Clare Craze is an English professional dancer, choreographer and performer whose career has taken her from specialist dance training to international touring productions, television appearances and creative work behind the scenes. Some readers know her primarily through her former marriage to Strictly Come Dancing professional Kevin Clifton. That connection, however, represents only one part of a much broader story.
Her professional record includes Burn the Floor, Heartbeat of Home, television choreography and screen acting. More recently, she has continued working as a choreographer, showing that her career did not end when the British press briefly focused on her private life.
Reliable information about her remains relatively limited. She has not maintained the kind of public celebrity profile that produces detailed interviews about every stage of her life. Exact details such as her full date of birth, family background and current relationship status have not been widely confirmed and should not be guessed.
From childhood dance lessons to professional training
Clare began learning ballet, tap and modern dance at the Colne Bank School of Dancing in Essex. The school’s published alumni information states that she trained there from approximately the age of five until she was 18.
This early combination gave her a versatile foundation. Ballet builds posture, alignment and control, while tap develops rhythm and musical precision. Modern dance adds a freer movement vocabulary. Together, these disciplines prepared her for the varied demands of commercial shows and theatrical productions rather than limiting her to one style.
She later studied Performing Arts Drama at Middlesex University, earning an honours degree. Her education also included dance and choreography studies at the University of South Florida, where her subjects reportedly covered ballet, jazz, contemporary dance and choreographic practice.
Some professional profiles additionally mention training at the Broadway Dance Center in New York, including musical theatre, salsa and Lindy Hop. This mix of academic study and practical training helps explain the range seen in her later work. She developed not only as a dancer capable of learning complex routines, but also as someone able to lead rehearsals, understand theatrical storytelling and shape movement for other performers.
Clare Craze’s international performance career
One of the most important credits in Clare’s career is Burn the Floor, the high-energy production built around ballroom and Latin dance. She performed with the show on tour and during its Broadway run. Available professional records also associate her with assistant choreographic and directorial responsibilities under the production’s creator, Jason Gilkison.
Burn the Floor is physically demanding. Performers must combine competitive-dance precision with the projection, stamina and character work expected in a large theatre. Working in such a production is therefore different from participating in a conventional ballroom competition. The dancer must deliver consistent performances night after night while adapting movement for a theatrical audience.
Clare later became a featured performer and Latin dance captain in Heartbeat of Home. Created by members of the team behind Riverdance, the show brought together Irish dance, Latin movement, flamenco, Afro-Cuban styles and contemporary performance.
As Latin dance captain, Clare carried responsibilities beyond appearing on stage. A dance captain typically helps maintain the choreographer’s original work, leads rehearsals, supports replacement performers and checks that the ensemble remains consistent throughout a tour. It is a position that requires authority, attention to detail and a strong understanding of the whole production.
Reviews of Heartbeat of Home singled out her stage presence and energy. Production material also confirms that she toured with the company internationally, making this one of the clearest examples of her work at a high professional level.
Other reported theatre credits include the musical Ireland’s Call, work at Walt Disney Studios in Paris and a Secret Cinema production inspired by Dirty Dancing. In the latter, she was associated with the character Penny. Secret Cinema performances combine acting, dance and audience interaction inside an immersive environment, demanding a different kind of awareness from a conventional stage production.
Television, music and acting work
Clare’s television work reflects the same versatility found in her stage career. Published professional biographies list her as a dancer or choreographer on the Turkish versions of Dancing with the Stars and The Voice. These formats often require performers to learn routines quickly, adjust to camera positions and work within tight rehearsal and broadcasting schedules.
She has also been connected with performances involving Leona Lewis, Ellie Goulding, The X Factor and Children in Need. Her television credits reportedly include Alesha Dixon’s Street Dance Stars, which was shown on CBBC, and an acting appearance as a scientist in the second series of Humans.
Her recorded screen credits are modest but verifiable. She appeared in an episode of the 2016 comedy series Chinese Girls in London, reportedly playing a Russian model. She was also credited as a party guest in the music video for Metronomy’s “Old Skool,” released in the same year.
These are not extensive leading roles, but they demonstrate how professional dancers often move between live theatre, television, music videos, commercials and acting. Such a career is rarely defined by one famous part. It is usually built through a continuing series of projects that require different combinations of movement, performance and creative skill.
A current talent profile places her in London and presents her for acting work. Public agency listings give her height as approximately 5 feet 6 inches, with blue eyes and brown-strawberry hair. These are casting details rather than biographical facts of wider significance, but they indicate that she has remained professionally represented.
| Area | Publicly documented information |
|---|---|
| Profession | Dancer, choreographer, actor and creative practitioner |
| Early training | Ballet, tap and modern dance at Colne Bank School of Dancing |
| Higher education | Performing Arts Drama at Middlesex University |
| Additional study | Dance and choreography at the University of South Florida |
| Major productions | Burn the Floor, Heartbeat of Home and Secret Cinema’s Dirty Dancing |
| Screen work | Chinese Girls in London, Humans and Metronomy’s “Old Skool” |
| Recent creative work | Choreography for a LAMDA stage production |
Moving from performer to choreographer
The transition from performing to choreography is an important part of Clare’s professional development. Performing requires a dancer to interpret someone else’s movement. Choreography demands a wider view: movement must serve the story, suit the abilities of the cast and remain practical within the space, music and rehearsal schedule.
Her dance-captain experience would have provided a natural bridge between those roles. A captain learns how to identify inconsistencies, communicate corrections and preserve the intention of a routine without preventing performers from bringing energy to it.
In 2026, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art credited Clare as the choreographer for a student production of Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and Other Love Songs). The play is a modern reworking of The Beggar’s Opera, written by Carl Grose and associated with the theatrical style of Kneehigh.
That credit is significant because it shows her contributing to actor training and theatre-making rather than relying only on her earlier reputation as a touring dancer. Choreographing drama students also requires a particular sensitivity: movement must support character, comedy, conflict and narrative, not simply display dance technique.
Reports have also connected her with Savvy Studios in an artistic-director and choreographic capacity. However, detailed and independently confirmed information about the organisation is scarce, so it would be unwise to make broader claims about its current operations.
Marriage to Kevin Clifton
Clare Craze met Kevin Clifton at a salsa venue in 2005. They married around 2007, although some short online biographies give a slightly different year. The couple separated in 2010, and their divorce was reportedly completed in 2013.
Kevin subsequently became widely recognised through Strictly Come Dancing, which he joined as a professional dancer in 2013. He later married fellow dancer Karen Hauer in 2015. Because his television fame grew after the separation, Clare was frequently described in entertainment coverage simply as his former wife, even though she had an established dance career of her own.
In a 2019 newspaper interview, Clare discussed the severe emotional effect the end of the marriage had on her. She said that she stopped eating and sleeping, received medical help and later took an overdose involving anxiety medication and alcohol. She was found by members of the public, taken to hospital and survived.
The disclosure became the most widely repeated story about her. It should nevertheless be handled carefully. It concerns a serious mental-health crisis, not celebrity gossip. The account also describes a past event and does not provide a basis for making assumptions about her present health.
Clare said she later heard claims that Kevin had been involved with Karen before the marriage ended. Kevin maintained that his relationship with Karen began after he and Clare had separated. Without independent evidence resolving those competing accounts, the responsible position is to present them as claims rather than established fact.
A career deserving its own recognition
Public attention has not always reflected the balance of Clare’s life. Search results may lead with her marriage, but production records reveal an experienced professional who has worked across ballroom and Latin dance, musical theatre, international touring, television, acting and choreography.
The dance-captain roles are particularly revealing. Such positions are normally given to trusted performers who can manage details, communicate clearly and protect the quality of a show throughout a demanding run. Her later choreographic work suggests that those leadership skills developed into a more creative and educational role.
Much of Clare’s private life remains private, including her present family situation and personal relationships. There is also no reliably confirmed public figure for her net worth. The absence of those details is not a gap that should be filled with speculation.
Ultimately, Clare Craze is best understood as a versatile British performing-arts professional. Her marriage to a television dancer brought her name into the tabloids, but her training, international stage credits and continuing choreography provide the more complete picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Clare Craze?
She is an English dancer, choreographer and performer known for productions including Burn the Floor and Heartbeat of Home. She has also worked in television, music videos and acting.
Was Clare married to Kevin Clifton?
Yes. They met in 2005, married around 2007 and separated in 2010. Their divorce was reportedly finalised in 2013.
What dance training does she have?
She trained in ballet, tap and modern dance at Colne Bank School of Dancing before studying performing arts at Middlesex University and dance and choreography at the University of South Florida.
Has Clare appeared on television?
Yes. Her reported credits include Humans, Chinese Girls in London, Turkish television dance programmes and appearances connected with British entertainment shows.
What does she do now?
Recent public evidence shows her working as a choreographer. In 2026, LAMDA credited her with choreographing a production of Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and Other Love Songs).
