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	4th
10	Blair McDonough	10th
11	Nick Bracks	6th
12	Brendan Fevola	4th
13	Cosentino	1st
19	Anthony Koutoufides	9th
20	Matt Preston	14th
21	Adam Dovile	6th/7th

Personal life

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

References

1. "Jessica Raffa". au.news.yahoo.com. Yahoo 7. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
2. Bradford, Rodic J. (13 July 2009). "Jessica Raffa". Dance Spirit Magazine. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
3. "The West Australian". The West. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
4. "Leighton Stevenson (Australia) & Jessica Raffa (Australia)". www.dancesportinfo.net. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
5. "DancesportInfo.net". www.dancesportinfo.net. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
6. "Biography". jessicaraffa.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
7. "Dancing with the Stars 2012 Press Kit" (PDF). 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
8. The Daily Telegraph (11 July 2009). "Dancing With The Stars beauty Jessica Raffa injured". heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
9. "Dancing With The Stars contestant Cosentino loses dance partner Jessica Raffa to injury". NewsComAu. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
10. Cronin, Seanna (26 November 2013). "Dance floor magic: Cosentino wins Dancing With The Stars". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
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.