Karen Hauer joins “Strictly”

Posted on June 25, 2012

“Strictly Come Dancing” will have a new professional dancer this series. Karen Hauer will replace Katya Virshilas when the show returns to BBC1 this autumn.

Karen, 30, was born in Valencia, Venezuela, and moved to New York when she was eight years old. She trained as a dancer and choreographer, and has won many ballroom awards, including World Mambo Champion in 2008 and Professional American Rhythm Rising Star Champion in 2009. She has worked with stars including Jennifer Lopez, and appeared as a principal dancer in the hit ballroom stage show Burn the Floor.

Karen said: “If I could dance how I feel about joining ‘Strictly’ – then you’d be able to see how excited I am!” Katie Taylor, the BBC’s controller of entertainment, said: “We welcome Karen to our ‘Strictly’ family – we’re thrilled to have such a fresh and talented professional join us, and I can’t wait to see what she will bring to the ballroom this autumn.”

Karen will be the only new professional in this year’s series, joining Erin Boag, Flavia Cacace, Ola Jordan, Natalie Lowe, Kristina Rihanoff, Aliona Vilani, Artem Chigvintsev, Brendan Cole, Anton Du Beke, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Robin Windsor.

Picture: Karen Hauer with Aljaz Skorjanic in Burn the Floor. Photograph: Beytan Erkman

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.