Cypriot joins professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing

Michelle Tsiakkas will be the first Cypriot professional dancer to join the cast of the BBC 1 programme Strictly Come Dancing according to reports on Monday.

She and another three new dancers – European cup winner Vito Coppola, Chinese national champion Carlos Gu, former Under-21 British national champion Lauren Oakley – will be joining the line-up of professional dancers assigned to this season’s celebrities.

They join the 16 professional dancers already revealed for the upcoming series: Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Cameron Lombard, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Giovanni Pernice, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu.

Tsiakkas is a Latin dance champion and started dancing at the age of six in Cyprus.

When she was not studying, Michelle spent her time competing, representing England at major international championships before joining the world touring dance show Burn The Floor which has starred former Strictly Pro Kevin Clifton and Graziano Di Prima.

“Being a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing has been my dream ever since I was a little girl. I cannot believe my dream has come true!” Tsiakkas told Parikiaki newspaper. “I’m so grateful to be joining this incredible family and I can’t wait to step on that magical dance floor and give it my all!”