Nancy Xu YouJie (Chinese: 许茜; pinyin: Xǔ Qiàn; born 30 July 1991) is a Chinese dancer and choreographer. She is best known for being a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing since 2019.[1]
Nancy Xu | |
|---|---|
许茜 | |
| Born | Nancy Xu YouJie 30 July 1991 |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer Choreographer |
| Known for | Strictly Come Dancing |
Early and personal life
Xu was born on 30 July 1991 in Hunan, China. She began dancing at the age of 8 and attended the Guangzhou Dancing School.[2][3]
Xu is dating bodyguard Mikee Michele, who is also a martial arts expert and choreographer.[4]
Career
Xu specialises in Latin dance and was a finalist in the U21 World Championships in 2010, she finished in third place in the 2010-2012 CBDF National Amateur Latin Championships and was runner-up at the 2013 International Singapore Championship.[5]
Xu appeared on the Chinese version of So You Think You Can Dance in 2014, where she reached the finals. In 2015, she joined the dance company Burn the Floor and performed around the world.[6][7]
Strictly Come Dancing
On 30 July 2019, her 28th birthday, Xu was announced as a new professional dancer joining the seventeenth series of Strictly Come Dancing.[1] Xu did not partner a celebrity and instead appeared in the professional group dances throughout the series.[8][9] Xu was however partnered with EastEnders actor Rudolph Walker for the 2019 Children in Need special where they danced a group Cha-Cha-Cha.[10] Xu returned as a professional for the eighteenth series however was not paired up with a celebrity for the second time and remained part of the dance troupe.[11]
Xu was given a partner for the first time in the nineteenth series when she was paired up with CBBC presenter Rhys Stephenson.[12] The couple were eliminated in the semi-final, coming 4th in the competition. The couple had topped the leader-board twice, once with the Charleston and once with the Argentine tango, but were also in the dance-off four times.[13]
For the twentieth series she was partnered with actor Will Mellor. The couple made it to the semi-final, topping the leaderboard three times in the process, but were eliminated and finished in 5th place.
For the twenty-first series she was partnered with comedian and actor Les Dennis. They were the first couple to be eliminated, after losing the first dance-off of the series to Nikita Kanda and Gorka Márquez.
| Series | Partner | Place | Average Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Rhys Stephenson | 4th | 34.2 |
| 20 | Will Mellor | 5th | 33.3 |
| 21 | Les Dennis | 15th | 15.5 |
Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Smooth | Will Mellor | 33 | Rhys Stephenson | 32 |
| Argentine Tango | Rhys Stephenson | 39 | ||
| Cha-cha-cha | Rhys Stephenson | 30 | Will Mellor | 28 |
| Charleston | Rhys Stephenson | 40 | Will Mellor | 38 |
| Couple's Choice | Will Mellor | 38 | Rhys Stephenson | 37 |
| Foxtrot | Will Mellor | 39 | ||
| Jive | Will Mellor | 34 | Rhys Stephenson | 32 |
| Paso Doble | Rhys Stephenson | 33 | Will Mellor | 32 |
| Quickstep | Rhys Stephenson | 34 | Will Mellor | 33 |
| Rumba | Will Mellor | 27 | ||
| Salsa | Rhys Stephenson | 31 | Will Mellor | 26 |
| Samba | Rhys Stephenson | 38 | Les Dennis | 15 |
| Showdance | ||||
| Tango | Rhys Stephenson | 36 | Les Dennis | 16 |
| Viennese Waltz | Will Mellor | 32 | Rhys Stephenson | 27 |
| Waltz | Will Mellor | 38 | Rhys Stephenson | 35 |
Series 19: with celebrity partner Rhys Stephenson
| Week | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
| Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
| 1 | Viennese Waltz / "End of the Road" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | No elimination |
| 2 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "Reach Out I'll Be There" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 30 | Safe |
| 3 | Couple's Choice / "Spider-Man" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 37 | Safe |
| 4 | Salsa / "Butter" | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 5 | American Smooth / "I've Got the world on a String" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Bottom two |
| 6 | Paso Doble / "The Eve of the War" | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 33 | Safe |
| 7 | Quickstep / "What a Man Gotta Do" | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 34 | Safe |
| 8 | Charleston / "The Charleston" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | Safe |
| 9 | Jive / "Footloose" | 8* | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Bottom two |
| 10 | Waltz / "You Light Up My Life" | 7 | 9* | 10 | 9 | 35 | Bottom two |
| 11 | Argentine Tango / "In the Air Tonight" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 12 | Tango / "One Vision" Samba / "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio stasera)" |
9 9 |
9 10 |
9 10 |
9 9 |
36 38 |
Eliminated |
- Green number indicates that Rhys and Nancy were at the top of the leaderboard.
- Red number indicates that Rhys and Nancy were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
- *Score awarded by guest judge Cynthia Erivo.
Series 20: with celebrity partner Will Mellor
| Week | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
| Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
| 1 | Jive / "Livin' la Vida Loca" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 34 | No elimination |
| 2 | Salsa / "Never Too Much" | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 | Safe |
| 3 | American Smooth / "Cry to Me" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 33 | Safe |
| 4 | Rumba / "The Joker and the Queen" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | Safe |
| 5 | Viennese waltz / "Line of Duty End Title theme" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Safe |
| 6 | Cha-cha-cha / "Mama Told Me Not to Come" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | Safe |
| 7 | Quickstep / "Soda Pop" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 33 | Safe |
| 8 | Waltz / "Three Times a Lady" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 38 | Safe |
| 9 | Samba / "I Go to Rio" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 10 | Charleston / "Hush" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 38 | Safe |
| 11 | Foxtrot / "Sun and Moon" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 12 | Paso Doble / "Uccen - DWTS Remix" Couple's Choice / "Know How / Fools Gold / Step On" |
8 9 |
8 10 |
8 9 |
8 10 |
32 38 |
Eliminated |
- Green number indicates that Will and Nancy were at the top of the leaderboard.
- Red number indicates that Will and Nancy were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Series 21: with celebrity partner Les Dennis
| Week | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
| Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
| 1 | Tango / "Don't You Want Me" | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 16 | No elimination |
| 2 | Samba / "Rock the Boat" | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 15 | Eliminated |
- Red number indicates that Les and Nancy were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special
It was announced she would dance with Jamie Borthwick for the 2023 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.
References
- ^ a b "Strictly Come Dancing: Nancy Xu named new professional dancer". BBC News. 30 July 2019.
- ^ "Nancy Xu". Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing unveil new professional dancer meet the new star here!". Hello. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing Nancy Xu: Professional dancer's age, background and boyfriend revealed". Smooth Radio. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Nancy Xu - BBC Strictly". Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing 2019: Dancer Nancy Xu announced as new pro and she's already part of the family". Metro. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Burn the Floor - Current Cast". Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Strictly Come Dancing new dancer Nancy Xu snubbed and left without partner". Daily Express. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Who is Nancy Xu? Strictly Come Dancing 2019 professional dancer guide". Radio Times. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "EastEnders star 'won't do splits' on charity Strictly". RTE. 30 October 2019.
- ^ "Strictly pro line-up reshuffle means it's high time to give Nancy a partner". Radio Times. 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Strictly coupling complete!". BBC. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ "Strictly's Rhys Stephenson breaks down after semi-final routine for heartwarming reason". HELLO! n. 11 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
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