Nancy Xu

Nancy Xu YouJie (Chinese:许茜 SHOO; 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.

Early and personal life

Xu was born on 30 July 1991 in Huaihua, 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 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 in 2014, where she reached the finals. In 2015, she joined the dance company Burn the Floor and performed around the world.

In 2025, Xu, alongside fellow Strictly professional Katya Jones, starred in the short film Dakota Stone. Xu will also star in the upcoming sequel.

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. Xu did not partner a celebrity and instead appeared in the professional group dances throughout the series. Xu was however partnered with EastEnders actor Rudolph Walker 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 presenter Rhys Stephenson. 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.

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]

Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance

Series 19: with celebrity partner Rhys Stephenson

• 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

• 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

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

Series 22: with celebrity partner Shayne Ward

• 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.

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