Giovanni Pernice facts for kids

Giovanni Pernice (born 5 September 1990) is a professional dancer from Italy. He is well-known for being a dancer on the British TV show Strictly Come Dancing. Giovanni is also an Italian champion in Latin Dance (2012). He holds two Guinness World Records: one for Jive kicks and flicks, and another for Charleston swivels.

In June 2024, the BBC announced that Giovanni would no longer be part of Strictly Come Dancing. This decision followed some concerns raised about his coaching style with his dance partners.

Early Life and Dance Journey

Giovanni Pernice was born in Sicily, Italy. When he was 14, he moved to Bologna to focus completely on dancing. He decided to become a dancer after watching the British ballroom dance show Come Dancing.

Giovanni is especially good at Latin style dancing. He has won many competitions, including the Italian Open Championship in 2012. He was also a member of the Federazione Italiana Danza Sportiva, which is part of the World DanceSport Federation. He competed at different levels from 2007 to 2014. Some of his other achievements include coming second in the International Open Latin in Slovenia in 2014. He also won other competitions in Italy and Spain.

Dancing Career

Strictly Come Dancing Highlights

Giovanni joined the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer in 2015. He quickly became a fan favorite.

• In 2015, he danced with actress Georgia May Foote. They made it to the final and finished as runners-up.
• In 2016, he partnered with TV presenter Laura Whitmore. They were eliminated in Week 7.
• In 2017, he danced with TV presenter Debbie McGee. They reached the final and were runners-up.
• In 2018, he teamed up with Steps singer Faye Tozer. For the third time, Giovanni reached the final and finished as a runner-up.
• In 2019, he was partnered with TV personality Michelle Visage. They reached week 9 of the competition.
• In 2020, he reached the semi-final with his partner Ranvir Singh.
• In 2021, Giovanni won Strictly Come Dancing with actress Rose Ayling-Ellis. Rose was the first deaf contestant on the show. Their Tango in the Halloween special received a perfect score of 40 very early in the series. They also had a special silent moment in their Couple's Choice routine, which won an 'Unmissables' Award. This was Giovanni's first win on the show!
• In 2022, he danced with TV presenter Richie Anderson. They were eliminated in week 3.
• In 2023, he was partnered with actress Amanda Abbington. She had to leave the competition early due to medical reasons.

Giovanni holds a record on Strictly for getting the most '10' scores from judges, with a total of 97. He has also been at the top of the weekly leaderboard more times than any other professional dancer. Fans sometimes call him 'The King of Halloween' because he often tops the leaderboard during the Halloween special.

Giovanni has also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. On this show, he broke two Guinness World Records. In 2016, he performed 55 Jive kicks and flicks in 30 seconds. In 2017, he completed 24 Charleston swivel steps in 30 seconds.

Departure from Strictly

In early 2024, there were reports about concerns regarding Giovanni's training methods on Strictly. Giovanni has always said he did nothing wrong. On 10 June, the BBC confirmed that he would no longer be on the show. In September 2024, the BBC apologized to Amanda Abbington regarding some of her complaints about his behavior, but they said there was no physical aggression. Giovanni stated he was relieved that the more serious accusations were dismissed.

Top and Bottom Scores by Dance Style

Ballando con le Stelle

In September 2024, Giovanni was announced as a professional dancer for Ballando con le Stelle. This is the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing. He went on to win the show in December 2024 with his partner, Bianca Guaccero.

Strictly Come Dancing Performance Summary

Dance Tours and Shows

Giovanni has also been part of the national Strictly Come Dancing Live! tour several times. He toured with Georgia May Foote in 2016, and with Debbie McGee in 2018. He also danced with Faye Tozer in 2019 and Rose Ayling-Ellis in 2022.

In 2017, Giovanni started his own dance tour called Dance is Life. This means 'Il Ballo è Vita' in Italian. He performed 32 shows across England, Scotland, and Wales. The tour was very popular. He brought the Dance is Life tour back in 2019.

In 2020, Giovanni announced a new UK tour for 2021 called HIM & ME with fellow professional dancer Anton Du Beke. He also plans to appear at Donaheys 2025 "Dancing With The Stars Weekends". Giovanni also has his own solo tour called The Last Dance planned for 2025.

Personal Life

In 2021, Giovanni dated social media star and TV personality Maura Higgins for a few months. Since 2024, he has been in a relationship with actress and TV presenter Bianca Guaccero. She was his dance partner on Ballando con le Stelle.

See also

In Spanish: Giovanni Pernice para niños