Alec has been dancing since he was five years old. Alec moved to America from Russia with his family when he was 12. His mother ran a dance studio, and today Alec runs two ballroom dance schools, one in San Francisco Bay Area and another in Los Angeles.

Alec and his partner Edyta only turned Professional in 2005, having been successful amateur Latin competitors for the previous five years.

Alec has also studied acting at Playhouse West. He has appeared in the Vanessa Williams movie Dance With Me as well as numerous commercials. He has a BA in Cognitive Science from UC Berkeley.