Strictly’s longest-serving dancer, Karen Hauer, quits show after 14 years | Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing’s longest-serving female professional dancer, Karen Hauer, has left the show after 14 years.
In a video posted on Instagram, Hauer said it was “the right time to close this chapter and take on new projects in other areas that I’m passionate about.”
She continued: “It has completely changed my life, not only as an artist and teacher, but as a person. I have had the privilege of meeting so many incredible people and wonderful celebrity partners who have become close friends and whom I admire so much.”
Hauer said she would “miss even standing in front of the judges. Can you believe it? Sometimes she smiles politely, even though she secretly disagrees. It was an honor to share the ballroom with them.”
Thanking her fans, she said: “I’m so grateful that you’ve watched me grow over the years and witnessed my different hairstyles.”
The Venezuelan-born dancer, who moved to New York aged eight, said on her recovery: “Who would have thought that a young girl from the Bronx would become the longest-serving female professional dancer on a British television organisation.
“He will definitely always be in my heart. I love you all.”
Hauer first appeared on TV in 2009 when she auditioned for the US reality show So You Think You Can Dance. She came to the UK in 2010 with Latin stage show Burn the Floor and made her first appearance on Strictly Come Dancing in 2012, where she met former host Bruce Forsyth and Strictly judge Len Goodman, whom she calls “incredible legends”.
First, she reached the quarter-finals, paired with Westlife singer Nicky Byrne. Two years later, he reached the final with The Only Way Is Essex star Mark Wright and came second in the competition with Jamie Laing, who rose to fame with his role in Made in Chelsea in 2019.
Hauer won a scholarship Martha Graham school She received training in contemporary dance at the age of nine and trained there for 10 years. Dancing became an escape, especially when her mother was working and Hauer didn’t want to be home alone, she said in an interview with the Guardian.
“As a child, it was difficult to know what I felt. Dancing gave me a way to express myself and release my energy. I didn’t want to disappoint my mother so I always tried to be a good girl, but through my dancing I could be emotional.”
