Pasquale La Rocca | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 June 1989 Naples, Italy |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer Choreographer |
| Years active | 15 |
| Known for | Dancing with the Stars Belgium Dancing with the Stars Ireland Ballando con le Stelle |
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) |
Pasquale La Rocca is an Italian professional dancer and choreographer. He is best known for his performances on Burn the Floor , Strictly Come Dancing , and Dancing with the Stars , where he achieved a record five consecutive wins across the franchise.
La Rocca was born in Naples, Italy, and began dancing at a young age. He trained in multiple styles before focusing on Ballroom and Latin. He went on to become Italian Champion and World Finalist in the Under 21 category.
In 2014, Pasquale La Rocca joined the Broadway production Burn the Floor, touring internationally across London’s West End, the United States, Australia, Japan, South Africa, and China. [1] During this period, he rose to the positions of principal dancer, dance captain, and assistant choreographer.
In 2017, he performed as principal dancer alongside Flavia Cacace in the Tango Moderno tour. [2]
In 2018, he appeared on the Strictly Come Dancing Blackpool Special, and in the years that followed he continued to feature in several Strictly Come Dancing specials.
In 2019, he joined Dianne Buswell, Amy Dowden, and Chloe Hewitt on their Here Come the Girls UK tour, and the same year made his debut as a professional on Dancing with the Stars Belgium, where he secured his first victory on the show. [3]
In 2020, he continued his winning streak, joining Dancing with the Stars Ireland and once again taking home the trophy.
In 2022, Pasquale enjoyed one of the most significant years of his career: he returned to DWTS Ireland for another victorious season, achieved a Guinness World Record with Strictly star Dianne Buswell, [4] and reunited with Burn the Floor for its 25th Anniversary Tour, [5] performing in a limited UK season alongside Strictly Come Dancing professionals, which closed with a celebrated run in London’s West End. That same year, he was invited as a guest choreographer on ITV’s The Masked Dancer and joined Italy’s Ballando con le Stelle, [6] where he quickly became a fan favourite.
In 2023 and 2024, Pasquale starred as principal dancer and dance captain in Giovanni Pernice’s UK shows, [7] further cementing his place as one of the most versatile and charismatic performers on the international dance scene
La Rocca first appeared on television with Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One). [8] He later joined Dancing with the Stars , [9] where he made history by winning five consecutive seasons across Belgium, Ireland, and Italy—the longest winning streak in the franchise’s history.
In Italy, he became a professional dancer on Ballando con le Stelle , the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing. Over three consecutive seasons, he won two and finished runner-up in the third.
In September 2019, La Rocca joined the cast of the second series of the second incarnation (seventh overall) of the Belgian version of Dancing with the Stars . [10] [11] He was partnered with influencer, Julie Vermeire. [12] On 10 November 2019, Vermeire and La Rocca won the series. [13]
| Series | Partner | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Julie Vermeire | 1st |
| 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 |
On 12 November 2019, just two days after he won the Belgian version, it was confirmed that La Rocca would be joining the cast of the fourth series of the Irish version of the show as a professional dancer. [14] [15] [16] He partnered radio broadcaster, Lottie Ryan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the series was cut short by one week. On 15 March 2020, Ryan and La Rocca won the series. [17]
During the fifth series of the show, La Rocca partnered former jockey, Nina Carberry. On 27 March 2022, Carberry and La Rocca won the series, making this his second consecutive win on the show and third of the worldwide franchise. [18] On 24 November 2022, due to scheduling conflicts resulting from his participation in the Italian series, La Rocca announced that he was not returning for the sixth series in 2023. [19]
| Series | Partner | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Lottie Ryan | 1st |
| 5 | Nina Carberry | 1st |
Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Smooth | Lottie Ryan Nina Carberry | 29 | ||
| Cha-cha-cha | Lottie Ryan | 30 | Nina Carberry | 21 |
| Charleston | Nina Carberry | 30 | Lottie Ryan | 25 |
| Contemporary Ballroom | Lottie Ryan | 25 | ||
| Foxtrot | ||||
| Jive | Nina Carberry | 26 | Lottie Ryan | 21 |
| Paso Doble | Nina Carberry | 30 | Lottie Ryan | 28 |
| Quickstep | Lottie Ryan | 30 | Nina Carberry | 19 |
| Rumba | Nina Carberry | 25 | ||
| Salsa | Lottie Ryan | 28 | Nina Carberry | 24 |
| Samba | Lottie Ryan | 29 | ||
| Showdance | Nina Carberry | 29 | ||
| Tango | Lottie Ryan | 23 | Nina Carberry | 19 |
| Viennese Waltz | Nina Carberry | 30 | Lottie Ryan | 28 |
| Waltz |
| Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redmond | Barry | Benson | ||||
| 1 | Jive / "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | No elimination |
| 2 | Contemporary Ballroom / "Castles" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 | Safe |
| 3 | Salsa / "Dora The Explorer Theme" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 | Safe |
| 4 | Tango / "Radio" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 23 | Safe |
| 5 | Charleston / "Woman Up" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 | No elimination |
| 6 | Viennese Waltz / "One of a Kind" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 | Safe |
| 7 | American Smooth / "Big Spender" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | Bottom two |
| 8 | Samba / "Tip Toe" Team Dance / "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" | 9 9 | 10 9 | 10 9 | 29 27 | Safe |
| 9 | Paso Doble / "Theme from Mission: Impossible" Rock-Til-You-Drop / "Happy Days" | 9 Awarded | 9 5 | 10 points | 28 33 | Bottom two |
| 10 | 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 |
| Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redmond | Barry | Gourounlian | ||||
| 1 | Quickstep / "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 | No elimination |
| 2 | Rumba / "Starlight" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 | Safe |
| 3 | Tango / "Elevation (Tomb Raider mix)" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 | Safe |
| 4 | Cha-cha-cha / "If the World Just Danced" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | Safe |
| 5 | Salsa / "Starships" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | No elimination |
| 6 | Viennese Waltz / "At Last" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | Safe |
| 7 | Charleston / "Doop" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | Safe |
| 8 | Jive / "Faith" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 | Safe |
| 9 | American Smooth / "A Foggy Day (in London Town)" Team Dance / "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" | 9 9 | 10 10 | 10 10 | 29 29 | Safe |
| 10 | Paso Doble / "Get Ready" Bust-a-Move Marathon / "I'm So Excited" | 10 Awarded | 10 4 | 10 points | 30 34 | Safe |
| 11 | Viennese Waltz / "At Last" Showdance / "If My Friends Could See Me Now" | 10 9 | 10 10 | 10 10 | 30 29 | Winners |
On 3 September 2022, La Rocca announced via Instagram that he would be joining the Italian version of the show, Ballando con le Stelle for its seventeenth season as a professional dancer. [20] He partnered journalist, Luisella Costamagna. [21] In the second week of the competition Costamagna suffered an injury to her knee, this negatively affected the couple's performances forcing her to sit and move very little throughout most of them. This caused controversy, with many viewers questioning whether or not Costamagna and La Rocca should have remained in the competition when Costamagna was not physically able to dance. Judge, Selvaggia Lucarelli was particularly vocal with her opinions stating that she felt the couple should have bowed out gracefully and scored them 'zero' three weeks in a row. [22] At the beginning of the sixth live show, Costamagna and La Rocca announced their decision to withdraw from the competition as Costamagna's injury had not healed sufficiently enough to continue. [23] They were the third couple to leave the competition. Costamagna and La Rocca returned in the tenth week of the season to compete in the 'Repechage' - which saw five couples who had the competition return to dance again to win back a place in the following week's grand finale. Costamagna and La Rocca won the public vote and were, therefore, made finalists. [24] On 23 December 2022, Costamagna and La Rocca were voted winners of the series, giving La Rocca his fourth consecutive win in a row - continuing his undefeated streak. [25]
| Series | Partner | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | Luisella Costamagna | 1st |
| 18 | Wanda Nara | 1st |
| 19 | Nina Zilli | 12th |
| Federica Pellegrini | 2nd |
| Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Bonus points | Total | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zazzaroni | Canino | Smith | Lucarelli | Mariotto | |||||
| 1 | Tango / "Beggin'" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 10 | - | 42 | No elimination |
| 2 | Modern / "Ricordati di me" | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | - | 37 | Safe |
| 3 | Waltz / "Il Mondo" | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 13 | No elimination |
| 4 | Bachata / "Killing Me Softly with His Song" | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | - | 25 | |
| 5 | Showdance / "All That Jazz" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 25 | 64 | Safe |
| 6 | No dance performed | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Withdrew |
| 7 | Did not compete | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | N/A |
| 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 10 | Paso Doble / "Survivor" Freestyle / "Trouble" | 10 Won | 10 majority | 10 of | 9 public | 10 vote | 30 - | 79 62% | Won Repechage |
| 11 | Argentine Tango / "Codigo de Barra" Paso Doble / "Survivor" Showdance / "All That Jazz" Swing / "Trouble" Bachata / "Killing Me Softly with His Song" Waltz / "Il Mondo" | 10 Won Finished No No Winners | 10 the in scores scores of | 10 knockout the were were the | 7 challenge top awarded awarded final | 10 dance two here here vote | - - - - - - | 47 51% 35.7% - - 57% | Winners |
| Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Bonus points | Total | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zazzaroni | Canino | Smith | Lucarelli | Mariotto | |||||
| 1 | Rumba / "Caruso" | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | - | 43 | No elimination |
| 2 | Samba / "Magalenha" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | - | 50 | Safe |
| 3 | Paso Doble / "Believer" | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 56 | Safe |
| 4 | Waltz / "Unchained melody" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | - | 47 | Safe |
| 5 | Salsa / "Despacito" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | - | 49 | Safe |
| 6 | Charleston / "Do Your Thing" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 58 | Safe |
| 7 | Showdance / "I Put a Spell on You" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 37 | 86 | Safe |
| 8 | Bachata / "Déjà vu" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 53 | Safe |
| 9 | Modern / "La vita splendida" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 35 | 85 | Safe |
| 10 | Argentine Tango / "Por una cabeza/la cumparsita" Paso Doble / "Believer" Samba / "Magalenha" Salsa / "Despacito" Charleston / "Do Your Thing" Waltz / "Unchained melody" Paso Doble / "Believer" | 10 No Finished No No No Winners | 10 scores in scores scores scores of | 10 were the were were were the | 10 awarded top awarded awarded awarded final | 10 here two here here here vote | - - - - - - - | 50 - 67% - - - 70% | Winners |
As a choreographer, La Rocca has worked on television productions including The Masked Dancer (ITV). He also collaborated on the 20th anniversary of Strictly Come Dancing , assisting Emmy Award-winning choreographer Mandy Moore on professional routines.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help){{citation}}: |last= has generic name (help)