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 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.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2025 Dakota Stone Dakota Stone Main cast 2027 Dakota Stone 2.0 Dakota Stone Main cast
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.
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.
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.
SeriesPartnerPlaceAverage Score19Rhys Stephenson4th34.220Will Mellor5th33.321Les Dennis15th15.522Shayne Ward9th30.324Bethany Antonia26.0
Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance DancePartnerHighestPartnerLowestAmerican Smooth Will Mellor 33 Shayne Ward 31Argentine Tango Rhys Stephenson 39 Cha-cha-cha Will Mellor 32 Rhys StephensonShayne Ward 30Charleston Rhys Stephenson 40 Will Mellor 38Couple's Choice Will Mellor 38 Rhys Stephenson 37Foxtrot 39 Jive 34 Rhys Stephenson 32Paso Doble Rhys Stephenson 33 Bethany Antonia 27Quickstep Shayne Ward 35 Will Mellor 33Rumba 30 23Salsa Rhys Stephenson 31 26Samba 38 Les Dennis 15Showdance Tango Rhys Stephenson 36 Les Dennis 16Viennese Waltz Shayne Ward 33 Rhys Stephenson 27Waltz Will Mellor 38 35
Series 19: with celebrity partner Rhys Stephenson
Week #Dance/SongJudges' scoresTotalResultHorwoodMabuseBallasDu Beke1Viennese waltz / "End of the Road"677727No elimination2Cha-cha-cha / "Reach Out I'll Be There"788730Safe3 Couple's Choice / "Spider-Man"9109937Safe4Salsa / "Butter"887831Safe5American Smooth / "I've Got the world on a String"888832Bottom two6Paso doble / "The Eve of the War"799833Safe7Quickstep / "What a Man Gotta Do"799934Safe8Charleston / "The Charleston"10101010Safe9Jive / "Footloose"8*88832Bottom two10Waltz / "You Light Up My Life"79*10935Bottom two11Argentine tango / "In the Air Tonight"9101010Safe12Tango / "One Vision"Samba / "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio stasera)"9991091099Eliminated
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.
Series 20: with celebrity partner Will Mellor
Week #Dance/SongJudges' scoresTotalResultHorwoodMabuseBallasDu Beke1Jive / "Livin' la Vida Loca"8989No elimination2Salsa / "Never Too Much"676726Safe3 American Smooth / "Cry to Me"898833Safe4Rumba / "The Joker and the Queen"475723Safe5Viennese waltz / "Line of Duty End Title theme"888832Safe6Cha-cha-cha / "Mama Told Me Not to Come"888832Safe7Quickstep / "Soda Pop"888933Safe8Waltz / "Three Times a Lady"91010938Safe9Samba / "I Go to Rio"899935Safe10Charleston / "Hush"910109Safe11Foxtrot / "Sun and Moon"9101010Safe12Paso doble / "Uccen - DWTS Remix"Couple's Choice / "Know How" / "Fools Gold" / "Step On"799107991038Eliminated
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
Week #Dance/SongJudges' scoresTotalResultHorwoodMabuseBallasDu Beke1Tango / "Don't You Want Me"2455No elimination2Samba / "Rock the Boat"2445Eliminated
number indicates that Les and Nancy were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Series 22: with celebrity partner Shayne Ward
Week #Dance/SongJudges' scoresTotalResultHorwoodMabuseBallasDu Beke1Samba / "Do I Do"465621No elimination2Tango / "The Door"788831Safe3Viennese waltz / "If I Can Dream"898833Safe4Cha-cha-cha / "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)"787830Bottom two5American Smooth / "Get Here"788831Safe6Paso doble / "In the Hall of the Mountain King"887831Bottom two7Quickstep / "Help!" & "Hey Jude"899935Safe8Rumba / "Time After Time"7878eliminated number indicates that Shayne and Nancy were at the bottom of the leaderboard. +Series 24: with Bethany AntoniaWeek # Dance/SongJudges ScoresTotalResultHorwoodMabuseBallasDu beke1Quickstep/Stop This Flame676726No Elimination2Paso Doble /No Good Deed6777273
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.
References