Gorka Márquez
Gorka Márquez (born 4 September 1990) is a Spanish dancer and choreographer, best known for appearing on the live dance show, Burn the Floor[1] and BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. [2]
Gorka Márquez | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gorka Márquez 4 September 1990 Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain |
| Nationality | Basque |
| Known for | Strictly Come Dancing |
| Partner(s) | Gemma Atkinson |
| Children | 1 |
Early life
Márquez began dancing at the age of 12, representing Spain at the World Latin Championships in 2010, and reaching the semi-finals of the 2012 World DanceSport Federation World Cup.[3][4]
Strictly Come Dancing
In 2016, Márquez became a professional in BBC ballroom dancing show, Strictly Come Dancing for its fourteenth series.[5][6] He was partnered with EastEnders actress, Tameka Empson and they were eliminated in week three of the competition. Márquez also danced with Anastacia in the fifth week of the competition, because Brendan Cole was too ill to dance; they scored a total of 30 for their Quickstep, and were safe from the dance off.
In 2017, Márquez returned as a professional for the show's fifteenth series. He was partnered with singer and former The X Factor winner, Alexandra Burke. They reached the finals, but finished as joint-runners up. With Burke, Márquez holds the record for achieving the most tens in a single series with 32, surpassing Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse’s previous record of 26 tens.
In 2018, Márquez participated in the show's sixteenth series where he was partnered with philanthropist and television presenter Katie Piper. The couple finished in 13th place. The following year, after much speculation, Márquez personally announced that he had been demoted from the main professional line-up but insisted that he would still participate in weekly group dances.[7]
In 2020, Márquez returned as a professional for the show's eighteenth series, in which he reached the final partnered with EastEnders actress, Maisie Smith.
| Series | Partner | Place | Average score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Tameka Empson | 14th | 27.7 |
| 15 | Alexandra Burke | 2nd | 36.4 |
| 16 | Katie Piper | 13th | 17.5 |
| 18 | Maisie Smith | 2nd | 36.5 |
Highest and Lowest Scores Per Dance
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Smooth | Alexandra Burke | 40 | Maisie Smith | 32 |
| Argentine Tango | Alexandra Burke | 39 | ||
| Cha-Cha-Cha | Alexandra Burke | 39 | Maisie Smith | 32 |
| Charleston | Alexandra Burke | 39 | Tameka Empson | 29 |
| Couple's Choice | Maisie Smith | 40 | ||
| Foxtrot | Katie Piper | 22 | ||
| Jive | Alexandra Burke | 40 | Katie Piper | 18 |
| Paso Doble | Alexandra Burke | 36 | Katie Piper | 13 |
| Quickstep | Alexandra Burke Maisie Smith |
39 | ||
| Rumba | Alexandra Burke | 32 | ||
| Salsa | Alexandra Burke | 40 | Maisie Smith | 36 |
| Samba | Maisie Smith | 39 | Alexandra Burke | 31 |
| Showdance | Maisie Smith | 40 | Alexandra Burke | 39 |
| Something-A-Thon | Alexandra Burke | 7 | ||
| Tango | Maisie Smith | 33 | Tameka Empson | 28 |
| Viennese Waltz | Alexandra Burke Maisie Smith |
39 | ||
| Waltz | Alexandra Burke | 24 |
Series 14: with Tameka Empson
| Week no. | Dance/song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Paso Doble / "Y Viva España" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 26 | No elimination |
| 2 | Charleston / "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 | Safe |
| 3 | Tango / "The Heat is On" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 28 | Eliminated |
Series 15: with Alexandra Burke
| Week no. | Dance/song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Ballas | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Waltz / "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 24 | No elimination |
| 2 | Paso Doble / "Ven a Bailar" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 3 | American Smooth / "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 33 | Safe |
| 4 | Jive / "Proud Mary" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 5 | Samba / "Shape of You" | 7 | 8 | 8 | - | 23 | Safe |
| 6 | Tango / "Maneater" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 35 | Safe |
| 7 | Cha-cha-cha / "I've Got the Music in Me" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 8 | Argentine Tango / "Mi Confesión" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 38 | Safe |
| 9 | Quickstep / "The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 10 | Rumba / "Halo" Paso Doble-a-thon / "España cañí" |
7 Awarded |
8 7 |
8 extra |
9 points |
32 39 |
Bottom two |
| 11 | Charleston / "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Bottom two |
| 12 | Viennese Waltz / "Everybody Hurts" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| Salsa / "Finally" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | ||
| 13 | American Smooth / "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | Runner-up |
| Showdance / "There's No Business Like Show Business" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | ||
| Jive / "Proud Mary" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | ||
Series 16: with Katie Piper
| Week no. | Dance/song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Ballas | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Waltz / "When We Were Young" | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 17 | No elimination |
| 2 | Paso Doble / "Confident" | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 13 | Safe |
| 3 | Foxtrot / "City of Stars" | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 22 | Safe |
| 4 | Jive / "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18 | Eliminated |
Series 18: with Maisie Smith
| Week no. | Dance/song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
| Revel Horwood | Ballas | Mabuse/du Beke | ||||
| 1 | Samba / "Samba (Conga)" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | No elimination |
| 2 | Tango / "Midnight Sky" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 25 | Safe |
| 3 | American Smooth / "Into the Unknown" | 8 | 7 | 9 | 24 | Safe |
| 4 | Cha-cha-cha / "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" | 7 | 8 | 9 | 24 | Bottom two |
| 5 | Salsa / "Better When I'm Dancin'" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Bottom two |
| 6 | Quickstep / "When You're Smiling" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | Safe |
| 7 | Jive / "Little Shop of Horrors" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 | Safe |
| 8 | Street / "Gettin' Jiggy with It" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | Safe |
| Viennese Waltz / "A Thousand Years" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | ||
| 9 | Samba / Samba | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | Runner-Up |
| Showdance / "We Need A Little Christmas" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | ||
| Quickstep/ "When You're Smiling" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | ||
Dance tours and other professional engagements
In September 2018 Márquez announced he would be appearing at Donahey's 2019 Dancing with The Stars Weekends.[8]
Personal life
Márquez is currently in a relationship with Gemma Atkinson; the pair met during Strictly Come Dancing in 2017. On 1 February 2019, Atkinson announced on Instagram that they were expecting a baby.[9] Their daughter, Mia, was born on 4 July 2019.[10]
References
- "Gorka Márquez – BBC Strictly Come Dancing Professional Dancer". Donaheys.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- "Gorka Márquez – BBC Strictly Come Dancing Professional Dancer". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- "BBC Blogs – Strictly Come Dancing – 2016 Strictly Professional Dancer line up revealed!". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- "Ranking of the WDSF Latin Adult in Riga - Latvia on 15 December 2012". worlddancesport.org. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- "Strictly Come Dancing celebrities at red carpet launch". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- Agius, Nicola (3 September 2016). "What time does Strictly Come Dancing 2016 start? Everything you need to know from judges to contestants – Mirror Online". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- "Strictly professional Gorka Marquez receives bad news about this year's series". Digital Spy. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- "Amazing 5* Weekend Breaks with the stars of BBC Strictly Come Dancing".
- Powell, Emma (1 February 2019). "Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez baby news has pair 'beyond excited'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 February 2019.