# Nikita Kuzmin

Nikita Kuzmin (Ukrainian: Нікіта Кузьмін; born 23 December 1997) is a Ukrainian dancer and choreographer. He is best known for being a professional dancer on the RTL and BBC One dance competitions Let's Dance and Strictly Come Dancing. Kuzmin is also the holder of six Italian Championship titles. In 2024 he was the runner-up on the 23rd series of Celebrity Big Brother.

## Early life

Kuzmin was born on 23 December 1997 in Kyiv, Ukraine. His family moved to Italy when Kuzmin was nine. At 13 years of age he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He has an older sister, Anastasia Kuzmina, who has appeared as a professional dancer on Ballando con le Stelle. He has lived in Frankfurt, Germany since the age of 18.

## Career
### Let's Dance

| Season | Partner | Place |
| 13 | Sabrina Setlur | 13th |
In 2020, Kuzmin became a professional dancer on the RTL dance competition Let's Dance for the 13th season, where he was partnered with rapper Sabrina Setlur. They were the second couple to be eliminated. Kuzmin did not return for the 14th season.
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Result |
| Week # | Dance/Song | Gonzalez | Mabuse | Llambi | Result |
| LS | Group Tango / "Hey Sexy Lady" | 5 | 5 | 5 | No Elimination |
| 1 | Viennese Waltz / "Dangerous Woman" | 4 | 4 | 1 | Bottom two |
| 2 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "On the Floor" | 5 | 5 | 2 | Eliminated |

### Strictly Come Dancing

On 26 July 2021, Kuzmin was announced as one of four new professional dancers joining the nineteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. Upon joining the show, Kuzmin said "I've always been amazed by the magic Strictly Come Dancing brings and that no matter what country I have found myself living in, I've never missed a chance to watch it. Joining it as a professional dancer is my big chance to make some magic on the most famous dance floor. I can't wait to give it my all." Kuzmin has also previously worked for judge Motsi Mabuse's dance company in Germany. In his first season, Kuzmin was paired with Tilly Ramsay; they were eliminated from the competition in week 10. In his second season, Kuzmin was paired with Ellie Simmonds; they were eliminated from the competition in week 7. In his third season, Kuzmin was paired with Layton Williams. They made it to the final where they finished as joint runners-up, alongside Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell, and behind series champions Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola. In his Fourth
season, Kuzmin was paired with Sam Quek; they were eliminated in week 7.
| Series | Partner | Place |
| 19 | Tilly Ramsay | 6th |
| 20 | Ellie Simmonds | 10th |
| 21 | Layton Williams | 2nd |
| 22 | Sam Quek | 10th |
Highest and lowest scoring per dance
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
| American Smooth | Layton Williams | 34 | Sam Quek | 29 |
| Argentine Tango | Layton Williams | 40 | Layton Williams | 39 |
| Cha-cha-cha | Layton Williams | 37 | Ellie Simmonds | 26 |
| Charleston | Layton Williams | 40 | Sam Quek | 22 |
| Couple's Choice | Tilly Ramsay | 40 | Layton Williams | 39 |
| Foxtrot | Tilly Ramsay | 36 | Sam Quek | 23 |
| Jive | Layton Williams | 36 | Tilly Ramsay | 27 |
| Paso Doble | Layton Williams | 40 | Sam Quek Ellie Simmonds | 30 |
| Quickstep | Layton Williams | 40 | Sam Quek | 26 |
| Rumba | Layton Williams | 36 | | |
| Salsa | Layton Williams | 39 | Ellie Simmonds | 30 |
| Samba | Tilly Ramsay | 30 | Sam Quek | 28 |
| Showdance | Layton Williams | 39 | | |
| Tango | Layton Williams | 36 | Tilly Ramsay | 31 |
| Viennese Waltz | Layton Williams | 28 | | |
| Waltz | Ellie Simmonds | 30 | Tilly Ramsay | 21 |

#### Performances with Tilly Ramsay

| Week # | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Result |
| Week # | Dance / Song | Revel Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | Total | Result |
| 1 | Waltz / "Consequences" | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 21 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Charleston" / "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 34 | Safe |
| 3 | Jive / "The Nicest Kids in Town" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | Safe |
| 4 | Paso Doble / "Diablo Rojo" | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 32 | Safe |
| 5 | Foxtrot / "Little Things" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 6 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "Spooky Movies" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 7 | Tango / "Kings & Queens" | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 31 | Bottom two |
| 8 | Quickstep / "I Won't Dance" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 | Bottom two |
| 9 | Couple's Choice / "Revolting Children" | 10* | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | Safe |
| 10 | Samba / "Levitating" | 7 | 7* | 8 | 8 | 30 | Eliminated |
* Green number indicates when Tilly and Nikita were at the top of the leaderboard.
* Red number indicates when Tilly and Nikita were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
* Score given by guest judge Cynthia Erivo

#### Performances with Ellie Simmonds

| Week # | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Result |
| Week # | Dance / Song | Revel Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | Total | Result |
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "Dance" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 26 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Waltz / "Can't Help Falling in Love" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 30 | Safe |
| 3 | Quickstep / "Peppy and George" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | Safe |
| 4 | Salsa / "I Love Your Smile" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 30 | Safe |
| 5 | Paso Doble / "Montagues and Capulets" | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Safe |
| 6 | Foxtrot / "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 29 | Safe |
| 7 | Charleston / "Too Darn Hot" | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 33 | Eliminated |

#### Performances with Layton Williams

| Week # | Dance / Song | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Result |
| Week # | Dance / Song | Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | Total | Result |
| 1 | Samba / "Touch" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 29 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Quickstep / "Puttin' On The Ritz" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 3 | Viennese waltz / "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | Safe |
| 4 | Cha-cha-cha / "Million Dollar Bill" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 37 | Safe |
| 5 | Salsa / "Quimbara" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 6 | Tango / "Vampire" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 7 | Jive / "Shake Ur Body" | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 36 | Safe |
| 8 | Argentine tango / "Tattoo" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 9 | Couple's Choice / "Ain't No Other Man" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 10 | American Smooth / "It's Oh So Quiet" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 34 | Bottom two |
| 11 | Paso doble / "Backstage Romance" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | No elimination |
| 12 | Rumba / "Lift Me Up" Charleston / "Fit as a Fiddle" | 9 10 | 9 10 | 9 10 | 9 10 | 36 40 | Safe |
| 13 | Quickstep / "Puttin' On The Ritz" Showdance / "Friend Like Me" Argentine tango / "Tattoo" | 10 9 10 | 10 10 10 | 10 10 10 | 10 10 10 | 40 39 40 | Runner-up |
* Green number indicates when Layton and Nikita were at the top of the leaderboard.

#### Performances with Sam Quek

| Week # | Dance / Song | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Result |
| Week # | Dance / Song | Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | Total | Result |
| 1 | Foxtrot / "Where Did Our Love Go" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 23 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Charleston / "The Charleston" | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 22 | Safe |
| 3 | Paso Doble / "Elevation (Tomb Raider Mix)" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 30 | Safe |
| 4 | Samba / "Hips Don't Lie" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | Safe |
| 5 | Quickstep / "Unwritten" | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 | Safe |
| 6 | Jive / "Time Warp" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 7 | American Smooth / "Love Story" | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 29 | Eliminated |

## Other work

In March 2024 Kuzmin entered the Celebrity Big Brother house as a housemate on the 23rd series. He finished the series in second place behind David Potts of Ibiza Weekender fame.
In September 2024 Kuzmin announced he would appear with Jowita Przystał at "Dancing with the Stars Weekends" 2025.

## Personal life

In March 2022, Kuzmin appeared on Lorraine to discuss his fears for his grandmother living in Ukraine following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They were later reunited.
In October 2023, Kuzmin was reported to be dating a model called Lauren Jaine.
He is a Type 1 diabetic, having been diagnosed at the age of 13. His CGM sensor is often visible in his Strictly Come Dancing costumes.

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Title | Channel | Role |
| 2020 | Let's Dance | RTL | Professional dancer (Season 13) |
| 2021–present | Strictly Come Dancing | BBC One | Professional dancer (Seasons 19–22) |
| 2024 | The Weakest Link | BBC One | Contestant; 1 episode. |
| 2024 | Celebrity Big Brother | ITV1 | Runner-up; series 23 |

### Stage

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2022–present | Strictly Come Dancing Live! | Professional dancer |
| 2025 | Nikita Kuzmin: Midnight Dancer | Himself |