Sasha Farber

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Aleksandr "Sasha" Farber (born 1984) is an Australian and American professional dancer, known for his appearances as a pro and troupe member on Dancing with the Stars.

Farber was born in Belarus, Soviet Union^[1] but moved to Australia in 1986. His family is Jewish.^[2] He began dancing at the age of 13. When he was 17, Farber won the Australian Youth Latin Championships twice and represented Australia at the World Latin Championships. He was also featured in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games closing ceremony, and featured in the second season of the Australian Dancing with the Stars. He was also an original cast member of Broadway production of Burn the Floor.^{[citation needed]} He dated fellow Dancing with the Stars member Emma Slater from 2011 to 2014. In December 2015, Farber made a post on his Instagram account confirming that he and Slater were back together. On 4 October 2016, Farber proposed to Slater during a broadcast of Dancing with the Stars after performing a dance together.^[3] The two married on 25 March 2018.^[4] In 2020, he gained American citizenship.^[5] In 2022, he and Slater separated, and in February 2023, Slater filed for divorce.^[6]

Farber started out as a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars in Australia before he moved across to the US version in season fourteen as a troupe member. However he was promoted to professional dancer in season 17 when he was paired with Jersey Shore cast member Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi.^[7] The pair were eliminated in week 7 despite good scores from the judges. He was placed back in the troupe for the next four seasons. On 8 March 2016, Farber was again announced as a pro for season 22 and paired with actress Kim Fields.^[8] The couple was eliminated on 2 May 2016, along with Von Miller and Witney Carson, tying for 7th place. Farber returned for season 23 and was partnered with Little Women: LA star Terra Jolé. Jolé and Farber were eliminated on week 10 of the competition, finishing in 5th place despite tying for the top of the leaderboard, marking Farber's first time in the Semifinals. He returned for season 24 and was partnered with Olympic artistic gymnast Simone Biles. The couple was shockingly eliminated one week before the finals on 15 May 2017, after receiving two perfect scores and praise from the judges. For season 25, he returned as a member of the troupe. He appeared as a pro again in season 26 and was paired with former Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding. The pair made it to the finals and finished in third place overall, marking Farber's first appearance in the finale. For season 27, he was partnered with former Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton.^[9] The couple was eliminated on week 6 of competition, finishing in 9th place. Farber also appeared on Dancing with the Stars: Juniors mentoring Scottie Pippen’s daughter Sophia Pippen and pro Jake Monreal. They were eliminated on week 3. He returned again for season 28 where he was paired with Fifth Harmony singer Ally Brooke. Farber once again made it to finals with Brooke and finished in third place for the second time.^[10] For season 29, he was partnered with One Day at a Time actress Justina Machado. They reached the finals and finished in 4th place.^[11] For season 30, he was partnered with Olympic gymnast Suni Lee. They reached the semifinals and finished in 5th place. For season 31, he was partnered actress Selma Blair.^[12] On 17 October 2022, Blair and Farber were forced to withdraw from the competition due to Blair’s ongoing health condition with Multiple Sclerosis finishing in 12th place.

• Placed: 8th; (average: 25.0)

¹ Score given by guest judge Julianne Hough.

• Placed: 8th; (average: 22.9)

¹ Score given by guest judge Zendaya.
² For this week only, as part of "America's Switch Up", Fields performed with Keo Motsepe instead of Farber. Farber performed with Paige VanZant.
³ Score given by guest judge Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

• Placed: 5th; (average: 33.8)

• Placed: 4th; (average: 35.4)

¹ Score given by guest judge Nick Carter.
² Score given by guest judge Mandy Moore.

• Placed: 3rd; (average: 25.2)

¹ Score given by guest judge Rashad Jennings.
² Score given by guest judge David Ross.

• Placed: 9th; (average: 23.1)

• Placed: 3rd; (average: 35.47)

Blue score given by guest judge Leah Remini.
Purple score given by guest judge Joey Fatone.

• Placed: 4th; (average: 25.5)

• Placed: 5th; (average: 33.8)

• Placed: 12th; (average: 29.0)

• Placed: 5th; (average: 22.3)

¹ Score given by guest judge Michael Strahan.
² Score given by guest judge Niecy Nash-Betts.
³ Score given by guest judge Paula Abdul.
⁴ Score given by guest judge Billy Porter.
⁵ Score given by guest judge Mandy Moore.