Quick Facts
Biography
Karen Clifton (formerly Hauer; born 20 April 1982) is a Venezuelan professional Latin dance specialist and World Mambo Champion known for her appearances on the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing and the American TV series So You Think You Can Dance. She has also featured on Burn the Floor.
She participated in season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance and subsequently joined Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer.
So You Think You Can Dance
In 2009, as Karen Hauer she auditioned for season 6 of the US reality show So You Think You Can Dance.
- Season 6
She originally auditioned with her husband at the time, Matthew Hauer, but Matthew was eliminated during Vegas week and Karen moved on to the top 20.
| Week | Partner | Style | Music | Choreographer(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Hunte | Cha-Cha | "Push It"—Glee Cast | Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin | Safe |
| 2 | Kevin Hunte | Hip-Hop | "Ice Cream Paint Job"—Dorrough | Tabitha and Napoleon D'umo | Safe |
| 3 | Kevin Hunte | Hustle | "Come To Me"—France Joli | Maria Torres | Bottom 3 |
| 4 | Kevin Hunte | Broadway | "If My Friends Could See Me Now"—Christina Applegate | Spencer Liff | Bottom 3 |
| 5 | Victor Smalley | Tango | "Montserrat"—Orquesta del Plata | Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin | Eliminated |
| 5 | Victor Smalley | Hip-Hop | "Moving Mountains"—Usher | Laurie Ann Gibson | Eliminated |
Strictly Come Dancing
As Karen Hauer, she joined Strictly Come Dancing for series 10 partnering Nicky Byrne. They reached week 10, the quarter-finals, before losing a dance-off to Denise van Outen and her partner James Jordan. Hauer returned for series 11 to partner Dave Myers, and they were voted out of the competition on 10 November, in week 7. In series 12, she was partnered by Mark Wright, and they made it to the final, coming in 4th place. In series 13, she was paired with the BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine; they were eliminated in Week 8. For the 14th series she was paired with the singer Will Young who withdrew from the competition after the third week. In 2016, she won the Strictly Come Dancing Children in Need Special with the taekwondo athlete Lutalo Muhammad. She will dance with the celebrity chef Ainsley Harriot for the 2016 Christmas special.
| Series | Partner | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Nicky Byrne | 6th |
| 11 | Dave Myers | 10th |
| 12 | Mark Wright | 4th |
| 13 | Jeremy Vine | 9th |
| 14 | Will Young | 13th |
Series 10: with celebrity partner Nicky Byrne
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Total | Result | |||
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Waltz / "I Wonder Why" | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 17 | No elimination |
| 2 | Cha Cha Cha / "Dynamite" | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 18 | Safe |
| 3 | Quickstep / "Hey Pachuco" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | Safe |
| 4 | Tango / "Weird Science" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 26 | Safe |
| 5 | Rumba / "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 25 | Safe |
| 6 | Foxtrot / "The Best Is Yet to Come" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Safe |
| 7 | Jive / "Jailhouse Rock" | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Bottom two |
| 8 | Charleston / "Doop" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 9 | Argentine Tango / "Skyfall" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 30 | Bottom two |
| 10 | American Smooth Samba / "Troublemaker" | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 27 | Eliminated |
Series 11: with celebrity partner Dave Myers
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Result | |||
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Cha Cha Cha / "Moves Like Jagger" | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | No elimination |
| 2 | American Smooth / "How D'Ya Like Your Eggs in the Morning?" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | Safe |
| 3 | Paso Doble / "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | Safe |
| 4 | Waltz / "Take It to the Limit" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | Safe |
| 5 | Salsa / "Cuban Pete" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | Safe |
| 6 | Jive / "Monster Mash" | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | Safe |
| 7 | Tango / "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | Eliminated |
Series 12: with celebrity partner Mark Wright
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Result | |||
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Cha Cha Cha / "I'm Your Man" | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | No elimination |
| 2 | American Smooth / "I'm Yours | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 3 | Paso Doble / "Superman Theme" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 4 | Quickstep / "Tiger Feet" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | Bottom two |
| 5 | Samba / "That's the Way (I Like It)" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 6 | Jive / "Prologue (Little Shop of Horrors)" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 7 | Waltz / "Weekend In New England" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 8 | Charleston / "We No Speak Americano" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 9 | Tango / "Love Runs Out" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 10 | Salsa / "Viva Las Vegas" | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | Bottom two |
| 11 | Foxtrot / "L-O-V-E" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 12 | Viennese Waltz / "I Got You Babe" Rumba / "Fields of Gold" | 8 9 | 8 8 | 9 8 | 8 8 | Bottom two |
| 13 | Cha Cha Cha / "I'm Your Man" Showdance / "Don't Stop Me Now" | 8 8 | 9 9 | 9 9 | 9 9 | Eliminated |
Series 13: with celebrity partner Jeremy Vine
She partnered BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine, for the thirteenth series of the show, September to December 2015.
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Result | |||
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Cha Cha Cha / "September" | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | No elimination |
| 2 | American Smooth / "Happy together | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | Safe |
| 3 | Charleston / "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 4 | Jive / "Splish Splash" | 3 | 6 | 6 | 5 | Safe |
| 5 | Waltz/ "She" | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | Safe |
| 6 | Salsa / "Thriller" | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | Safe |
| 7 | Tango / "Go West" | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | Safe |
| 8 | Quickstep / "Going Underground" | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | Eliminated |
Karen featured in the 2016 Strictly Come Dancing tour as part of the group dances, alongside her husband Kevin Clifton, who partnered his 2014 celebrity Frankie Bridge
Series 14: with celebrity partner Will Young
She partnered singer Will Young, for the fourteenth series of the show.
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Result | |||
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Tango / " Let's Dance" | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | No elimination |
| 2 | Jive / "Rock Around the Clock" | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | Safe |
| 3 | Salsa / "Jai Ho" | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | Safe |
| 4 | Viennese Waltz / "Say Something" | - | - | - | - | Withdrew |