# Iveta Lukošiūtė

Iveta Lukošiūtė (born 29 June 1980) is a Lithuanian dancer and choreographer. She is best known for appearing as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing between 2012 and 2014.

## Early and personal life

Lukošiūtė was born in Klaipėda, Lithuania on 29 June 1980. Lukošiūtė began learning ballroom dance at the age of 6 when she was accepted as a student at the Žuvėdra Ballroom Dance School. She danced for pop groups, concerts and festivals throughout Lithuania, and appeared in several music videos.
Lukošiūtė married Jenya Raytses in August 2017 and they have two children together.

## Dancing career

Lukošiūtė moved to Woodside, New York in 2003, where she went on to gain numerous dance titles including World Professional Ten Dance Champion, five time U.S. National & North American Professional Ten Dance Champion, four time U.S. National Classical Showdance Champion and two times World Classical Showdance Finalist.
In 2011, Lukošiūtė appeared on the eighth season of So You Think You Can Dance. She reached the top 20, however was the second male contestant and in gender the second overall contestant to be eliminated.

## Strictly Come Dancing

In September 2012, Lukošiūtė was announced to be joining the Strictly Come Dancing as a replacement for Aliona Vilani who sustained an injury, Lukošiūtė was paired with Vilani's partner, TV presenter Johnny Ball, who was the oldest ever contestant to appear on the show. They were the first couple to be eliminated from the series. Lukošiūtė returned to the show for the eleventh series where she was paired with actor Mark Benton. The pair landed in the dance-off four consecutive times, a Strictly record before being eliminated in the ninth week, leaving them in 7th place. In Lukošiūtė's final series, she was paired with rugby player and model Thom Evans, they were eliminated in week five of the competition which was described as a shock, leaving them in 12th place.
Whilst appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, Lukošiūtė made guest appearances on British television chat shows such as Daybreak, Loose Women and The One Show.
| Series | Partner | Place |
| 10 | Johnny Ball | 14th |
| 11 | Mark Benton | 7th |
| 12 | Thom Evans | 12th |
Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
| American Smooth | Mark Benton | 26 | | |
| Argentine Tango | | | | |
| Cha-cha-cha | Thom Evans | 27 | Johnny Ball | 17 |
| Charleston | Thom Evans | 32* | | |
| Couple's Choice | | | | |
| Foxtrot | Thom Evans | 30 | Johnny Ball | 20 |
| Jive | Mark Benton | 29 | | |
| Paso Doble | Mark Benton | 25 | | |
| Quickstep | | | | |
| Rumba | Mark Benton | 23 | | |
| Salsa | Thom Evans | 25 | Mark Benton | 22 |
| Samba | Mark Benton | 29 | | |
| Showdance | | | | |
| Tango | Mark Benton | 24 | | |
| Viennese Waltz | | | | |
| Waltz | Mark Benton | 28 | Thom Evans | 23 |
(*) Excludes extra score given by guest judge.

### Series 10

Lukošiūtė's first celebrity partner was television presenter Johnny Ball.
| Week № | Dance / Song | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Score | Result |
| Week № | Dance / Song | Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | Score | Result |
| 1 | Cha-cha-cha / "Drive My Car" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 17 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Foxtrot / "Everything" | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 20 | Eliminated |

### Series 11

Lukošiūtė's second celebrity partner was stage and screen actor Mark Benton.
| Week № | Dance / Song | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Score | Result |
| Week № | Dance / Song | Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | Score | Result |
| 1 | Tango / "Hernando's Hideaway" | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 24 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Salsa / "Bom Bom" | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 22 | Safe |
| 3 | American Smooth / "It Must Be Love" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 26 | Safe |
| 4 | Cha-cha-cha / "U Can't Touch This" | 3 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 26 | Safe |
| 5 | Waltz / "Apologize" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | Safe |
| 6 | Paso Doble / "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 25 | Safe |
| 7 | Rumba / "Goldfinger" | 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 23 | Bottom two |
| 8 | Jive / "You Can't Stop the Beat" | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 29 | Bottom two |
| 9 | Foxtrot / "It's a Beautiful Day" | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 28 | Bottom two |
| 10 | Samba / "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 | Eliminated |

### Series 12

Lukošiūtė's third celebrity partner was former rugby player Thom Evans.
| Week № | Dance / Song | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Judges' scores | Score | Result |
| Week № | Dance / Song | Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | Score | Result |
| 1 | Waltz / "You Raise Me Up" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 23 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Salsa / "Hot Hot Hot" | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 25 | Safe |
| 3 | Charleston / "New York, New York" | 7 | 8 | 7* / 8 | 8 | 38* | Safe |
| 4 | Foxtrot / "Build Me Up Buttercup" | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Safe |
| 5 | Cha-cha-cha / "It's My Party" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | Eliminated |
(*) Score given by guest judge Donny Osmond.