Q & A |
Dante Rosania , Dante Marcelo Rosania and Tiffany Chantell-Rosania go out on the town . |
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sisters because they ’ re going through the same struggles . The experience teaches you to prepare yourself if you ’ re interested in pursuing a dance career , because it ’ s very cut-throat .
And there were some great opportunities . One cool thing was during my last year on the team , when we went to shoot a calendar in the Cayman Islands . And we performed during Lenny Kravitz ’ s Thanksgiving Show at the Meadowlands . I remember it being 7 degrees out , and we had to wear our signature uniforms because it was being televised . My heart was racing , but your adrenaline kicks in . When you perform on the field , there ’ san echo and asecond delay , so you have to listen to the person sing , and not what ’ s coming out of the speakers .
After your time with the Jets , you put together a girl group called Shoeicide Dolls and taught women how to dance in heels . Can you share some tips ?
I did that with my best friend Krista DeBono , who was a cheerleader with me . We choreographed dances with costumes and taught classes at aNew York studio . You want to dance with heels that support your ankle ; you ’ re putting pressure on your big toes very hard . And you want to engage your core to hold your balance .
During 2014 , you spent three months in Los Angeles before deciding to return to New Jersey . Why didn ’ t you stay longer ?
I wish I had done it when I was younger , maybe 18 . You have to be a waitress or a bartender so you can pay your rent and go out on calls . I did book ( an appearance on ) Glee while out there , but I was thinking “ This isn ’ t for me .” Kids I was auditioning with were out-dancing me because they ’ d been training since they were little . But I had no regrets , because I ’ d tried it out . And Ihad the opportunity to be on The Amazing Race .
How did you get on the casting producers ’ radar for The Amazing Race ?
Krista got a Facebook message from one of the casting producers asking if she ’ d be interestedinbeing on the show , and she asked me if Iwanted to be her partner . We made an audition tape , and they flew us to L . A . for a week , explaining that the longer we stayed there , the closer we were to making the show .
We saw all our competitionand knew we had to stand out . Thank God Krista , who ’ s
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from Staten Island , has a big personality . We ate breakfast downstairs every day with the other teams , and she wore asports bra and cheer shorts to breakfast so she would standout . We became the talk of the week , and we got their attention . After that , you get evaluated to make sure you don ’ t have issues and you get your shotsuptodate , because if you get chosen , you ’ re traveling to countries where there ’ s Hepatitis B .
The way you find out if you ’ vebeen selected is they keep your passport , and if your passport shows up in your mailbox , it meansyou didn ’ t get on the show . If you did , they have to get visas for you . We can ’ t know what countries we ’ re going to . They had our passports from February to June , and then we got the phone call giving us two weeks ’ notice . You go back to L . A ., stay in ahotel for aweek again , and do team photos and interviews . Then they take your cell phone and credit cards , and you vanish for 21 days .
What was your experience on the show like ?
Besides havingmyson , it was one of the best experiences of my life . I ’ m so used to the NFL , which is cut-throat , and on this show , everyone was super nice . You had the freedom to be who you are , traveling to countries you never thought you ’ d go to . I went to Brazil , Argentina , South Africa , France , Poland , India and China — 33,000 miles in 21 days . It ’ s a good thing Krista and I can sleep through anything , because any time we were on a flight , we ’ d sleep through the whole thing . We ’ d get 5-7 hours of sleep , the adrenaline would kick in , and we ’ d just go .
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You were leading the other teams until the second to last episode . What happened ?
In each country , there were local challenges , andwedid well in them . But it doesn ’ t
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matter how athletic and smart you are , because you can lose when acab driver gets you lost for 45 minutes . That ’ s what happened in China . We were the last team to get to the finish line , so we were eliminated . We did win $ 7500 that we split , and you get a movie to take home , since you can ’ t take pictures during the time you ’ re in the race .
Since then , you ’ ve started a family . How did you meet your husband , Dante Rosania ?
I was modeling and booking some jobs , but I always told myself that when I turned 30 , it would be time to settle down . Ihad met my husband 13 years earlier when he was 27 and Iwas 18 , and Ihad acrush on him , but Iwas ababy . Then Imet him again through a mutual friend .
How do the images you ’ ve posted on the Sports Illustrated site tell your story ?
In July , Sports Illustrated announced that due to COVID-19 , they would be taking online submissions from women who ’ d like to be featured in their swimsuit edition — usually that ’ s when they would have open casting calls in Miami . They get 10,000 women submitting videos of themselves to the SI website and linking them to their own websites and Instagram accounts . Of those , Sports Illustrated choosessometofeature on its SwimSearch Instagram page .
Iwanted to be the first pregnant woman to showcase my new body there . It ’ s never been done before . I didn ’ t enjoy when I was pregnant with my son due to body shame , but then Ihad amiscarriage in May that made me appreciate my new body , with its stretch marks , and realize that my son is amiracle . The tiger marks on my thighs represent my son and his date of birth . Iwas pregnant again in July , and waited until September to get the okay from my doctor .
Unfortunately , I suffered a second miscarriage . But my husband said I should just tell the story of what really happened , so I submitted my tape , and a few weeks later , they featured me . Ihad tagged ittomy own Instagram account , and it got 17,000 views . You have to keep posting every week , so I ’ ll do that until they announce when they ’ ll have the open calls .
So many people have told me “ Thanks for saying what you go through .” My message is that they ’ re not alone and shouldn ’ t give up , though it ’ s hard in the moment . Ihad two miscarriages within five months , but I kept a positive outlook , and that ’ s what caught Sports Illustrated ’ s attention . ■
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COURTESY OF TIFFANY CHANTELL-ROSANIA |
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46 HOLIDAY 2020 WAYNE MAGAZINE |