Pasha Kovalev

Pasha Kovalev
Па́ша Ковалёв
Born (1980-01-19) 19 January 1980 (age 44)
Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
(now Russia)
Occupation(s)Latin and Ballroom dancer
Years active2001–present
Television
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Spouse
​
(m. 2019)​
Children2

Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev (Russian: Па́вел "Па́ша" Ковалёв; born 19 January 1980) is a Russian professional Latin and ballroom dancer.

Kovalev started dancing at the age of eight, and in 2001, moved to the United States with his professional dance partner Anya Garnis.[1] In 2007, the couple competed on the third season of the American version of So You Think You Can Dance,[2] and they have since participated in the eight subsequent seasons as either choreographers or All-Star partners to the contestants.

In 2011, Kovalev moved to the United Kingdom to take part in the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer.[3] After finishing runner-up on both the ninth and tenth series with celebrity partners Chelsee Healey and Kimberley Walsh,[4][5] he went on to win series twelve with his partner Caroline Flack.[6] Despite facing backlash over her past dance experience and landing in the bottom two three times, he and his celebrity partner, Ashley Roberts, later became runners-up on the sixteenth series of the show. They currently hold the record of the highest average for any celebrity on the show – with an average of 36.9 – and another record for scoring the most perfect scores – with a total of five. Kovalev announced that 2018 was his final series on the show as he had decided to "find a new challenge" after "eight incredible years".[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBCone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Pasha Kovalev on his journey from Siberia to Strictly Come Dancing Liverpool Echo 22 March 2013.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Joined-BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference series9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference series10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference series12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Pasha leaves Strictly Come Dancing". BBC News. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.