Jessica Raffa (born circa 1984) is an Australian ballroom dancer known for appearing on Australia's ''Dancing with the Stars''. She won

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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 Burn the Floor is a live dance show which has performed around the world, including on Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in New York City and the West End of London, West End in London. Since 1997, Burn the Floor has performed in over 130 countries w ...

''.

Early life

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

Jason Gilkison Jason Gilkison is an Australian professional ballroom dance champion and choreographer. Early life Gilkison was born in Perth, Australia. He was raised by his single mum, Kay. At age 4, he began dancing at the Perth ballroom dance studio, fo ...

and Peta Roby.

Career

Raffa joined ''

'' at age 17 after catching the eye of choreographer Jason Gilkison. She toured with the production for eight years. 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. In 2009, Raffa assisted Gilkison with his choreography for ''

So You Think You Can Dance Australia ''So You Think You Can Dance Australia'' is an Australian version of the American reality dance competition ''So You Think You Can Dance''. The show is hosted by Carrie Bickmore, with judges Paula Abdul, Shannon Holtzapffel, Jason Gilkison and ...

''.

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 The ninth series of the children's television series '' Hi-5'' aired between 11 June 2007 and 10 August 2007 on the Nine Network in Australia. The series was produced by Kids Like Us for Nine with Helena Harris as executive producer. This was t ...

, when she was paired with blind

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

Gerrard Gosens. A rehearsal mishap sent Raffa to the hospital for CAT scans and an MRI. While competing in

with magician Cosentino, Raffa injured her back and was unable to dance for three weeks. She was temporarily replaced by dancer Sriani Argaet, starting in week 2 of the competition. Cosentino and Raffa went on to win that series of ''Dancing with the Stars''.

Personal life

Raffa announced her engagement to Tony Ouliaris in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raffa, Jessica 1984 births Living people Australian ballroom dancers Australian female dancers 21st-century Australian dancers Canadian expatriates in Australia Australian people of Italian descent