Just got this on BBC teletext.

"32 year old Iveta Lukosiute will replace Aliona Vilani...........Iveta, from Lithuania is the current world champion in 10-dance"

He'll be out before Aliona gets better.
Why are there no British pro dancers considered good / charismatic enough for SCD. 3 male and no female British pros...surely we can't be that bad!!!!

Poor Johnny, he will be knocked out before Aliona returns

Here is a clip of her in action on SYTYCD which was posted by Wrenny on the 'Aliona is injured thread' last night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Up0MDi9rD8

That would be a shame.

What on earth? Why can't the BBC replace Aliona with someone connected with Stictly? DWTS pro? I ask you?!! Are things really so bad that we have to go to an overseas show to get pro dancers? Ridiculous!!

Maybe it's as simple as finding someone without existing commitments that is also able and willing to step in - all at very short notice. And they need to be considered as suitable for the show.

As for going overseas, again the same thing applies - UK pros need to be available and want to do it.

Oh come on! Let's have some homegrown talent for a change. I'm getting bored with all these foreign imports!

I agree. They've had to find somebody fast, with no existing commitments & with the ability to teach. If this had happened 4-5 weeks ago, they would have had time to be more choosy. The fact that she has already danced with Pasha before may have also played a part in her appointment when you consider that they'll most likely be doing pro dances together.

That being said, she looks like a great dancer & a good addition.

Well said. Let's give the poor girl a chance.

Whilst i accept that pro dancers will have other commitments etc i find it strange that the BBC did not have an automatic stand-by/cover available to replace an injured pro dancer.

Agree totally!

She was the world champion in 10-dance for two years running and people are complaining about her credentials because she's foreign? Wow.

Sadly not surprised.

Also not surprised that people are still acting like the BBC should have had a whole bunch of dancers on standby to deal with this scenario. If they had done that then the complaints probably would have been about wasting licence payers money having backup dancers on a retainer

Are there even any homegrown talent objecting to not being considered?

I don't care where they are from as long as they are good.

It's probably a value judgement, one based upon the likelihood of having a pro injured very early on, measured against the cost of contracting someone to be on standby for that slim eventuality (multiplied by two of course as the BBC would need to have both a male & a female on a retainer).. And as the show progresses, the need for such a hot standby lessens (as knocked-out pros become available).

On the face of it she seems to have all the right credentials, olive. Maybe she was even on the list of potential new dancers when Katya was replaced, so they could have already had her in mind?

I don't suppose she will do any better/worse than Aliona in teaching Johnny, so don't think it will have much of a bearing on how long he stays in the competition.

whilst I totally agree with everything that you have said, the BBC seem to have struggled to find a dancer to replace Aliona at such short notice - maybe Iveta was the only one available to fly over at a weeks notice and help out for as long as she is needed

We dont actually know how long Aliona will be unable to dance for

yes, you are right, sorry

I was just really looking forward to seeing Aliona and Johnny dance together but I am sure Iveta will do a grand job

It's amazing really, personally I couldn't give a stuff if she was born in the SCD studio or comes from Telltytubby Land, as long as she can dance well (which she can) and can teach (we shall see) then she's fine by me

Just wondering whether this year's rent-a-pro is now lined up to join next year properly, depending on how well she does with Johnny. Wonder if Iveta will take over Aliona's part in pro dances, namely the one they're doing to the live guest in week 1.

On a more cynical note, we still may not see what Aliona can do choreography wise with a lesser talented celeb :/ However, despite not being a fan, this isn't something you wish on anyone, let alone someone who makes her living as a dancer- so get well soon, hope Iveta can do a good job!

Iveta dance-wise is more than qualified. Her pro dances with Pasha should be good.

We will have to see how they get on personality wise, as I suspect Johnny isn't going to be going far purely on dancing.

Its a tough situation for everyone - Johnny, Iveta and Aliona.
Aliona had just completed the CCC routine with Johnny and is reports are correct, just started working on the Tango, so in one way its good that he has one routine and hardly any of the other.
He will have lost out a lot on training due to all the upheaval and delay in a new partner being able to work with him.

Tango is a very difficult dance for a man to learn as his first ballroom dance, so my hopes that he would get a waltz and have a chance of dancing reasonably well are faded.

There's no pleasing some people

Of course, the fact that she's not Karen/Camilla/Lilia/Nicole/any other pro who's ever been on the show, means that she can't be any good, can she?!

Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing a new dancer.

Some amazing Xenophobia in here by certain people.

It might actually turn out OK, it's not great that Aliona's got injured but Iveta will no doubt be delighted by the opportunity and as others have said, she's quite capable. And Johnnie's had two lovely ladies to work with, which I am sure he will consider a nice problem to have.