Karen Hauer


Karen Hauer is a Venezuelan professional Latin dance specialist and World Mambo Champion known for her appearances on the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing and the American TV series So You Think You Can Dance. She has also featured on Burn the Floor.
She participated in season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance and subsequently joined Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer.

''So You Think You Can Dance''

In 2009, as Karen Hauer she auditioned for season 6 of the US reality show So You Think You Can Dance.
;Season 6
She originally auditioned with her husband at the time, Matthew Hauer, but Matthew was eliminated during Vegas week and Karen moved on to the top 20.
WeekPartnerStyleMusicChoreographerResults
1Kevin HunteCha-Cha"Push It"—Glee CastTony Meredith and Melanie LaPatinSafe
2Kevin HunteHip-Hop"Ice Cream Paint Job"—DorroughTabitha and Napoleon D'umoSafe
3Kevin HunteHustle"Come To Me"—France JoliMaria TorresBottom 3
4Kevin HunteBroadway"If My Friends Could See Me Now"—Christina ApplegateSpencer LiffBottom 3
5Victor SmalleyTango"Montserrat"— Orquesta del PlataTony Meredith and Melanie LaPatinEliminated
5Victor SmalleyHip-Hop"Moving Mountains"—UsherLaurie Ann GibsonEliminated

''Strictly Come Dancing''

Highest and lowest scoring performances per dance
DancePartnerHighestPartnerLowest
American SmoothNicky Byrne
Mark Wright		27Simon Rimmer16
Argentine TangoNicky Byrne30
Cha Cha ChaMark Wright35Chris Ramsey13
CharlestonNicky Byrne
Mark Wright		36Simon Rimmer21
Couple's ChoiceCharles Venn 36Chris Ramsey 34
FoxtrotMark Wright35Chris Ramsey28
JiveMark Wright35Dave Myers19
Paso DobleChris Ramsey31Dave Myers16
QuickstepMark Wright29Simon Rimmer19
RumbaCharles Venn35Nicky Byrne25
SalsaChris Ramsey33Dave Myers17
SambaCharles Venn38Simon Rimmer19
ShowdanceMark Wright35
Something-athonCharles Venn3Mark Wright2
TangoMark Wright32Dave Myers20
Viennese WaltzMark Wright33Chris Ramsey26
WaltzMark Wright31Nicky Byrne17

As Karen Hauer, she joined Strictly Come Dancing for series 10 partnering Nicky Byrne. They reached week 10, the quarter-finals, before losing a dance-off to Denise van Outen and her partner James Jordan. Hauer returned for series 11 to partner Dave Myers, and they were voted out of the competition on 10 November, in week 7. In series 12, she was partnered by Mark Wright, and they made it to the final, coming in 4th place. In series 13, she was paired with the BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine; they were eliminated in Week 8. For the 14th series she was paired with the singer Will Young who withdrew from the competition after the third week. In 2016, she won the Strictly Come Dancing Children in Need Special with the taekwondo athlete Lutalo Muhammad. She danced with the celebrity chef Ainsley Harriot for the 2016 Christmas special. In the 15th series she was chosen to partner TV chef Simon Rimmer and they were eliminated in 11th place. She was paired with actor Charles Venn in the 16th series, they finished in 6th place. During the seventeenth series, she was partnered up with comedian Chris Ramsey, they were eliminated in the semi-final, finishing in 4th place.
SeriesPartnerPlaceAverage
Score
10Nicky Byrne6th26.6
11Dave Myers10th18.3
12Mark Wright4th31.7
13Jeremy Vine9th20.3
14Will Young13th29.3
15Simon Rimmer11th18.5
16Charles Venn6th29.7
17Chris Ramsey4th26.2

Series 10: with celebrity partner Nicky Byrne

Series 11: with celebrity partner Dave Myers

Series 12: with celebrity partner Mark Wright

In 2015 she partnered BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine, for the thirteenth series of the show.
Karen featured in the 2016 Strictly Come Dancing tour as part of the group dances, alongside her husband Kevin Clifton, who partnered his 2014 celebrity Frankie Bridge.

Series 14: with celebrity partner Will Young

She partnered singer Will Young, for the fourteenth series of the show.

Series 15: with celebrity partner Simon Rimmer

She partnered chef Simon Rimmer, for the fifteenth series of the show.

Series 16: with celebrity partner Charles Venn

She partnered actor Charles Venn, for the sixteenth series of the show.
She was partnered with comedian Chris Ramsey, for seventeenth series. The couple reached the semi-final and finished forth.
In August 2017, Karen & Kevin Clifton announced they would be touring the UK again in 2018 with their theatre tour 'Kevin and Karen Dance' following the sell out success of their first nationwide tour in 2017.
In October 2018, Karen announced she would be teaching & performing with Gorka Marquez at Donahey's Dancing with The Stars Weekends in 2019.

Personal life

Hauer was born in Valencia, Venezuela, and took up dancing after moving to New York when she was eight. She studied at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and then went on to study Ballroom and Latin at the age of 19.
Hauer has been married twice. She was married to former dance partner Matthew Hauer until 2009. She married fellow professional dancer Kevin Clifton on 11 July 2015. They announced on 15 March 2018 they were no longer together romantically.