'Dancing with the Stars' Winner Hails from Stratford

A Stratford man who co-owns a dance studio in Stamford was reportedly crowned co-winner of "Dancing with the Stars" Tuesday night.

Tony Dovolani, a professional ballroom dancer who co-owns the Dance with Me studio in Stamford, won Season 15 with partner Melissa Rycroft, a former contestant on "The Bachelor" who first competed on the show with Dovolani three years ago, the Connecticut Post reports.

According to his profile page on the "Dancing with the Stars" website, the Kosovo-born Dovolani began folk dancing when he was three. At 15, his family moved to the United States where Dovolani attended the New England-based Fred Astaire Dance Academy.

Since then Dovolani has traveled the world with this dancing expertise, winning several championships and at one point coaching singer Jennifer Lopez.

Dovolani made his debut on "Dancing with the Stars" in Season 2. In Season 8, he and Rycroft finished in third place.

"One of the things we take pride in is that we can teach anybody how to dance," Dovolani told the Post about his dance studio last year. "People always ask, 'What's the appropriate age?' Now is the appropriate age. There's no one who's too young or too old."

Visit Dance with Me's website to learn more about the Stamford dance studio.