Tommye Giacchino and Gregory Day began their partnership in 1996, and were almost immediately successful. The pair was only together three years before they became U.S. Rising Star champions and U.S. Open Cabaret champions in the competitive Latin and Ballroom arena. They succeeded in defeating the then, US and World Champions and captured the title of the British Open Invitational Exhibition Champions in Blackpool, England.
These champions have traveled extensively throughout France, England, Holland, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and almost every state in the USA performing as well as coaching. They have performed with major symphonies with a full concert written around them, world-renowned jazz and ballet companies such as the Joffery, Giordano Jazz Festival, as well as command performances for the Royal family of Monaco. Tommye and Gregory have been featured on national programs on NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, and abroad on BBC, ESPN, and Eurosport Television.
Tommye and Gregory have played a major role in the revival of Latin and Ballroom dance in the city, and have attracted huge recognition for dance in Chicago. They proudly own 2 locations of Chicago Dance, and have been working hard to train the next generation of dance professionals. They have participated for years in Dance Chicago, Summer Dance, and every other promotion for dance there has been in Chicago. They love to share their passion, and show people how fun and easy it is to learn partner dancing.
Each day if the pair are not in their own schools training students and staff, you can find them on the road training in other schools, testing and training Divida, as well as judging at top national competitions in the country.
Tommye Giacchino
Tommye Giacchino began her career in her mother’s dance studio in Chicago, where taking class every day was a way of life. Baton twirling and modeling were Tommye’s serious hobbies in her younger years, becoming a National Twirling Champion at 12 years old, then coaching two teams and one individual to State Championships by the ripe age of 15. In addition to twirling, Tommye’s modeling career was taking off with her resume building with more than 100 television and radio commercials, national print and placements, professional theatre performance and numerous beauty pageant titles.
Tommye’s business career began by working in marketing for the Marriott’s, which turned into traveling the country and covering projects for Hanna Barbara, Hallmark Cards, United Artists, and special events at the White House. That training gave her an edge to take over and grow a family manufacturing business. The family business was not a passion like dancing always was but working the company for years and making it grow allowed Tommye to sell the company and turn her passion of ballroom dancing into co- creating the area’s most successful ballroom competition Chicago’s Crystal Ball and also into her most rewarding and successful business adventure yet -Chicago’s most popular Latin and Ballroom dance schools, Chicago Dance.
Gregory Day
Born in Oakland, California, Gregory grew up swimming and playing soccer and volleyball. He also learned to figure skate with his father and grandfather.
Originally trained in ballet and many forms of modern dance, particularly Graham and Cunningham, he danced with the San Francisco Ballet, the Milwaukee Ballet the American Folk Ballet, and many other smaller ballet and modern dance companies. Being also a French and British citizen, he had the opportunity to live and dance in Paris and in Lyon. While living in the San Francisco Bay Area he also studied Flamenco and African Dance. In ballet he was trained in both the Ceccheti style and the Vaganova style.Gregory is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, which he attended on scholarship. In college he also studied acting and singing in addition to dance and technical stage craft.Gregory Day and Tommye Giacchino started their partnership in 1996 and were almost immediately succesful as two time United States Champions (defeating the then US & World Champions) and capturing the 'World Invitational Exhibition title at the British Open (Blackpool).
