'Dancing With Stars' role fulfills N.J. man's dream

When Brian Fortuna was an adolescent, his mom, Sandra, said, he needed a little guidance.

"He wasn't the best kid. He needed to get into some supervised activity where he would be exposed to people who would make the right choices," she said. "He got into dancing and his whole attitude changed."

It was the right choice, apparently, since now Fortuna is a bit of a dancing star - one of the professionals on the ABC-TV show "Dancing With the Stars," which brings its stage show to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City tonight.

"I'm hoping to have a hundred people there," said Fortuna, 25, who grew up in Haddon Heights, N.J., and graduated from Camden Catholic High School in 2000. "Plenty of room for everyone else, though."

Though Fortuna was in the second couple off the spring version of the "Dancing With the Stars" competition - his celebrity partner was Miss USA 2004, Shandi Finnessey - he is on tour with a stage version of the show for the summer. A native Philadelphian, actor Joey Lawrence, who was in season three of the show, is also on the tour.

Fortuna's specialty, he said by phone from South Beach, Fla., where the tour had a one-day stopover last week, is Latin dancing, but with the two-hour show, he does a little bit of everything.

"Tango, waltz, fox-trot, cha-cha, rumba, samba, whatever," he said. "It's just great to be out there and showing people how wonderful ballroom dancing can be."

He also has a solo with Kym Johnson, who won the Australian version of the show, to James Bond themes. "Two hours of dancing. People will love it," he said.

Sandra Fortuna has been a dance instructor since her teen years and has competed in ballroom dancing throughout North America. For the last 14 years, she has owned the Universal Dance Center on Route 130 in Collingswood, N.J., which was where Brian got inspired for his career. Brian also has a sister, Valentina, 20.

"I was a child of the industry, so to speak," he said. "My mom was a competitor and my dad [Andy], who is a podiatrist, got inspired by her and at age 40 started dancing and is an amateur champ. I just found it fascinating to meet such interesting people - and, by the way, dance with some of the most gorgeous females you can imagine."

He went to three years of college at Rutgers-Camden but decided dancing was going to be his life. He got some parts in shows and did some modeling before going last year to the audition for "Dancing With the Stars" in New York.

"It's what I always wanted to do, entertain with dancing," he said. "When I was in high school, I was a bit of an outcast, since ballroom dancing wasn't exactly what was the most popular thing. Now, though, I am glad I persevered."

His mother agrees.

"His whole life changed when he started to dance. He learned how to dress and how to act. His elocution changed and he channeled his energy into being funny," she said. "I can't believe it has taken this long for ballroom dancing to become so popular, and I am proud that Brian has been a part of that." *

"Dancing With the Stars," Boardwalk Hall, 7:30 tonight, $49.50-$95, 609-348-7072, www.boardwalkhall.com.