The cast of 2012 - Seven West Media

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AFL SUPERSTAR, AGE 31 BRENDAN FEVOLA PARTNER: JESSICA RAFFA DANCING FOR: LIFE EDUCATION “I’m not sure what people think of me – you either love me or hate me, so hopefully this is a good opportunity to show people what I’m really like.” Brendan Fevola knows where the line is drawn with his children. “They’re all voting for Johnny Ruffo,” he laughs. A proud father of three girls, he says he’s excited to get onto the dance floor. “The girls are rapt, they’ve made banners and they’re really excited to come to the show. I’m looking forward to getting out there and showing them what Dad can do.” Regarded as one of the great full-forwards in recent AFL history, ‘Fev’ finished his career with 623 Goals from 204 games. He twice won the Coleman Medal for the AFL’s leading goal kicker and was named as an all-Australian Selection in 2006, 2008 & 2009. But he says competing for the mirror ball trophy may be his biggest hurdle. “I’ve got sore muscles where I never thought I had muscles. It’s very hard doing something that you’re not used to. You know, it’s like trying to ride a bike – I feel like a kid, like we’ve got training wheels at the moment. I don’t know when they’re going to come off.” Battling old football injuries – operations on his shoulders, groin and knee – he says his posture is big issue. “And my feet don’t move, I’ve got two left feet so that’s going to be a problem.” No stranger to controversy, Fev knows there are divided opinions. “You get perceived a lot from the indiscretions that happened when I played football, and I’ve made a few mistakes, and a lot of people write stuff which isn’t true. But you’ve got no real right of reply so you just cop it. That’s not the real me so I think this show’s a great opportunity to come out and be yourself. That’s what people will either be drawn to or they won’t like, and I’ll find out pretty quick.” Fev is currently playing VFL footy for the Yarrawonga Pigeons. He says at the end of the day, anything he can do for his charity Life Education, is worth it. “I’ve got a history with it, and it relates. They create an awareness of the problems of indulging in too much alcohol and drugs, and go out to schools and try and plant that in the kid’s heads. They don’t get much, so hopefully we can make them more well-known and raise more money.” JESSICA RAFFA This will be Jessica’s fourth appearance on DANCING WITH THE STARS. In 2009 she made her brave debut with blind adventurer Gerard Gossens. In 2010 she partnered Blair McDonough from Winners and Losers and in 2011 took Nick Bracks to the floor. Jessica has been dancing since the age of three. She started her dancing career with the Junior Australian Ballet, then ventured into Ballroom. This led her to compete on both a national and international level for over 10 years. She was trained in London by World Champion Latin dancers such as Brian Watson and John Eftidal. At 15, Jessica competed at the prestigious Blackpool Ballroom Dancing Competition in 1999. Nine years ago, Jessica joined the cast of Burn The Floor. She started teaching dance to blind and vision impaired people after performing a blindfolded dance in the show. Jessica has taught throughout Australia and the US, working closely with Vision Australia. Together with producer Harley Medcalf, Jessica created the non-profit organisation Blindfold, raising money for deaf and blind children in Australia. Jessica was the head spokesperson for ‘Burn The Floor presents Floorplay’, representing the company at promotional events in Australia, China, Japan, Europe and North America. Two documentaries have been aired in Japan focusing solely on Jessica’s life and role in ‘Floorplay’.
X FACTOR SENSATION, AGE 24 JOHNNY RUFFO PARTNER: LUDA KROITOR DANCING FOR: FATHER CHRIS RILEY’S YOUTH OFF THE STREET “Not in a million years did I think I’d be doing this. Basically I’m just living my dream and having the time of my life.” According to his fellow dancing contestants, Johnny Ruffo is the man to watch on the floor this season. Bursting onto the stage on Channel Seven’s X Factor in 2011, Johnny quickly became a household name. “A year ago I was still doing music, working really hard at it in the studio, but obviously to fund that I was doing concreting and working construction,’’ he says. Since becoming a top 3 finalist in the show, Johnny has left his boots and safety jacket behind, signing a recording contract with Sony Music Australia. And now he’s taking to the dance floor with hopes of claiming the mirror ball trophy. “The strengths I have are that I can probably pick the choreography up quite easily, but it’s the technique that I’m really struggling with. Because I’ve taught myself to dance for so long, my mind is set in bad habits, they’re just really hard to shake.” Johnny says he had no hesitation when being asked to take part in the show this season. “I thought it was a great opportunity, I love being out there on stage doing what I do best which is entertaining and I jumped at it straight away.” And he’s quick to stress his signature freestyle and hip hop dance moves are all his own. “I have never in my life had a dance lesson. Ever. Everything that I know is just from teaching myself.” This season Johnny will dance for Father Chris Riley’s Youth Off The Street. “It’s great, it’s all about helping kids and I specifically wanted to help kids out because in my eyes, kids have a lot less of a choice, they really don’t. It’s not their choice that they’re living on the streets, they don’t choose to not have a roof over their heads or not have shoes or clothes to wear and not have an education – it’s not their choice. So I really wanted to donate the funding to a charity that supports all of that.” LUDA KROITOR This is Luda’s sixth appearance on DANCING WITH THE STARS, winning Series 8 with Luke Jacobz and runner up in Series 4 and 7. Of Russian origin, Luda came to Australia at the age of 10. Her passion for dance and choreography was clear at 11, when she started training in all styles of Latin America, Ballroom, Brazilian and Salsa. By the time she was 18, Luda already had become the Australian Youth Latin Champion. Luda’s passion for dance was further rewarded at 19 when she achieved her dream of becoming World Salsa Champion through the IDO World Dance Federation. It was the first time that Australia was represented at the World Championships and Luda took out the title with every judge giving her first place. Luda’s hard work, determination and dedication drove her to fulfil her ultimate goal as five-time World Salsa Champion. She still holds the title and a place in world dance history.
Page 2 and 3: THE CAST OF 2012
Page 4 and 5: PAST DANCING WITH THE STARS CHAMPIO
Page 6 and 7: CO-HOST MEL B Mel B knows a thing o
Page 10 and 11: SINGER/SONGWRITER, AGE 42 DANIELLE
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Page 14 and 15: INTERNATIONAL DJ, AGE 25 VOGUE WILL
Page 16 and 17: ‘80S ROCK LEGEND, AGE 50 BRIAN MA
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Page 20 and 21: JUDGE JOSHUA HORNER Joshua Horner l

The cast of 2012 - Seven West Media

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