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Aliona Vilani | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1984-05-01)1 May 1984 (age 40)[1] |
| Occupation | Professional dancer |
| Years active | 2001–2016 |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Spouse | Vincent Kavanagh |
| Children | 1 |
Aliona Valeriya Kavanagh (néeVilani on 1 May 1984;Russian:Алёна Валерия Вилани), also known by her stage nameAliona Vilani, is a Russian-Kazakh TV personality and was a professional dancer in the BBC series ofStrictly Come Dancing.
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Vilani started learning ballet when she was five years old. She moved toRussia with her parents at age 9 and started ballroom dancing at age 11, continuing ballet. In 1997, aged 13, she moved to the United States and joined the Kaiser Dance Academy inBrooklyn, New York. In 2001 she was part of the US Ballroom team for the National Dance Congress that won the Amateur Ballroom category.
Vilani turned professional at the age of 17. Since 2006 she has lived inLos Angeles where she competed, performed and coached. Her speciality is10 Dance, she is also skilled in Salsa, Hip Hop and Jazz. In 2008–2009 she appeared in Dancing with the Stars Arena Tour in the U.S. In 2009 she appeared three times as a guest professional dancer onDancing with the Stars in Hollywood.
In 2014 Vilani was featured in theatre showLicence to Thrill as the lead female dancer.
In June 2017 Vilani gave birth to a daughter named Bella.[2]
Highest and lowest scoring performances per dance
Vilani first participated inseries 7 in 2009, where she partneredRav Wilding: they were eliminated in week 3 following a dance-off with actressLynda Bellingham and her dance partnerDarren Bennett.[3]
In 2010 she appeared for the first time on theStrictly Come Dancing Live Tour where she partnered actorRicky Groves. They danced the American Smooth and thePaso Doble. She also partnered Matthew Cutler in the professional dances. In April 2010 rehearsals started for theStrictly Come Dancing Professionals Tour in which she partneredMatthew Cutler & two weeks later the opening night started the 12-week tour.
Vilani was runner up in the2010 series ofStrictly Come Dancing, partnered withMatt Baker.[4] Vilani and Baker then went on to compete and win the 2011Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour.
She returned in 2011 for the9th series of the show, where she and partnerHarry Judd of pop-rock bandMcFly went on to win the competition, beatingChelsee Healey in the public vote and coming top in the final judges leader-board.[5] Vilani and Judd then went on to compete and win the 2012Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour.
Vilani returned for the2012 series ofStrictly Come Dancing, where she was paired with television presenterJohnny Ball. A training accident in the three-week interval resulted in torn ligaments for Vilani, causing her to retire at least temporarily from the show. She was replaced by Iveta Lukošiūtė who, with Ball, went on to be eliminated in the first week.[6] Vilani did however return in the final group dance alongside Ball, and later took part in the 2012Christmas Special, partneringFabrice Muamba. In a TV interview in October 2017, Ball claimed Vilani faked the injury, with Vilani denying the allegation and saying she would take legal advice over Ball's comments.[7]
In June 2013 it was announced that Vilani would not be competing inseries 11. However, she reportedly reacted angrily, stating that it was "not her decision to leave, and I had planned to be on the show and now I have to make new plans".[8] However, on 2 September 2013 it was further reported that professional dancerNatalie Lowe had a foot injury and that she would be replaced by Vilani.[9] Her partner for series 11 was championship golferTony Jacklin but the couple were the first to be eliminated (in week 2).
Vilani appeared in a short special edition ofStrictly Come Dancing featuringJayne Torvill andChristopher Dean, filmed in support of the BBC Children in Need charity in November 2013.[citation needed] She also appeared on the 2013Christmas Special, partneringMatt Goss; they scored 35 for their American Smooth.
Vilani returned for the12th series ofStrictly in 2014; she and her partnerGregg Wallace were voted off in round two, making Vilani the first dancer to be voted off first in two consecutive years.
In December 2014, Aliona Vilani won the Christmas Special partneringLouis Smith. They earned a perfect score of 40 from the judges for their quickstep to "Jingle Bells" and won after the judges' and studio audience's scores were combined.
In September 2015, Vilani returned for the thirteenth series of the show and partnered singer fromThe Wanted,Jay McGuiness. In December 2015 they won theStrictly Come Dancing final, making her the first professional to win the show twice. A few days following their win Vilani announced she would not be returning to the series.[10][11] Vilani and McGuiness then went on to compete and win the 2016Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour.
| Series | Partner | Place | Average Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Rav Wilding | 14th | 20.3 |
| 8 | Matt Baker | 2nd | 34.3 |
| 9 | Harry Judd | 1st | 35.6 |
| 11 | Tony Jacklin | 15th | 14.5 |
| 12 | Gregg Wallace | 18.0 | |
| 13 | Jay McGuiness | 1st | 34.1 |
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Goodman | Dixon | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Tango / "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 19 | Bottom Two |
| Rumba / "Temptation" | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 22 | ||
| 3 | Quickstep / "We Go Together" | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 20 | Eliminated |
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Goodman | Dixon | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Foxtrot / "She Said" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 3 | Quickstep / "Dreaming of You" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 4 | Charleston / "42nd Street" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 35 | Safe |
| 5 | Argentine Tango / "Bat Out of Hell" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 34 | Safe |
| 6 | Viennese Waltz / "Where the Wild Roses Grow" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 7 | Rumba / "Too Lost in You" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 8 | Samba / "Young Hearts Run Free" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 38 | Safe |
| 9 | American Smooth / "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 33 | Safe |
| 10 | Jive / "Soul Bossa Nova" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 11 | Salsa / "Spinning Around" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | Safe |
| Swing Marathon / "In the Mood" | Judges Awarded 4 Points | 32 | |||||
| Tango / "Hung Up" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 38 | ||
| 12 | Samba / "Young Hearts Run Free" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 38 | Safe |
| Showdance / "I Like the Way (You Move)" | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 34 | ||
| Paso Doble / "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Runner-up | |
| Viennese Waltz / "Where the Wild Roses Grow" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 37 | ||
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Result | ||||
| Horwood | Goodman | Dixon | Tonioli | Total | |||
| 1 | Cha-cha-cha / "Moves Like Jagger" | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 28 | No elimination |
| 2 | Foxtrot / "Just the Way You Are" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 26 | Safe |
| 3 | Jive / "Greased Lightnin'" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 33 | Safe |
| 4 | Waltz / "Come Away with Me" | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 5 | Tango / "Psycho Killer" | 8 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 34 | Safe |
| 6 | Samba / "I Wish" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 33 | Safe |
| 7 | Argentine tango / "Asi se Baila el Tango" | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 37 | Safe |
| 8 | Salsa / "I'm Still Standing" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 34 | Safe |
| 9 | Quickstep / "Don't Get Me Wrong" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| Swing Marathon / "Chattanooga Choo Choo" | Awarded | 7 | extra | points | 46 | ||
| 10 | Rumba / "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 37 | Safe |
| 11 | Viennese waltz / "This Year's Love" Charleston / "I'm Just Wild About Harry" | 9 9 | 10 9 | 10 10 | 10 10 | 39 38 | Safe |
| 12 | Quickstep / "Don't Get Me Wrong" Showdance / "Great Balls of Fire" American Smooth / "Can't Help Falling in Love" Argentine tango / "Asi se Baila el Tango" | 10 9 9 10 | 10 9 10 10 | 10 10 10 10 | 10 9 10 10 | 40 37 39 40 | Winner |
Purple score fromAmerican season 11 winnerJennifer Grey, who replaced Goodman.
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Waltz / "What'll I Do" | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 16 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Charleston / "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 13 | Eliminated |
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "Hot n Cold" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Charleston / "Hey, Good Lookin'" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18 | Eliminated |
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "Reach Out, I'll Be There" | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 27 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Waltz / "See the Day" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 3 | Jive / "Misirlou/You Never Can Tell" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 37 | Safe |
| 4 | Quickstep / "My Generation" | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 25 | Safe |
| 5 | Paso Doble / "It's My Life" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 33 | Safe |
| 6 | American Smooth / "Li'l Red Riding Hood" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 34 | Safe |
| 7 | Argentine Tango / "Diferente" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 34 | Safe |
| 8 | Foxtrot / "Lay Me Down" | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Safe |
| 9 | Salsa / "Cuba" (Gibson Brothers song) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 10 | Tango / "When Doves Cry" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 38 | Safe |
| Quickstep-athon / "Sing, Sing, Sing" | Awarded | 3 | Extra | Points | 41 | ||
| 11 | Rumba / "Falling Slowly" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 12 | Viennese Waltz / "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 34 | Safe |
| Charleston / "Doctor Jazz" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 37 | ||
| 13 | Quickstep / "My Generation" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Winner |
| Showdance / "Can't Feel My Face" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | ||
| Paso Doble / "It's My Life" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | ||