Daniella Karagach

Daniella Brittany Karagach Pashkova (; born December 26, 1992) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer and choreographer. She began her career in dancesport and rose to prominence as a contestant on the second season of World of Dance with her husband, Pasha Pashkov.

Karagach continued her competitive dancing career by joining Dancing with the Stars in September 2019. She won her third season with basketball player Iman Shumpert and received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography.

Early life Daniella Brittany Karagach was born on December 26, 1992, in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrants from Moldova, Mark Karagach and Regina Yvette Karagach (now Zurinam). Her parents divorced one year after her birth. She was primarily raised as an only child by her mother in the Forest Hills and Bath Beach neighborhoods of New York; until her mother married her stepfather, Arie Zurinam, and she gained a stepsister, Ariana. She moved to South Beach, Staten Island when she grew older.

Karagach began taking ballet lessons at the age of three, and by age seven was taking Latin dance classes. Karagach studied childhood education at the City University of New York, the College of Staten Island.

In January 2009, Karagach paired with Pavel "Pasha" Pashkov. They were selected to represent the U.S. at the 2009 World Games in Taiwan and represented the United States in various international competitions and festivals. Karagach and Pashkov are seven-time U.S. 10-Dance Champions and Latin Champions. They also won the Rising Star Professional Championship at the 2017 Blackpool Dance Festival and the 2018 U.S. Latin American Showdance Championship. On television, they competed on the second season of World of Dance (2018) and choreographed for So You Think You Can Dance (2022).

Dancing with the Stars Karagach joined the reality competition series Dancing with the Stars as a troupe dancer for season 28; although she did not have a celebrity partner. For season 29, Karagach was paired with rapper and singer Nelly. They made it to the finals and placed third on November 23, 2020.

On the 30th season of Dancing with the Stars, Karagach was paired with basketball player Iman Shumpert. Despite a shaky beginning, the couple won the competition on November 22, 2021, making Shumpert the first NBA player to both make the finale and win. Karagach and Shumpert's contemporary piece to "I Got 5 on It (Tethered Mix)", for Halloween week, was hailed by critics and viewers as one of the best dances in the series' history. For her work on the season, Karagach received her first nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography.

On the 31st season of Dancing with the Stars, Karagach was paired with actor and bodybuilder Joseph Baena. Karagach was unable to compete for the second and third weeks after testing positive for COVID-19; she was temporarily replaced by troupe member Alexis Warr. Karagach and Baena were eliminated on October 18, 2022, finishing in 11th place; Karagach's lowest placement to date.

For season 32, Karagach was paired with singer-songwriter Jason Mraz. They made it to the finals and finished as the runners-up on December 5, 2023, behind actress Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy.

For season 33, Karagach was paired with basketball player Dwight Howard. They were eliminated during the quarterfinals on November 12, 2024, finishing in 6th place.

For season 34, Karagach partnered with The Traitors winner Dylan Efron. The couple made it to the finals, finishing in 4th place.

Season Partner Place 29 Nelly 3rd 30 Iman Shumpert 1st 31 Joseph Baena 11th 32 Jason Mraz 2nd 33 Dwight Howard 6th 34 Dylan Efron 4th

Season 29 Celebrity partner: Nelly Average score: 23.5/30

Week Dance Music Judges' scores Total score Result 1 Salsa "Ride wit Me" — Nelly 5 5 6 16 Safe 2 Cha-cha-cha "Let's Groove" — Earth, Wind & Fire 6 6 6 18 Safe 3 Foxtrot "It's All Right" (from Soul) 6 6 6 18 Safe 4 Paso doble "All I Do Is Win" — DJ Khaled, feat. T-Pain, Ludacris, Rick Ross & Snoop Dogg 7 7 7 21 Safe 5 Samba "Rhythm of the Night" — DeBarge 8 8 8 24 Safe 6 Viennese waltz "Humble and Kind" — Tim McGraw 8 8 8 24 Safe 7 Argentine tango "Can't Feel My Face" — The Weeknd 9 9 9 27 Safe 8 Rumba "Nobody Knows" — The Tony Rich Project 7 7 7 21 Safe Cha-cha-cha Relay "Rain on Me" — Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande 2 9 Jazz "California Love" — Tupac, feat. Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman 8 8 8 24 Safe Salsa Dance-off "The Cup of Life" — Ricky Martin 0 10(Semifinals) Paso doble "Run Boy Run" — Woodkid 9 8 9 26 Safe Jive Jump, Jive an' Wail — The Brian Setzer Orchestra 10 10 10 30 11(Finals) Samba "Rhythm of the Night" — DeBarge 9 9 9 27 Third place Freestyle "Savage" — Megan Thee Stallion &"Hypnotize" — The Notorious B.I.G. 10 10 10 30