Sami Yli-Piipari & Karita Yli-Piipari

Sami & Karita started ballroom dancing at a very early age in their native country of Finland. During his career with his wife, Karita Yli-Piipari, he achieved numerous International and National titles, including fifteen Finnish National Championship titles.

Sami is a former World & European Professional 10 Dance Grand Finalist, a UK Open & International Professional Rising Star Finalist, and a Blackpool Professional Rising Star Semi-Finalist. Representing Finland, Sami serves as a WDSF chairman and adjudicator who has judged several World and Continental Championships.

Off of the dance floor, Dr. Sami Yli-Piipari is an assistant professor in Children's Physical Activity, Fitness, and School Health Promotion at the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Georgia. He directs the Children's Physical Activity and Fitness Laboratory specializing on children's physical activity and motivation issues. Dr. Yli-Piipari earned his PhD in 2011 from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland in Sport Pedagogy with concentration on exercise psychology. After working in a junior faculty position at the University of Jyvaskyla, Dr. Yli-Piipari spent two postdoc years at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro, and three years as an assistant professor at the University of Memphis.

Dr. Yli-Piipari has published over 30 book chapters and research articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is a research fellow of the Society for Health and Physical Educators and an editorial board member of the Journal of Teaching, Research, and Media in Kinesiology.

When Karita isn’t teaching or adjudicating competitions, she is also a Real Estate agent for Todd Lemoine Real Estate. If you are ever in the Atlanta, Georgia area, and need a dance coach and to find your dream home, Karita is the perfect fit.