The cast of 2012 - Seven West Media
The cast of 2012 - Seven West Media
The cast of 2012 - Seven West Media
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AFL SUPERSTAR, AGE 31<br />
BRENDAN FEVOLA<br />
PARTNER: JESSICA RAFFA<br />
DANCING FOR: LIFE EDUCATION<br />
“I’m not sure what people think <strong>of</strong> me – you either love me or<br />
hate me, so hopefully this is a good opportunity to show people<br />
what I’m really like.”<br />
Brendan Fevola knows where the line is drawn with his children.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>y’re all voting for Johnny Ruffo,” he laughs. A proud father <strong>of</strong><br />
three girls, he says he’s excited to get onto the dance floor. “<strong>The</strong><br />
girls are rapt, they’ve made banners and they’re really excited<br />
to come to the show. I’m looking forward to getting out there<br />
and showing them what Dad can do.”<br />
Regarded as one <strong>of</strong> the great full-forwards in recent AFL history,<br />
‘Fev’ finished his career with 623 Goals from 204 games. He<br />
twice won the Coleman Medal for the AFL’s leading goal kicker<br />
and was named as an all-Australian Selection in 2006, 2008 &<br />
2009. But he says competing for the mirror ball trophy may be<br />
his biggest hurdle. “I’ve got sore muscles where I never thought<br />
I had muscles. It’s very hard doing something that you’re not<br />
used to. You know, it’s like trying to ride a bike – I feel like a kid,<br />
like we’ve got training wheels at the moment. I don’t know when<br />
they’re going to come <strong>of</strong>f.”<br />
Battling old football injuries – operations on his shoulders, groin<br />
and knee – he says his posture is big issue. “And my feet don’t<br />
move, I’ve got two left feet so that’s going to be a problem.”<br />
No stranger to controversy, Fev knows there are divided<br />
opinions. “You get perceived a lot from the indiscretions that<br />
happened when I played football, and I’ve made a few<br />
mistakes, and a lot <strong>of</strong> people write stuff which isn’t true. But<br />
you’ve got no real right <strong>of</strong> reply so you just cop it. That’s not the<br />
real me so I think this show’s a great opportunity to come out<br />
and be yourself. That’s what people will either be drawn to or<br />
they won’t like, and I’ll find out pretty quick.” Fev is currently<br />
playing VFL footy for the Yarrawonga Pigeons.<br />
He says at the end <strong>of</strong> the day, anything he can do for his charity<br />
Life Education, is worth it. “I’ve got a history with it, and it relates.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y create an awareness <strong>of</strong> the problems <strong>of</strong> indulging in too<br />
much alcohol and drugs, and go out to schools and try and<br />
plant that in the kid’s heads. <strong>The</strong>y don’t get much, so hopefully<br />
we can make them more well-known and raise more money.”<br />
JESSICA RAFFA<br />
This will be Jessica’s fourth appearance on DANCING WITH THE<br />
STARS. In 2009 she made her brave debut with blind adventurer<br />
Gerard Gossens. In 2010 she partnered Blair McDonough<br />
from Winners and Losers and in 2011 took Nick Bracks to the<br />
floor. Jessica has been dancing since the age <strong>of</strong> three. She<br />
started her dancing career with the Junior Australian Ballet,<br />
then ventured into Ballroom. This led her to compete on both<br />
a national and international level for over 10 years. She was<br />
trained in London by World Champion Latin dancers such as<br />
Brian Watson and John Eftidal. At 15, Jessica competed at the<br />
prestigious Blackpool Ballroom Dancing Competition in 1999.<br />
Nine years ago, Jessica joined the <strong>cast</strong> <strong>of</strong> Burn <strong>The</strong> Floor. She<br />
started teaching dance to blind and vision impaired people<br />
after performing a blindfolded dance in the show. Jessica has<br />
taught throughout Australia and the US, working closely with<br />
Vision Australia.<br />
Together with producer Harley Medcalf, Jessica created the<br />
non-pr<strong>of</strong>it organisation Blindfold, raising money for deaf and<br />
blind children in Australia.<br />
Jessica was the head spokesperson for ‘Burn <strong>The</strong> Floor<br />
presents Floorplay’, representing the company at promotional<br />
events in Australia, China, Japan, Europe and North<br />
America. Two documentaries have been aired in Japan<br />
focusing solely on Jessica’s life and role in ‘Floorplay’.