Pasquale La Rocca

Pasquale La Rocca ([paˈskwaːle la ˈrɔkka]; born 24 June 1989) is an Italian dancer and choreographer. Best known as former Italian Ballroom and Latin Champion, La Rocca joined the second series of the Belgian version of Dancing with the Stars.

Pasquale La Rocca
Born (1989-06-24) 24 June 1989
Naples, Italy
OccupationDancer
Choreographer
Known forDancing with the Stars Belgium
Dancing with the Stars Ireland
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)

Early life

La Rocca was born in Naples, Italy. He has been dancing since the age of nine.[1]

Amateur dancing career

La Rocca began his amateur dancing career in 2003 partnered with fellow Italian dancer, Concetta Picascia. Their best result was finish top three in the Italian National 10 Dance Championships.[2]

Between 2005 and 2006, La Rocca partnered Vincenza Napolitano. Together they earned first places in TeamMatch della Danza in San Bendetto and MasterDanzOpen in Pescara.[3]

Between late 2006 and late 2007, La Rocca partnered Marika Fondi. Together they earned many first places, most notably at TeamMatch della Danza at the 2006 San Benedetto Open and Supercoppa in Foligno the following year.[4]

Throughout 2008, La Rocca partnered Veronica D'asti. They had a short but successful partnership, achieving many top five finishes most notably at the 2008 Verona Open.[5]

La Rocca's final amateur partner was Kristina Pfeiffer. Between 2012 and 2013 they had a successful run, winning the Amateur Latin Trophy at the Clapson Dodd Competition Day in 2012.[6]

Professional dancing career

La Rocca joined in 2014 the Broadway production of Burn the Floor touring in London’s West End and around the world including China, Australia and Japan. During the South African leg of the tour, La Rocca was named as Dance Captain of the company.[7][8] La Rocca remained with the touring company until 2018.

In 2017, La Rocca joined former Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer, Flavia Cacace, on her 'Tango Moderno' tour.[9]

In 2018, La Rocca appeared as a back-up dancer on Strictly Come Dancing's annual Blackpool special.[10]

In 2019, La Rocca joined Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers, Dianne Buswell, Amy Dowden and Chloe Hewitt on their 'Here Come the Girls' tour.[11]

Dancing with the Stars

Belgium

In September 2019, La Rocca joined the cast of the second series of the second incarnation of the Belgian version of Dancing with the Stars.[12][13] He was partnered with influencer, Julie Vermeire.[14] On 10 November 2019, Julie and Pasquale won the series.[15]

Series Partner Place
2 Julie Vermeire 1st

Performances with Julie Vermeire
Week No. Dance/Song Judges' score Total Result
Brocatus Louwyck Leunis Kooijman
1 Samba / "Shape of You" 7 7 6 6 26 No elimination
2 Tango / "Copycat" 7 8 7 8 30 Safe
3 Freestyle / "Counting Stars" 7 8 7 8 30 Safe
4 Rumba / "Read All About It, Pt. III" 8 9 7 8 32 Safe
5 Salsa / "Súbeme la Radio"
Jive Marathon / "Faith"		 8
Awarded		 9
12		 9
extra		 9
points		 35
47		 Safe
6 Modern / "Bad Guy" 9 9 8 10 36 Safe
7 Quickstep / "Puttin' On the Ritz"
Cha-Cha-Cha / "El Anillo"		 9
8		 9
9		 10
9		 10
9		 38
35		 Safe
8 Jive / "Dance with Me Tonight"
Freestyle / "Instruction"
Freestyle / "Counting Stars"		 9
10
No		 9
10
scores		 8
10
were		 9
10
awarded		 35
40
-		 Winners

Ireland

On 12 November 2019, just two days after he won the Belgian version, it was confirmed that Pasquale would be joining the cast of the fourth series of the Irish version of the show as a professional dancer.[16][17][18] He partnered radio broadcaster, Lottie Ryan. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the series was cut short by one week. On 15 March 2020, Lottie and Pasquale won the series.[19]

Series Partner Place
4 Lottie Ryan 1st

Performances with Lottie Ryan
Week No. Dance/Song Judges' score Total Result
Redmond Barry Benson
1 No dance performed - - - - No elimination
2 Jive / "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" 7 6 7 20
3 Contemporary Ballroom / "Castles" 8 9 9 26 Safe
4 Salsa / "Dora The Explorer Theme" 9 9 10 28 Safe
5 Tango / "Radio" 7 7 8 22 Safe
6 Rumba / "Beautiful People" 6 6 6 18 No elimination
Switch-Up Week with Gráinne Gallanagh
7 Viennese Waltz / "One of a Kind" 9 9 10 28 Safe
8 American Smooth / "Big Spender" 9 10 10 29 Bottom two
9 Samba / "Tip Toe"
Team Dance / "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)"		 9
9		 10
9		 10
9		 29
27		 Safe
10 Paso Doble / "Theme from Mission: Impossible"
Rock-Til-You-Drop / "Happy Days"		 9
Awarded		 9
5		 10
points		 28
33		 Bottom two
11 Quickstep / "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
Cha-Cha-Cha (with Ryan McShane) / "Turn Me On"		 10
10		 10
10		 10
10		 30
30		 Winners


gollark: I hope my internet radio station™ didn't break.
gollark: At last I have my mildly lower latency network link and large monitor.
gollark: Back now, muahahaha.
gollark: Scotland has the same gun laws as England, silly. Possibly stricter ones.
gollark: 5 minutes from arriving at home.

References
  1. "Pasquale La Rocca". Ten2 Productions Ltd. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  2. "DancesportInfo.net". www.dancesportinfo.net. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  3. "DancesportInfo.net". www.dancesportinfo.net. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  4. "DancesportInfo.net". www.dancesportinfo.net. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  5. "DancesportInfo.net". www.dancesportinfo.net. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  6. "DancesportInfo.net". www.dancesportinfo.net. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  7. "Pasquale La Rocca". Ten2 Productions Ltd. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  8. "Love and Passion for Dance is Revealed in a Fast-and-Furious Fire in the Ballroom : Seen and Heard International". Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  9. "The show must go on: Tango Moderno delights, despite co-star's absence". www.buckinghamtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  10. "Pasquale La Rocca: Extra, Model and Dancer - London, UK". StarNow. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  11. "Strictly's Dianne Buswell announces surprising new dance partner". HELLO!. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  12. "Julie Vermeire repeteert voor het eerst met haar Italiaanse dansleraar: "Ik ben blij dat hij mij leidt en niet omgekeerd"". www.nieuwsblad.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  13. "Pasquale La Rocca | VIER". www.vier.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  14. "Privacy settings". myprivacy.dpgmedia.be. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  15. "Julie Vermeire wint 'Dancing with the stars'". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  16. "Dancing with the Stars reveals new pro dancers after Curtis Pritchard's exit". RTE. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  17. Gallagher, Katie (14 November 2019). "Dancing With The Stars changes as four professional dancers to be swapped out". irishmirror. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  18. Townsend, Michelle (13 November 2019). "Pictures: Dancing With The Stars Ireland professionals 2020". rsvp. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  19. Sunday; March 15; Pm, 2020-09:08 (15 March 2020). "Lottie Ryan and partner Pasquale win Dancing with the Stars". www.irishexaminer.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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