Jessica Raffa

Jessica Raffa (born circa 1984)[1] is an Australian ballroom dancer known for appearing on Australia's Dancing with the Stars. She won Series 13 of the televised dance competition with celebrity partner Cosentino. Before competing on Dancing with the Stars, Raffa toured with the dance show Burn the Floor.

Early life

Raffa began dancing ballet at age 3.[2][3] She began dancing ballroom at age 9 when a studio opened near her home.[2] Between 1995 and 1998 she competed in Latin and Ballroom with Leighton Stevenson.[4] In 1999 at age 15, Raffa competed at the Blackpool Ballroom Dance Competition in the youth category with partner Giuseppe Cosentino.[1][5] In 2000 she performed at the Closing Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney along with Jason Gilkison and Peta Roby.[6]

Career

Raffa joined Burn the Floor at age 17 after catching the eye of choreographer Jason Gilkison.[2] She toured with the production for eight years.[6] One of her numbers in the show included her dancing with a blindfold. That experience inspired her to start a foundation for the blind with Burn the Floor producer Harley Medcalf.[1]

In 2009, Raffa assisted Gilkison with his choreography for So You Think You Can Dance Australia.[1]

Dancing with the Stars

Raffa spent five series as a professional dancer on Australia's Dancing with the Stars. Her first series was Series 9, when she was paired with blind Paralympian Gerrard Gosens.[7] A rehearsal mishap sent Raffa to the hospital for CAT scans and an MRI.[8] While competing in Series 13 with magician Cosentino, Raffa injured her back and was unable to dance for three weeks.[9][10] She was temporarily replaced by dancer Sriani Argaet, starting in week 2 of the competition.[9] Cosentino and Raffa went on to win that series of Dancing with the Stars.[10]

Season Partner Place
9 Gerrard Gosens 4
10 Blair Mcdonough 10
11 Nick Bracks 6
12 Brendan Fevola 4
13 Cosentino 1

Personal life

Raffa announced her engagement to Tony Ouliaris in 2012.[11]

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References
  1. "Jessica Raffa". au.news.yahoo.com. Yahoo 7. June 29, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  2. Bradford, Rodic J. (13 July 2009). "Jessica Raffa". Dance Spirit Magazine. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  3. "The West Australian". The West. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  4. "Leighton Stevenson (Australia) & Jessica Raffa (Australia)". www.dancesportinfo.net. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  5. "DancesportInfo.net". www.dancesportinfo.net. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  6. "Biography". jessicaraffa.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  7. "Dancing with the Stars 2012 Press Kit" (PDF). 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-25. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  8. The Daily Telegraph (2009-07-11). "Dancing With The Stars beauty Jessica Raffa injured". heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
  9. "Dancing With The Stars contestant Cosentino loses dance partner Jessica Raffa to injury". NewsComAu. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  10. Cronin, Seanna (2013-11-26). "Dance floor magic: Cosentino wins Dancing With The Stars". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
  11. Staff Writer. "Channel Seven's Dancing With The Stars pro dancer Jessica Raffa who partnered Brendan Fevola this year is engaged". Harold Sun. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
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