Laura Nolan (born 31 May 1994) is an Irish ballroom dancer and choreographer.
Laura Nolan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 31 May 1994 |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer Choreographer |
| Known for | Dancing with the Stars (Irish series) |
Early life
Nolan was born in Lucan in Dublin. She is trained in ballroom, latin and ballet dancing.[1]
Professional career
Nolan first began dancing competitively at the age of five when she competed in the All Ireland Championships in June 1999 with her first partner, Luca Mastropietro. The couple reached the quarterfinals of their first championship.[2][3]
From 2009 to 2013, Nolan danced with English dancer, Stanislav Wakeham.[4]
From 2015 to 2019, Nolan danced with Italian dancer, Alessandro Bosco.[5] In 2018 they finished in first place in the World Open Adult Standard at the Bacau Dance Open tournament.[6]
Nolan was a finalist in the Under 21 World Championship, placing amongst the top ten in the world. In 2018, she and Bosco ranked fifth in the World Open. Nolan has won numerous International Open championships and was a finalist in the German Open. Making her the first Irish dancer to compete in the World Championships.[1]
In 2019, the couple announced their retirement from ballroom dancing.[7]
Media career
In 2020, Nolan was crowned Miss Universe Leinster. She went on to take part in the Miss Universe Ireland competition where she reached the top three.[8]
In 2021, Nolan appeared as a contestant in the celebrity version of the RTÉ programme, Hell Week.[9][10]
Dancing with the Stars
In November 2019, it was confirmed that Nolan would be joining the cast of the Irish series of Dancing with the Stars as a professional dancer.[11][12][13] She was paired with television presenter and Big Brother winner, Brian Dowling. They were eliminated in the seventh week of the competition.[14]
In 2022, Nolan partnered former Love Island contestant, Matthew MacNabb. Despite receiving some of the lowest scores from the judges throughout their time on the show, Nolan and MacNabb reached the semi-final of the competition, finishing in fifth place.[15]
In 2023, Nolan partnered comedian, Kevin McGahern.[16] Nolan once again reached the semi-final of the competition with McGahern and finished in fifth place, following their dance-off against Suzanne Jackson and Michael Danilczuk.
In 2024, Nolan partnered Fair City actor, Shane Quigley Murphy. They were the third couple to be eliminated from the competition. Nolan also partnered former jockey Davy Russell in week two when Russell's usual partner, Kylee Vincent, was ill, meaning she performed two dances on that particular edition of the show.[17][18]
| Series | Partner | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Brian Dowling | 8th |
| 5 | Matthew MacNabb | 5th |
| 6 | Kevin McGahern | 5th |
| 7 | Shane Quigley Murphy | 9th |
Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Smooth | Matthew MacNabb | 22 | Brian Dowling | 20 |
| Cha-cha-cha | Kevin McGahern | 20 | Matthew MacNabb | 12 |
| Charleston | Kevin McGahern | 27 | Brian Dowling | 18 |
| Contemporary Ballroom | Matthew MacNabb | 26 | ||
| Foxtrot | Kevin McGahern | 24 | Matthew MacNabb | 17 |
| Jive | Shane Quigley Murphy | 24 | Matthew MacNabb | 11 |
| Paso Doble | Kevin McGahern | 24 | Matthew MacNabb | 22 |
| Quickstep | Kevin McGahern | 26 | Shane Quigley Murphy | 21 |
| Rumba | Shane Quigley Murphy | 19 | ||
| Salsa | Kevin McGahern | 23 | Matthew MacNabb | 14 |
| Samba | Matthew MacNabb | 21 | ||
| Showdance | ||||
| Tango | Matthew MacNabb | 23 | Brian Dowling | 15 |
| Viennese Waltz | Kevin McGahern | 19 | Matthew MacNabb | 13 |
| Waltz | Ryan Andrews1 | 25 | Shane Quigley Murphy | 20 |
1 This score was awarded during Switch-Up Week.
Performances with Brian Dowling
| Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redmond | Barry | Benson | ||||
| 1 | Salsa / "Juice" | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 | No elimination |
| 2 | No dance performed | - | - | - | - | |
| 3 | American Smooth / "Dance Monkey" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | Safe |
| 4 | Charleston / "Fat Sam's Grand Slam" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | Safe |
| 5 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "We Are Family" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 | Safe |
| 6 | Waltz / "Open Arms" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 | No elimination Switch-Up Week with Ryan Andrews |
| 7 | Tango / "When Doves Cry" | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 | Eliminated |
Performances with Matthew MacNabb
| Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redmond | Barry | Gourounlian | ||||
| 1 | No dance performed | - | - | - | - | No elimination |
| 2 | Viennese Waltz / "Dangerously" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 13 | |
| 3 | Jive / "Overpass Graffiti" | 3 | 4 | 4 | 11 | Safe |
| 4 | Foxtrot / "You've Got a Friend in Me" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 | Safe |
| 5 | Salsa / "X" | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 | Safe |
| 6 | Contemporary Ballroom / "See You Again" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 | No elimination Granted immunity |
| 7 | Cha-cha-cha / "Dynamite" | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | Immune |
| 8 | Paso Doble / "Live and Let Die" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | Safe |
| 9 | American Smooth / "Anyone for You" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | Safe |
| 10 | Tango / "Rio" Team Dance / "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" | 7 9 | 8 10 | 8 10 | 23 29 | Safe |
| 11 | Samba / "One Dance" Bust-a-Move Marathon / "I'm So Excited" | 7 Awarded | 7 1 | 7 point | 21 22 | Eliminated |
Performances with Kevin McGahern
| Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redmond | Barry | Gourounlian | ||||
| 1 | Viennese Waltz / "You Know Me" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 | No elimination |
| 2 | Jive / "Reet Petite" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | |
| 3 | Tango / "I Don't Like Mondays" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 | Safe |
| 4 | American Smooth / "Pure Imagination" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | Safe |
| 5 | Cha-cha-cha / "Canned Heat" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | Safe |
| 6 | Paso Doble / "Smells Like Teen Spirit" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | No elimination |
| 7 | Quickstep / "Lust for Life" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 | Safe |
| 8 | Foxtrot / "Rocket Man" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | Safe |
| 9 | Salsa / "Stay with Me" Team Freestyle / "Crying at the Discoteque" | 7 8 | 8 10 | 8 10 | 23 28 | Safe |
| 10 | Charleston / "Cotton-Eyed Joe" Marathon / "I Want Candy" | 9 Awarded | 9 1 | 9 Point | 27 28 | Eliminated |
Performances with Shane Quigley Murphy
| Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redmond | Barry | Gourounlian | ||||
| 1 | Salsa / "Where Did You Go?" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 | No elimination |
| 2 | Waltz / "At This Moment" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | |
| 3 | Jive / "All These Nights" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | Safe |
| 4 | Quickstep / "Mr. Blue Sky" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | Safe |
| 5 | Rumba / "How Will I Know?" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 | Eliminated |
Personal life
In March 2022, Nolan confirmed that she was in a relationship with her Series 5 celebrity partner, Matthew MacNabb, following their elimination from the show.[19][20]