Pasha Kovalev

[Davis]

Pasha Kovalev

So You Think You Can Dance 3

Biography:
27, is a Latin Ballroom dancer from Fort Lee, NJ. Pasha is originally from Russia and has trained with numerous professional ballroom dancers. He has been dancing with partner Anya Garnis, also a finalist, for nine years.

Source: FOX.com

[Davis]

This guy is a CRAZY ball room dancer. Even Mary Murphy said that he was one of the best that the show has seen. I think that he is going to do well in So You Think You Can Dance. We will see.

[Erika]

Interview: Pasha Kovalev, Top Six Finalist on 'So You Think You Can Dance'

August 14, 2007

On last night's episode of So You Think You Can Dance, ballroom dancer Pasha Kovalev was eliminated, just missing being part of the finale. His longtime partner, Anya Garris, had gone home weeks before and Pasha went on dancing. What fans may not know is that Pasha wasn't even planning on trying out for the show. He went to the audition as a favor to his friend and partner Anya and got an experience that he never planned on. Grateful for his time on the show and the support of the judges, Pasha takes some time of his busy day to talk to BuddyTV about how fate brought him in front of a national audience.

Hey everybody, it's Gina from BuddyTV and I am here with Pasha. Pasha, thanks for talking with us today.

Hi. Glad to talk to you.


Now, tell me how long were you and Anya dancing together before you came on the show?

We had almost been dancing together for ten years ... nine, ten years.


And was it difficult for you to perform solos without a partner? Is that something that you struggled with?

Yeah, ballroom dancers, in general, it's kind of hard to perform solos because you're so used to represent and present your partner so ballroom dancing is all about making your partner look special. And when you do it on your own, you feel naked a little bit.


Was this your first year trying out for the show.

Yes, yes it was.


What was the experience like trying out? Was it very stressful for you?

No, it wasn't stressful because in the beginning, I wasn't planning on trying for the show anyway. It was more, like, helping Anya because she wanted to do it so badly. I was kind of at this stage in my life where I was coming out of illness so I wasn't sure if I was trying out. So for me, it was a piece of cake because I was just there to support Anya. I didn't even audition. But then, I guess, thrown into it and then it became stressful.


And you were first paired up with Jessi and there were a lot of rumors all over the place that you two were together. Were you or were you just friends?

No, we were just friends. No, we didn't have anything going on and I was actually surprised to hear her comments on the show. I was like, "Okay, here we go!"


Yeah, the readers were saying, "I don't think Pasha knew how Jessi really felt until after she was eliminated."

Yes, true. We stayed as friends during and after her elimination.


I was going to ask you: What style of dance did you think was the most challenging for you to learn on the show?

Probably it was hip hop because of it was completely transformation from ballroom. There was a different approach to dancing with a partner and interact with your partner so it's completely different and different character. So I think that is most difficult one.


Mary was very emotional last night. Did you get to speak to the judges after you were eliminated?

Um, just a little bit. Yeah, they all came up to us on stage and wished us all the best and tell us how wonderful they think we did and they all were happy, me in particular to go that far. Yeah, she was crying.


You've danced with a lot of different women on the show. Do you have a favorite partner that you got to work with?

I would say, probably Sara. All the girls were incredible and I find a special connection for each person. I think it's a special part of the dancing especially the partnership dancing. But I think the best was with Sara.


Are you excited to go out on the tour and meet your fans?

Yeah, I'm definitely excited about performing live in front of an audience because, I think, dancing on tv is one thing and when you share the energy with the live audience, it's completely different doing. It's a feeling as a dancer and performer, I'm looking forward to because when you're on tv screen, you kind of feel isolated. They don't really feel your energy or you don't feel their energy. On the tour, live, it's gonna be quite an experience and I can't wait to do that.

Definitely! Now because the show got moved to Monday, you didn't get a chance to say anything to your fans when you were eliminated. Is there anything you want to say to them now?

Well, I'm basically am so grateful that I had this chance to show what I can do and share my dancing with so many people. I'm so fortunate for what I have, I didn't expect that. But it was nice to feel that people like and appreciate what you're doing and can connect to it and bring emotion to them from the dance and they felt moved and touched. Basically, I wanna thank everybody and everyone who watched the show and owe them for that.


Well, I'm coming to the tour when you come to Connecticut in October so I look forward to meeting you. I wanna thank you for your time today, Pasha. I wish you good luck!

You're welcome. Thank you so much.


- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer

Source: buddytv.com