Pasha Kovalev
Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev is a Latin and ballroom dancer who auditioned for the show in New York City with longtime partner and fellow finalist Anya Garnis. A Russian native, he began dancing at the age of 8, and received formal training in ballet and jazz as he grew older. His favorite professional dancers are Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Before So You Think You Can Dance, Kovalev appeared in the production Lois and Lois. He was eliminated from the competition on 2007-08-13 but eventually went on tour with the show. During season 4 he assisted Mia Michaels on a contemporary routine. On season four he and his partner Anya Garnis choreographed a cha-cha routine performed by Courtney Galiano and Gev Manoukian. During season 5, Kovalev and Garnis choreographed a samba for Evan Kasprzak and Randi Evans. He and Garnis also appeared on the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars in a results show performance, dancing to "Come On Over" by Jessica Simpson. He also performed with her on the international dance show Superstars of Dance, representing Russia in the duet category, but was then replaced by an unnamed dancer in the January 19th episode. He and Garnis returned to SYTYCD in season 6 to lead the choreography rounds during the auditions, and later that season choreographed a jive for Russell Ferguson and Mollee Gray.
Both Garnis and Kovalev have also recently guest-choreographed for the third season of SYTYCD Australia, and are currently involved in Jason Gilkinson's production Burn the Floor. Kovalev was an "All-Star" for the seventh and eighth seasons of SYTYCD America.
He performed in the ninth season of the UK's Strictly Come Dancing (the original BBC show that spawned Dancing With the Stars) as a professional dancer in partnership with actress Chelsee Healey.
Read more about this topic: So You Think You Can Dance (season 3) Finalists