The new pro to replace Katya...

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...bout-this.html

Reserving judgement. Hardly has a glowing record to set the world alight, certainly nothing majorly more than Katya, but I'm sure we'll grow to enjoy her choreography if she's good enough, and clearly the producers feel she'll connect better with audience. We'll see.

So another alumni of 'SYTYCD' and 'Burn the Floor' - not that there's anything wrong with that I think it's best to reserve judgement too until I see what she can choreograph and how she comes across on Strictly. Just checking out some of her stuff on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XADtNjCeLpQ

Also for anyone interested her height is stated here as 5ft 5 - not sure how accurate that is though given some of the pros inaccurate sounding heights stated elsewhere

http://www.buddytv.com/info/karen-hauer-info.aspx

Those legs go on forever.

Karen's tweeted she's excited by said news- think we have it as official. Saw a youtube clip of her pro mambo- hope we can see something like that. Kristina's also a bit of a mambo specialist- new dance for the comp? If nothing else would be a good opener to a results show.

Also interesting to see if they give her a similar dance reception with all the fella's as they gave Pasha with the ladies last Launch show. I suspect they will- saucy :P

I liked her on sytycd although I kinda wish anya had been the new pro but looking forward to seeing her on the show all the same

Another Karen H joins the Strictly family.

Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Karen Hauer - she is an incredible dancer and those of you who have seen BTF will remember her emotive and incredible blindfold rumba with several guys - amazing.

I have never been able to take my eyes off her - she is stunning - Venezuelan girl - and a beautiful person too.

She has always made time for people as long as I've known her.

I am just not sure that she fits SCD! or SCD as we knew it - I guess we have to see how the format is this year - will be interesting to see her do some of the ballroom dances.

Either way, I'm delighted for her that she is getting international recognition - she is beautiful, lovely and an astoundingly good Latin dancer.

She was a stand-out when I saw her in Burn The Floor, I'll reserve judgement until I see her choreography but it sounds like a great addition. Just wish it wasn't at the expense of Katya, sadly.

she really was, FH. Like you I'll see how the choreo goes - but I truly loved her in BTF and other things in the past - she is truly fabulous.

Katya for me tried hard but I just don't think she ever really stood out in the pro dances - especially when the purer quality pros were still in it.

I'm not too sorry she's gone, although I do think she did a good job with Gavin Henson. She was just a little under top notch for me.

I hope the producers revert to showing actual training footage before each dance so that we get a chance to get to know her. Really looking forward to seeing what she can do as I think she'll certainly give the other pros a run for their money in the Latin dances. I guess Anton will just joke his way through them again (sigh).

Surely being an incredible dancer is only half the issue though for strictly?
Being a decent and credible teacher, choreographer and having some charisma for the same is just as important if not more so.

I think I can remember her - just about - from BTF but no more than some of the others - I put the ballroom specialist Rebecca above her though at the time for my preferred dancer.

Shame we didn't get Anya though. If she was Artem's partner on BTF does that now mean another pro pairing reshuffle? I actually thought Artem's and Aliona were good dancing together last year - I wonder is this Karen will partner Pasha or Artem.

Yay. I think she will fit with the rest of the strictly pros just fine and I saw her in some of the burn the floor videos; she is a great dancer.
Yay also to a little bit of diversity

She looks like a younger version of Lady Forsyth I am already dreading the drooling from Brucie

Neigh!

Well of course it is, that's obvious! that's the remit for a pro on Strictly and always has been. That's what we USED to get. And they choose people who they think will tick all those boxes. But, as with any new person, who knows yet what she will be like. She may be dreadful in both teaching and choreography! Cue Jared lol. She does however on stage have charisma in droves - but it may not come over well on TV - we have to see.

I said above that I am going to wait and see what she is like on the show, because I am very unsure whether she will 'fit' the British Strictly and whether she will be able to teach well - although it has changed of course from the 'fitting the true dance remit' days, to a more loose structure in the dances - so she may well fit this better and wouldn't have fitted the old Strictly.

Either way, I just LOVE her as a Latin dancer and many people have made her the stand-out dancer in BTF - she certainly was for me. But each to their own.

I almost don't want her to do it, although I'm so thrilled for her that she is getting the chance.

I think Pasha may partner her since I do know he has said he wouldn't partner Ms Vilani in the past - so unless things change it may stay that way, and hopefully he will dance with Karen.

I would also have loved Anya though as well - the beautiful rumba they did to Burn For You was just so emotive and stunning - but methinks there's something amiss now with them these days, sadly

God yes! I hope he doesn't mentally go back 27 yrs or so lol - can you imagine.

Sadly, I can

me too G, It's important to do this on the show so people can, as you say, get to know her and the others - I am sick to the back teeth of those stupid little VTs with pros with ducks and all lol

Excited about Karen Hauer and about hopefully seeing a bit of Mambo.

I think it's odds on that she will partner Pasha. Two Latin specialists who will look good together.

I had the same thought about her looking like Lady Bruce as well

5'5", so in heels she'll be around 5'8"?

Anyway, she looks like she'll be pretty good.

Confirmed now on the BBC site

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlyc...r-for-st.shtml

Has she ever been trained in any of the ballroom dances?

Of course it is. I would have thought that was obvious. The fun of watching a new pro if finding all this out as the series goes on.

The spotlight will really be on her as the only new pro and the viewing public often find it hard to warm to a sexy female so she may have a tough time to begin with especially if she is portrayed as a saucy man-eating sex siren. It will be her task to win the public over - lots of female 'jellus haters' out there.

Good choice I think though and looking forward to seeing her 'mambo-ing' later on in the year

Aaaaah. That was her. Yes, she IS excellent. I hope she can do ballroom decently too though. Erin must be feeling incredibly lonely out there!

Can't help but feel sorry for Katya being the only one pushed out. I know it happened with Jared Murillo but he was appalling and completely deserved it.

x x x x x

I didn't see any ballroom training on the few biographies I read but she would have had some for SYTYCD and BTF - so perhaps the producers are confident she'll be able to teach and perform it to a good level - anyway being sh!t at Latin hasn't stop them from continually employing Anton .....that's not to say she'll be bad at ballroom just using it as an example if a pro is strong in one discipline then producers will probably overlook weaknesses or lack of experience in another