The cast of 2012 - Seven West Media

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’.