Iveta Lukošiūtė

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Iveta Lukošiūtė
Born (1980-06-29) 29 June 1980 (age 41)
Klaipėda, Lithuania
OccupationProfessional dancer
Known forStrictly Come Dancing
Spouse(s)
Jenya Raytses
​
​
(m. 2017)​
Children2

Iveta Lukošiūtė (born 29 June 1980) is a Lithuanian dancer and choreographer. She is best known for appearing as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing between 2012 and 2014.

Early and personal life[]

Lukošiūtė was born in Klaipėda, Lithuania on 29 June 1980. Lukošiūtė began learning ballroom dance at the age of 6 when she was accepted as a student at the Žuvėdra Ballroom Dance School. She danced for pop groups, concerts and festivals throughout Lithuania, and appeared in several music videos.[1]

Lukošiūtė married Jenya Raytses in August 2017 and they have two children together.[2][3][4]

Career[]

Lukošiūtė moved to Woodside, New York in 2003, where she went on to gain numerous dance titles including World Professional Ten Dance Champion, five time U.S National & North American Professional Ten Dance Champion, four time U.S National Classical Showdance Champion and two times World Classical Showdance Finalist.[5]

In 2011, Lukošiūtė appeared on the eighth season of So You Think You Can Dance. She reached the top 20, however was eliminated on June 23, 2011 in the first week of competition.[6]

Strictly Come Dancing[]

Series Partner Place
10 Johnny Ball 14th
11 Mark Benton 7th
12 Thom Evans 12th

In September 2012, Lukošiūtė was announced to be joining the Strictly Come Dancing as a replacement for Aliona Vilani who sustained an injury,[7][8] Lukošiūtė was paired with Vilani's partner, TV presenter Johnny Ball, who was the oldest ever contestant to appear on the show. They were the first couple to be eliminated from the series. [9] Lukošiūtė returned to the show for the eleventh series where she was paired with actor Mark Benton.[10] The pair landed in the dance-off four consecutive times, a Strictly record before being eliminated in the ninth week, leaving them in 7th place.[11] In Lukošiūtė's final series, she was paired with rugby player and model Thom Evans,[12] they were eliminated in week 5 of the competition which was described as a shock, leaving them in 12th place.[13]

Whilst appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, Lukošiūtė made guest appearances on British television chat shows such as Daybreak, Loose Women and The One Show.[14]

References[]

  1. ^ "Iveta Lukosiute: Bright Lights, No Sleep, and Hard Work".
  2. ^ https://registry.theknot.com/iveta-lukosiute-jenya-raytses-august-2017-ny/19056781
  3. ^ "Former Strictly professional Iveta Lukosiute pregnant after two miscarriages". 23 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing pro Iveta Lukosiute has welcomed her second baby". 27 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Tristan Macmanus and Iveta Lukosiute - Donaheys 5* Weekend Breaks".
  6. ^ http://www.realitywanted.com/newsitem/4425-so-you-think-you-can-dance-season-8-conference-call-with-iveta-lukosiute-nick-young-and-wadi-jones#.YRuuqSV4XDs
  7. ^ "'Strictly' Replacement Announced - Watch This One, Johnny". October 2012.
  8. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing: New partner for Johnny Ball". BBC News. 29 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing Results - first elimination | Ballet News | Straight from the stage - bringing you ballet insights". 14 October 2012.
  10. ^ "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing, in Training: Week Ten - Mark Benton and Iveta Lukosiute".
  11. ^ "Mark Benton exits Strictly Come Dancing". Digital Spy. December 2013.
  12. ^ "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing, Series 12 - Thom Evans".
  13. ^ "Thom Evans leaves Strictly Come Dancing in shock elimination, review".
  14. ^ "Iveta Lukosiute". IMDb.
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