Nancy Xu YouJie ( ; born 30 July 1991) is a Chinese dancer and choreographer. She is best known for being a professional dancer on ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

'' since 2019.

Early and personal life

Xu was born on 30 July 1991 in

Huaihua Huaihua () is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Hunan province, China. It is known as the "Western Gate" of Hunan and is the largest prefecture-level city in the province.It covers and is bordered by Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous P ...

, China. She began dancing at the age of 8 and attended the Guangzhou Dancing School. Xu is dating bodyguard Mikee Michele, who is also a martial arts expert and choreographer.

Career

Xu specialises in

Latin dance Latin dance is a general label, and a term in partner dance competition jargon. It refers to types of ballroom dance and folk dance that mainly originated in Latin America, though a few styles originated elsewhere. The category of 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. Xu appeared on the Chinese version of ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

'' in 2014, where she reached the finals. In 2015, she joined the dance company ''

Burn the Floor Burn the Floor is a live dance show which has performed around the world, including on Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in New York City and the West End of London, West End in London. Since 1997, Burn the Floor has performed in over 130 countries ...

'' and performed around the world.

''Strictly Come Dancing''

On 30 July 2019, her 28th birthday, Xu was announced as a new professional dancer joining the seventeenth series of ''

''. Xu did not partner a celebrity and instead appeared in the professional group dances throughout the series. Xu was however partnered with ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' actor

Rudolph Walker Rudolph Malcolm Walker CBE (born 28 September 1939) is a Trinidadian-British actor, best known for his roles as Bill Reynolds in ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1972–1976) and Constable Frank Gladstone in '' The Thin Blue Line'' (1995–1996), as wel ...

for the 2019 Children in Need special where they danced a group Cha-Cha-Cha. 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. Xu was given a partner for the first time in the nineteenth series when she was paired up with

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

presenter

Rhys Stephenson Rhys Stephenson (born 29 October 1993) is an English television presenter and actor. Early life Stephenson was born in Lewisham, London. He began starring in school theatre productions at the age of ten. He attended Oasis Academy Pinewood and l ...

. 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 Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a Time signature, or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in pat ...

, but were also in the dance-off four times. For the twentieth series she was partnered with actor

Will Mellor William Mellor (born 3 April 1976) is an English actor and singer. He is known for his roles as Jambo Bolton in ''Hollyoaks'', Gaz Wilkinson in '' Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'', Warren Stamp in EastEnders, DC Spike Tanner in ' ...

. 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 Leslie Dennis Heseltine (born 12 October 1953) is an English television presenter, actor and comedian. He presented '' Family Fortunes'' from 1987 to 2002. Early life Dennis was born as Leslie Dennis Heseltine on 12 October 1953 in the Liv ...

. They were the first couple to be eliminated, after losing the first dance-off of the series to

Nikita Kanda Nikita Kanda (born 29 July 1995) is an English radio presenter and broadcaster. After joining the BBC Asian Network in 2021, she became the presenter of the ''Asian Network Breakfast'' in July 2022. In 2023, she competed in the twenty-first se ...

and

Gorka Márquez Gorka Márquez (; born 4 September 1990) is a Spanish professional dancer, best known for appearing on the British dance show ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Early life Márquez began dancing at the age of 12, and in 2010 he represented Spain at the ...

. For the twenty-second series she was partnered with singer and actor

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of ''The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 a ...

. They were the seventh couple to be eliminated, after losing the dance-off to

Wynne Evans James Wynne Evans (born 27 January 1972) is a Welsh opera singer, presenter and actor, known for his role as Gio Compario and latterly himself in Go.Compare insurance adverts on UK television. Evans hosted a regular radio programme on BBC ...

and

Katya Jones Katya Jones (born Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova; ; 12 May 1989) is a Russians, Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best known for being a professional dancer in the competition show ''Strictly Come Dancing'', which she won in 2017 with her ...

. Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance

Series 19: with celebrity partner Rhys Stephenson

* number indicates that Rhys and Nancy were at the top of the leaderboard. * number indicates that Rhys and Nancy were at the bottom of the leaderboard. * *Score awarded by guest judge

Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo ( ; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. Known for her work on both stage and screen, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Cynt ...

Series 20: with celebrity partner Will Mellor

* number indicates that Will and Nancy were at the top of the leaderboard. * number indicates that Will and Nancy were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Series 21: with celebrity partner Les Dennis

* number indicates that Les and Nancy were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Series 22: with celebrity partner Shayne Ward

* number indicates that Shayne and Nancy were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

''Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special''

Xu danced a

Quickstep The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal ...

with

Jamie Borthwick Jamie Simon Borthwick (born 23 June 1994) is an English actor. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Jay Brown in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', in which he has starred since 2006. His role on ''EastEnders'' earned him a British Soap A ...

for the 2023 ''Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special'', achieving the maximum 40 points from the judges and winning the competition. Xu danced with

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey Harry Leslie Aikines-Aryeetey (born 29 August 1988) is an English former Commonwealth sprinter and television personality, known for appearing as "Nitro" in the BBC sports endurance competition series '' Gladiators''. He has also taken part in ...

for the 2024 ''Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Nancy Living people 1991 births Chinese female dancers Chinese dancers People from Huaihua