Iveta Lukošiūtė (born 29 June 1980) is a Lithuanian dancer and choreographer. 2 time World Professional Ten Dance Champion. 5 time US National Professional Ten Dance Champion. 4 time US National Classical Showdance Champion. She is best known for appearing as a professional dancer on ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

'' between 2012 and 2014.

Early and personal life

Lukošiūtė was born in

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

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. Lukošiūtė married Jenya Raytses in August 2017 and they have two children together.

Dancing 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. In 2011, Lukošiūtė appeared on the eighth season of ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

''. She reached the top 20, however was the second female contestant to be eliminated.

''Strictly Come Dancing''

In September 2012, Lukošiūtė was announced to be joining the ''

'' as a replacement for

Aliona Vilani Aliona Valeriya Kavanagh (''née'' Vilani on 1 May 1984; ), also known by her stage name Aliona Vilani, is a Russian-Kazakh TV personality and was a professional dancer in the BBC series of ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Biography Vilani started ...

who sustained an injury, 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. Lukošiūtė returned to the show for the eleventh series where she was paired with actor

Mark Benton Mark Benton (born 16 November 1965) is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in '' Early Doors'', Howard in '' Northern Lights'', Martin Pond in '' Barbara'' and the eponymous Frank Hathaway in '' Shakespeare & H ...

. 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. In Lukošiūtė's final series, she was paired with rugby player and model

Thom Evans Thom Evans (born 2 April 1985) is a Scottish former international rugby union player and model. He last played on the wing for Glasgow Warriors in the Celtic League. Evans's rugby career ended aged 24 on his tenth appearance for Scotland when ...

, they were eliminated in week five of the competition which was described as a shock, leaving them in 12th place. Whilst appearing on ''Strictly Come Dancing'', Lukošiūtė made guest appearances on British television chat shows such as '' Daybreak'', ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of ...

'' and ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...

''. Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance (*) Excludes extra score given by guest judge.

Series 10

Lukošiūtė's first celebrity partner was television presenter Johnny Ball.

Series 11

Lukošiūtė's second celebrity partner was stage and screen actor

Series 12

Lukošiūtė's third celebrity partner was former rugby player

. (*) Score given by guest judge

Donny Osmond Donald Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and former teen idol. He gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gold albums. In the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukosiute, Iveta Living people 1980 births Lithuanian female dancers Lithuanian dancers Lithuanian choreographers Lithuanian women choreographers Lithuanian expatriates in England Lithuanian expatriates in the United States