Russell Jones and Asha Gangolli
Asha Gangolli, a native of Evanston IL, began her dance training locally with Kerry Hubata and Bea Rashid. As a student she trained across the U.S. with Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet, and as a trainee with The Joffrey Ballet under the tutelage of Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik.
During this time she worked and performed with the company in Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker, as well as Stanton Welch’s La Bayadere and Krzysztof Pastor’s Romeo and Juliet.
Asha joined Alabama Ballet in 2014 and was promoted to a company dancer in 2017. Since then she has enjoyed performing principal roles including Sugar Plum Fairy and Coffee in
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Myrtha in Giselle, Rancher’s Daughter in Agnes De Mille’s Rodeo, Fourth Movement Principal in George Balanchine’s Western Symphony, Long Tall Sally in Dennis Nahat’s Blue Suede Shoes, Barbara Allen in Christopher Bruce’s Sergeant Early’s Dream, Lady Jane in Christopher Bruce’s Rooster, All the Way in Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, and Twyla Tharp’s Baker’s Dozen. Asha is on faculty at the Alabama Ballet School and also teaches classical Pilates in the Birmingham area.
Russell Jones is a graduate of Hoover High School and the University of Alabama with a degree in Telecommunications & Film—Broadcast News. He is a familiar face on WBRC FOX6 News, reporting on weekdays for Good Day Alabama and anchoring weekend mornings.
Before joining the WBRC FOX6 team, Russell worked as a morning reporter and fill-in anchor for KOCO 5 News in Oklahoma City. There, he covered breaking news across the metro area in the early morning hours and engaged viewers with his warm, upbeat interviews later in the day.
Russell’s career also includes time as a reporter for WMBB in Panama City, Florida, where he served as a fill-in weekend anchor and producer. His storytelling and viewer connections were highlights of his role.
A passionate sports fan, Russell particularly loves college football, but you might be surprised by which team he roots for. He met his wife while performing Shakespeare in Homewood Park, and they share their lives with their 16-year-old son and a 175-pound lap dog named Ghost.
Though he isn’t a trained dancer, Russell has attempted to dance in numerous musicals for various theaters in Birmingham. He’s excited to bring his enthusiasm and spirit to Dancing with the Stars to support First Light Shelter.
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