Nancy Xu
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(1991-07-30) 30 July 1991 (age 34)
Choreographer
Nancy Xu YouJie | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
许茜 | |||||||||
| Born | Xu Qian (1991-07-30) 30 July 1991 (age 34) Huaihua, China | ||||||||
| Other names | Nancy Shoes | ||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Dancer Choreographer | ||||||||
| Known for | Strictly Come Dancing | ||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1] | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 許茜 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 许茜 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Nancy Xu YouJie (Chinese: 许茜 SHOO;[2][3] 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.[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.[9]
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.[10][11]
In 2025, Xu, alongside fellow Strictly professional Katya Jones, starred in the short film Dakota Stone.
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.[4] Xu did not partner a celebrity and instead appeared in the professional group dances throughout the series.[12][13] Xu was however partnered with EastEnders actor Rudolph Walker for the 2019 Children in Need special where they danced a group Cha-Cha-Cha.[14] 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.[15]
Xu was given a partner for the first time in the nineteenth series when she was paired up with CBBC presenter Rhys Stephenson.[16] 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.[17]
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
For the twenty-second series she was partnered with singer and actor Shayne Ward. They were the seventh couple to be eliminated, after losing the dance-off to Wynne Evans and Katya Jones.[citation needed]
| Series | Partner | Place | Average Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Rhys Stephenson | 4th | 34.2 |
| 20 | Will Mellor | 5th | 33.3 |
| 21 | Les Dennis | 15th | 15.5 |
| 22 | Shayne Ward | 9th | 30.3 |
Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Smooth | Will Mellor | 33 | Shayne Ward | 31 |
| Argentine Tango | Rhys Stephenson | 39 | ||
| Cha-cha-cha | Will Mellor | 32 | Rhys Stephenson Shayne Ward |
30 |
| Charleston | Rhys Stephenson | 40 | Will Mellor | 38 |
| Couple's Choice | Will Mellor | 38 | Rhys Stephenson | 37 |
| Foxtrot | 39 | |||
| Jive | 34 | Rhys Stephenson | 32 | |
| Paso Doble | Rhys Stephenson | 33 | Shayne Ward | 31 |
| Quickstep | Shayne Ward | 35 | Will Mellor | 33 |
| Rumba | 30 | 23 | ||
| Salsa | Rhys Stephenson | 31 | 26 | |
| Samba | 38 | Les Dennis | 15 | |
| Showdance | ||||
| Tango | Rhys Stephenson | 36 | Les Dennis | 16 |
| Viennese Waltz | Shayne Ward | 33 | Rhys Stephenson | 27 |
| Waltz | Will Mellor | 38 | 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" | 4 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 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" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | 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" |
7 9 |
9 10 |
7 9 |
9 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.
Series 22: with celebrity partner Shayne Ward
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
| Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
| 1 | Samba / "Do I Do" | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 21 | No elimination |
| 2 | Tango / "The Door" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 3 | Viennese waltz / "If I Can Dream" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 33 | Safe |
| 4 | Cha-cha-cha / "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 30 | Bottom two |
| 5 | American Smooth / "Get Here" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 6 | Paso Doble / "In the Hall of the Mountain King" | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 31 | Bottom two |
| 7 | Quickstep / "Help!" & "Hey Jude" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 8 | Rumba / "Time After Time" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 30 | Eliminated |
- Red number indicates that Shayne and Nancy were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special
Xu danced a Quickstep with Jamie Borthwick for the 2023 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, achieving the maximum 40 points from the judges and winning the competition.[18]
Xu danced with Harry Aikines-Aryeetey for the 2024 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.
Xu danced with Babatunde Aléshé for the 2025 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special. [citation needed]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Dakota Stone | Dakota Stone | Main cast |
References
- ↑ Milward, Charlie (October 13, 2021). "Strictly professional dancer heights: How tall are the pros?". Express.co.uk.
- ↑ Perry, Jana M. Sanders (September 20, 2022). "How to Pronounce Chinese Names | Services for International Students and Scholars". siss.ucdavis.edu.
- ↑ "中国美女参加英国大赛倒数第二：不重要，我是来撒狗粮的（组图） | 今日悉尼". www.sydneytoday.com.
- 1 2 "Strictly Come Dancing: Nancy Xu named new professional dancer". BBC News. 30 July 2019.
- ↑ "Instagram post by nancy_xuxi".
- ↑ "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". Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. 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.
- ↑ "Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special 2023 winner revealed". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-25.