be viewed on their studio web page or YouTube in one of the sexiest dance numbers I've ever seen (http://youtube.com/watch?v=R6HZJWSE1XE).

They also have instructional videos available for viewing at http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/rumba-dancing.htm .

My dance studio has hired Tony to choreograph showcase numbers - his work is amazing!!!