Pasquale La Rocca

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.

Early life 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.

Competitive Dance Career 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. 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.

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.

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, and reunited with Burn the Floor for its 25th Anniversary Tour, 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, 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, further cementing his place as one of the most versatile performers on the international dance scene

Television career La Rocca first appeared on television with Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One). He later joined Dancing with the Stars, 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.

Dancing with the Stars

Belgium 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. He was partnered with influencer, Julie Vermeire. On 10 November 2019, Vermeire and La Rocca won the series.

Performances with Julie Vermeire

Ireland 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. 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. 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, marking his second consecutive win on the show and third of the worldwide franchise. 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.

Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance

Performances with Lottie Ryan

Performances with Nina Carberry

Italy 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. He partnered journalist Luisella Costamagna. In the second week of the competition, Costamagna suffered a knee injury, 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 Costamagna and La Rocca should have remained in the competition when Costamagna was physically unable 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. 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 for her to continue. 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. 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.

Performances with Luisella Costamagna

Performances with Wanda Nara

Performances with Nina Zilli

Performances with Federica Pellegrini

Performances with Janiya Mami

Performances with Barbara D'Urso Modern - 9 - 10 - 10 - 9 - 9 10 - 57 Safe8Samba Bachata 8 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 50 10 88 25%No elimination9 - Slowfox - 9 - 9 - 8 - 9 - 10 20 Freestyle10 Finished10 in10 the8 first9 semifinal10 -57 Argentine Tango10 3rd10 in10 the8 final9 vote - -473rd

Choreography 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.