Graziano Di Prima

Last updated

Graziano Di Prima
Born (1994-05-07) 7 May 1994 (age 30)
Occupation(s) Dancer
Choreographer
Known for Strictly Come Dancing

Graziano Di Prima (born 7 May 1994) is an Italian dancer and choreographer. Between 2018 and 2023, Di Prima was a professional dancer on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing .

Contents

Career

Di Prima was born in Sicily. [1]

He toured with Burn the Floor, UK in 2021 alongside other professional dancers and the Strictly Come Dancing the Professionals Live Tour in 2022.

Strictly Come Dancing

In 2018, the BBC announced that Di Prima would join the cast of professional dancers on the British television show Strictly Come Dancing . He was demoted the following year due to his height; as he personally announced that he was not getting a celebrity partner. [2]

Di Prima has also appeared on a number of episodes of BBC Two's Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two with Zoë Ball. Di Prima is the current Guinness World Record holder for the most Botafogo steps, performing 90 steps in 30 seconds in a challenge held in December 2019. This record was achieved on It Takes Two with supervision by Guinness World Records. [3]

Di Prima danced with singer Anne-Marie for the 2021 Christmas special, and won. He also participated in the 2023 Christmas special with news presenter Sally Nugent, and finished as a runner up.

In July 2024, despite initially being confirmed to return for the twenty-second series, it was later announced that Di Prima would not be returning to the show, following allegations of misconduct against him. In a statement Di Prima said that he "deeply regret[ted]" his actions that led to his departure from the show, [4] which he later said included kicking his celebrity partner Zara McDermott. [5]

SeriesPartnerPlaceAverage
Score
16 Vick Hope 12th24.2
19 Judi Love 10th24.4
20 Kym Marsh 6th31.1
21 Zara McDermott 10th24.7

Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance

Series 16

Di Prima's first celebrity partner was radio DJ Vick Hope.

Week Dance / SongJudges' scoresScoreResult
HorwoodBussellBallasTonioli
1 Jive / "Feel It Still"354618No Elimination
2 Waltz / "Somewhere"776727Safe
3 Salsa / "Take A Chance on Me"677727Safe
4 Quickstep / "You Can't Hurry Love"777829Safe
5 Cha-Cha-Cha / "More Than Friends"4646*20Eliminated

Series 19

Di Prima's second celebrity partner was comedian & Loose Women panellist Judi Love.

Week Dance / SongJudges' scoresScoreResult
HorwoodMabuseBallasDu Beke
1 American Smooth / "Chain of Fools"666624No Elimination
2 Samba / "Get Busy"676625Safe
3 Charleston / "When You're Good to Mama"477624Bottom two
4 Waltz / "Hero"467724Bottom two
5 Cha-Cha-Cha / "Physical"Given bye
6 Cha-Cha-Cha / "Physical"477725Eliminated

Series 20

Di Prima's third celebrity partner was actress & Morning Live presenter Kym Marsh.

Week Dance / SongJudges' scoresScoreResult
HorwoodMabuseBallasDu Beke
1 Jive / "Yes"466723No Elimination
2 Viennese Waltz / "Runaway"677727Safe
3 Charleston / "If My Friends Could See Me Now"798933Safe
4 Samba / "Volare"788932Bottom two
5 Quickstep / "Ballroom Blitz"776727Safe
6 Rumba / "Frozen"889934Safe
7 Argentine tango / "Assassin's Tango"9991037Safe
8 American Smooth / "Chasing Cars"878831Safe
9 Paso Doble / "Only Girl (In the World)"/"We Found Love"888933Safe
10Couple's Choice / "I Feel for You"Given bye
11 Cha-cha-cha / "Fame"899834Eliminated

Series 21

Di Prima's fourth celebrity partner was media personality and television presenter Zara McDermott.

Week Dance / SongJudges' scoresScoreResult
HorwoodMabuseBallasDu Beke
1 Cha-cha-cha / "Crush"365519No Elimination
2 Quickstep / "Anyone for You (Tiger Lily)"665623Safe
3 Paso Doble / "The Puss Suite"666725Bottom two
4 Viennese waltz / "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me"777728Safe
5 American Smooth / "Can't Fight the Moonlight"777728Bottom two
6 Charleston / "Jeepers Creepers"666725Eliminated

Related Research Articles

<i>Strictly Come Dancing</i> British television series

Strictly Come Dancing is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of judges. The title of the show is a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing. The format has been exported to 60 other countries under the title Dancing with the Stars, licensed by BBC Worldwide, and led to a modern dance-themed spin-off Strictly Dance Fever. The Guinness World Records named Strictly as the world's most successful reality television format in 2010. The series is currently presented by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. Bruce Forsyth co-presented the series with Daly until 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan Cole</span> New Zealand dancer (born 1976)

Brendan Cole is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, Strictly Come Dancing from 2004 to 2017. From 2005 to 2009, he was a judge on the New Zealand version of the show, Dancing with the Stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Waite</span> British dancer

Ian Waite is a British professional dancer specialising in Latin American dance, a teacher and choreographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anton Du Beke</span> English dancer and TV presenter (born 1966)

Anthony Paul Beke, known professionally as Anton Du Beke, is a British ballroom and Latin dancer, author and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and a judge on the BBC One celebrity dancing show Strictly Come Dancing. His professional dance partner since 1997 has been Erin Boag.

Botafogo, also sometimes spelt as Bota-fogo or Bota Fogo, is a dance step in Samba. Depending on relative positions and handholds, there are several versions of Botafogos while the basic footwork technique is the same. The name comes from Botafogo place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

<i>Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two</i> Companion weeknight show on BBC Two

Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two is a British television programme, the companion show to the popular BBC One programme Strictly Come Dancing. First aired on 25 October 2004, it is broadcast from Monday to Friday during the run of the main show on BBC Two at 6:30 pm.

Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev is a Russian professional Latin and ballroom dancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Skelton</span> English TV presenter (born 1983)

Helen Elizabeth Skelton is an English television presenter and actress. She co-presented the BBC children's programme Blue Peter from 2008 until 2013, and since 2014 has been a presenter on Countryfile. She also co-presented two series of the BBC One programme Holiday Hit Squad alongside Angela Rippon and Joe Crowley. She also presented the daytime series The Instant Gardener that ran for two series.

Karen Hauer Wyn-Jones is a Venezuelan-American professional Latin dance specialist and World Mambo Champion, best known for her appearances on the British television series Strictly Come Dancing, having served as a professional dancer on the show since 2012. She is currently the longest serving professional dancer on the show. She also featured on the American TV series So You Think You Can Dance, and was a principal dancer in the touring live dance show Burn the Floor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oti Mabuse</span> South African dancer (born 1990)

Otlile "Oti" Mabuse is a South African talent show judge, presenter, dancer and Latin dance champion currently based in the United Kingdom. She is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in 2019 and 2020, and its German equivalent, Let's Dance. She was a Dance Captain on The Greatest Dancer. Since 2021, she has been a panellist on The Masked Dancer and became a judge on Dancing on Ice in 2022.

Giovanni Pernice is an Italian professional dancer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his appearances on the British television show Strictly Come Dancing. He is also an Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (2012), and the Guinness World Record holder for Jive kicks and flicks, as well as Charleston swivels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Dowden</span> Welsh dancer (born 1990)

Amy Dowden is a Welsh professional ballroom and Latin American dancer from Caerphilly, Wales, best known for her appearances on the BBC One television show Strictly Come Dancing. Dowden joined the series in 2017, and in 2019, she was a finalist in the seventeenth series with TV presenter Karim Zeroual. Dowden and her partner Ben Jones are former British National Latin Dance Champions. She has the Guinness World Record for the most back-Charleston kick-steps in 30 seconds (2022). She has a twin sister and an older brother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadiya Bychkova</span> Ukrainian ballroom dancer (born 1989)

Nadiya Bychkova is a Ukrainian ballroom and Latin American dancer who is a multiple-time Slovenian Ballroom and Latin Champion and two-time World and European Champion in '10' Dance. In 2017, she joined the British television show Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer. She holds two Guinness World Records at Strictly's Pro Challenge for the most dance steps in 30 seconds - for fleckerls in 2020 and pat-a-cakes in 2021.

Strictly Come Dancing Live! is a nationwide arena tour in the United Kingdom which was first staged in 2008 and has continued every year since. It is directed and co-choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood.

Strictly Come Dancing returned for its seventeenth series with a launch show on 7 September 2019 on BBC One, and the live shows beginning on 21 September. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as hosts, while Zoe Ball returned to host Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two alongside new addition Rylan Clark-Neal.

Strictly Come Dancing returned for its nineteenth series with a launch show on 18 September 2021 on BBC One, and the live shows beginning on 25 September. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as hosts, while Rylan Clark-Neal returned to host Strictly: It Takes Two alongside new presenter Janette Manrara, who replaced Zoe Ball. In June 2021, the BBC announced that Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, and Craig Revel Horwood would return to the judging panel. Anton Du Beke, who served as a guest judge in the previous series, joined the panel in place of Bruno Tonioli, who did not return for the second year in a row due to travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

<i>Strictly Come Dancing</i> series 20 Season of television series

Strictly Come Dancing returned for its twentieth series with a launch show on 23 September 2022 on BBC One, with live shows beginning the following day on 24 September. The launch show was originally scheduled to be broadcast on 17 September, but was postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as hosts, while Rylan Clark and Janette Manrara returned to host Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.

<i>Strictly Come Dancing</i> series 21 Season of television series

Strictly Come Dancing returned for its twenty-first series with a launch show on 16 September 2023 on BBC One, with live shows beginning on 23 September. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as hosts, while Janette Manrara returned to host Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, alongside Fleur East, who was announced as the new co-host after Rylan Clark's departure in April 2023. In April 2023, the BBC announced that Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse, and Craig Revel Horwood would return to the judging panel.

Strictly Come Dancing is expected to return for its twenty-second series with a launch show in September 2024 on BBC One, with the live shows expected to begin shortly thereafter. A special episode to commemorate the programme's twentieth anniversary has also been confirmed. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are confirmed to return as hosts, whilst Janette Manrara and Fleur East will return to host Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke will return to the judging panel.

References

  1. Bley Griffiths, Eleanor (30 May 2018). "Who is new Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Graziano Di Prima?". Radio Times. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  2. "Graziano di Prima will not get a celebrity partner this year". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  3. "Graziano Di Prima achieves Guinness World Records title on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  4. "Graziano Di Prima to leave Strictly Come Dancing". BBC News . Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  5. Razzall, Katie; Youngs, Ian (18 July 2024). "Graziano Di Prima kicked Zara McDermott in Strictly rehearsal, spokesman says". BBC News . Retrieved 18 July 2024.