What do you get when you cross a musician, an athlete, an artist and a pastor’s son? Who would have guessed- one of the top professional ballroom dancers in the country and co-manager of the fastest growing dance studios in Fred Astaire history!

Jesse DeSoto started as a dance instructor in 1999 at a Fred Astaire Dance Studio near his hometown of Greendale, WI.  He discovered that his love for competition, challenge of the dance floor and freedom for artistic expression were a perfect match for a future in ballroom dancing!

Jesse was fortunate to be paired with a gifted and naturally talented dancer, Jackie Josephs and they went professional in 2003.

They were a featured couple on the 2005 PBS’s American Ballroom Challenge dance program. Jesse and Jackie are sponsored by Randall Designs, Showtime Shoes and Championship Productions and are Affiliate Members of the Fred Astaire National Council of Dance.

Jesse credits his business and dance training to some of the top leaders in the dance industry- Joe & Rae Josephs, Steven Knight, Bruno Collins, Luann Pulliam , Rufus Dustin, Don Johnson , Kasia Kozac, Jean Marc Genereux , France Mousseau, Corky Ballas, David Hamilton, Taliat & Marina Tarsinov,Tony Dovolani, Elena Grinenko, Maxim Chmerkovskiy & Martin Lamb.

Jesse was awarded Top Competitive Male Instructor in the Fred Astaire chain in 2003 & 2004. His experiences have taught him how to take a new student to the level of top Pro-Am in the country!

With the support and encouragement of his family Jesse left Wisconsin in 2005 to start a dance studio in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.  This studio in one year has risen to be one of the top Fred Astaire dance studios in the country and claims the title of  “fastest growing studio” in the history of the chain.

This year Jesse  plans to open two more studios in the Chicagoland area.

Because of Jesse and Jackie’s success in American Rhythm competition, Jesse DeSoto has become well known in the dance competitive circles.  So well known, that when the producers of "Dancing with the Stars" were looking for an additional male instructor they found Jesse and offered him a 2 year contract for the blockbuster reality show- “Dancing with the Stars.”

Jesse is grateful for God’s grace and blessings in his life and takes great pleasure in helping train and develop future ballroom dancers, instructors, studio managers and owners.