Daniella Karagach

Daniella Brittany Karagach Pashkova (née Karagach; born December 26, 1992) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer and choreographer. She began her career in dancesport and rose to prominence as a contestant on the second season of World of Dance with her husband, Pasha Pashkov.
Karagach continued her competitive dancing career by joining Dancing with the Stars in September 2019. She won her second season with basketball player Iman Shumpert and received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography.
Daniella Brittany Karagach was born on December 26, 1992, in Brooklyn, New York, to Moldovan Jewish immigrants Mark and Regina Yvette Karagach (née Gershkovich). Her parents divorced one year after her birth. She was primarily raised as an only child by her mother in the Forest Hills and Bath Beach neighborhoods of New York; until her mother married her stepfather and she gained a stepsister. She moved to South Beach, Staten Island when she grew older.
Karagach began taking ballet lessons at the age of three, and by age seven was taking Latin dance classes. She had trouble focusing in school and was diagnosed with a "very high" case of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when she was six years old. Her mother refused to give her prescribed medication due to her age and instead enrolled her in ballroom dance classes, which helped her focus and improve her academic performance. After graduating from Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School, Karagach studied childhood education at the College of Staten Island.
Karagach formed a dance partnership with Leonid Juashkovsky and began her career in dancesport when she was eleven years old. Together, they became three-time USA Dance Junior I and II Latin Champions; represented the U.S. at the IDSF World Championships in Latvia, Russia, and Barcelona; and appeared in the second and third seasons of the competition series America's Ballroom Challenge.
In January 2009, Karagach paired with Pavel "Pasha" Pashkov. They were selected to represent the U.S. at the 2009 World Games in Taiwan and represented the United States in various international competitions and festivals. Karagach and Pashkov are seven-time U.S. 10-Dance Champions and Latin Champions. They also won the Rising Star Professional Championship at the 2017 Blackpool Dance Festival and the 2018 U.S. Latin American Showdance Championship. On television, they competed on the second season of World of Dance (2018) and choreographed for So You Think You Can Dance (2022).
Karagach joined the reality competition series Dancing with the Stars as a professional dancer for season 28; although she did not have a celebrity partner. For season 29, Karagach was paired with rapper and singer Nelly. They made it to the finals and placed third on November 23, 2020.
On the 30th season of Dancing with the Stars, Karagach was paired with basketball player Iman Shumpert. Despite a shaky beginning, the couple won the competition on November 22, 2021, making Shumpert the first NBA player to both make the finale and win. Karagach and Shumpert's contemporary piece to "I Got 5 on It (Tethered Mix)" was hailed by critics and viewers as one of the best dances in the series' history. For her work on the season, Karagach received her first nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography.
On the 31st season of Dancing with the Stars, Karagach was paired with actor and bodybuilder Joseph Baena. Karagach was unable to compete for the second and third weeks after testing positive for COVID-19; she was temporarily replaced by troupe member Alexis Warr. Karagach and Baena were eliminated on October 18, 2022, finishing in 11th place; Karagach's lowest placement to date.
For season 32, Karagach was paired with singer-songwriter Jason Mraz. They made it to the finals and finished as the runners-up on December 5, 2023, behind actress Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy.
For season 33, Karagach was paired with basketball player Dwight Howard. They were eliminated during the quarterfinals on November 12, 2024, finishing in 6th place.
Celebrity partner: Nelly Average score: 23.5/30
Celebrity partner: Iman Shumpert Average score: 32.6/40
Celebrity partner: Joseph Baena Average score: 28.3/40
Celebrity partner: Jason Mraz Average score: 26.6/30
Celebrity partner: Dwight Howard
Karagach was introduced to Russian professional dancer Pasha Pashkov through their respective coaches; she was 15 years old at the time, and he was 22. They began dating amidst their training shortly after Karagach turned 16. Pashkov proposed on January 1, 2012, and they were married on July 18, 2014. In 2020, the couple launched a first dance preparation school for engaged couples.
After learning that she was pregnant in July 2022, Karagach suffered a miscarriage at five weeks gestation. Four months later, she and Pashkov announced that they were expecting a rainbow baby. Their daughter, Nikita Sofia Pashkova, was born on May 30, 2023.