Janette Manrara

Janette Manrara Škorjanec (born November 16, 1983) is an American professional dancer and television presenter. She is best known for her appearances on the US series So You Think You Can Dance and British dance reality television competition, Strictly Come Dancing (the original version of Dancing with the Stars). She is married to Slovenian dancer and co-star Aljaž Škorjanec. In June 2021, she quit being a dancer to co host Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two with Rylan Clark, and later Fleur East.

Early life Manrara is from Miami, Florida, US. Originally a singer, learning from her Cuban family, she formally studied dance from the age of 19. She began performing in musical theatre at age 12, and started her formal dance training at 19, studying ballroom, ballet, pointe, jazz and hip-hop. Manrara studied finance at Florida International University,

So You Think You Can Dance

Manrara made it through her audition to be selected for season 5, where she was paired with Brandon Bryant. However, she was eliminated during week 7 along with contemporary contestant Jason Glover.

Strictly Come Dancing and It Takes Two

Highest and lowest scoring performances per dance Dance Partner Highest Partner Lowest American Smooth HRVY 40 Dr.Ranj Singh 25 Argentine Tango Jake Wood 29 Cha Cha Cha Aston Merrygold 35 Julien Macdonald 20 Charleston HRVY 40 Jake WoodPeter Andre 38 Couples Choice HRVY 40 Will Bayley 32 Foxtrot Aston Merrygold 31 Will Bayley 24 Jive HRVY 39 Dr.Ranj Singh 20 Paso Doble Aston Merrygold 38 Will Bayley 23 Quickstep Aston Merrygold 32 Dr. Ranj Singh 20 Rumba HRVY 31 Jake Wood 27 Salsa HRVY 36 Julien Macdonald 23 Samba Jake Wood 38 Dr.Ranj Singh 27 ShowdanceHRVY 39 - - Dance-athon Jake WoodPeter Andre 1 - - Tango HRVY 35 Julien Macdonald 18 Viennese Waltz Peter Andre 34 Aston Merrygold 25 Waltz Jake WoodAston Merrygold 32 - -

In 2013 Manrara became a professional dancer on British TV show Strictly Come Dancing. Her first celebrity partner in the 11th series was fashion designer Julien Macdonald;

The couple's Contemporary dance, to Lukas Graham's song "7 Years", was dedicated to the patients and staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Bayley had been treated for cancer, aged seven. Michael Hogan of The Daily Telegraph said the pair "... didn't leave a dry eye in the house after their beautiful, barefoot contemporary dance."

Due to a knee injury sustained during studio rehearsals, Bayley was unable to perform in week 6 (Halloween Week). On 30 October it was confirmed that he had withdrawn from the competition.

Alfonso Ribeiro filled in for Tonioli

Series 18 For series 18, Manrara was paired with HRVY.

In 2020 Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec announced dates for their 2021 UK Tour "Remembering The Oscars"

In 2025, Manrara announced she would be teaching & performing with Aljaž Škorjanec at Donahey's Dancing with the Stars weekends in 2026.

Other projects Following her appearance on So You Think You Can Dance, Manrara joined musical TV series, Glee as a principal dancer. She also made her "Burn the Floor - West End" debut at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London on 21 July 2010. Additionally, she was part of the Burn the Floor US cast, which toured the United States from late 2010 through May 2011. She also appears on the BBC One show Morning Live doing a fitness workout. She has also co presented the show.

On 12 September 2024, Manrara's first book titled Tiny Dancer, Big World was published.

Personal life In 2015, Manrara became engaged to long-time partner Strictly Come Dancing and Burn the Floor co-star Aljaž Škorjanec. They were married on 15 July 2017.

In February 2023, Janette and Aljaž announced that they were expecting their first child in late summer 2023. Their child, a girl, Lyra Rose was born on 28 July 2023.