Dancers Chris Piper and Anabel Kutay have become the first casualties of the So You Think You Can Dance live finals, which began on Saturday night.

The pair had each performed with a different partner in the first live show of the series, which is aiming to find Britain's favourite dancer.

However both couples found themselves in the bottom two following the public vote - and instead of performing again as a pair in a bid to remain in the competition, each had 30 seconds to impress the judges with a solo performance.

The panel - consisting of Nigel Lythgoe, Arlene Phillips, former Eternal singer Louise Redknapp and British choreographer Sisco - then chose who would stay in the competition and who would leave based on their final dance and their previous performances.

And they chose to save Hayley Newton - who had performed a samba with Chris earlier in the show and Anabel's dancer partner Drew McOnie, with whom she had performed a jive.

"I've absolutely loved every second and I'm so proud to have been recognised as one of my country's greatest dancers," Anabel said afterwards.

Earlier Nigel had told her, "If you are going to stay in the competition you must always pick up the style that is given to you, otherwise you are always going to find yourself in this position."

And he told Chris that if he wanted to remain in the competition he would have to "settle down a bit more and find that groove".

In the main show the pair had received mixed responses for the routines, with Nigel telling Anabel and Drew that he had "outdanced her" following their jive.

Arlene said that Hayley and Chris' samba was "pretty good" but added that the pair needed to "loosen up a bit", while Louise added, "There were parts of the routine that were hot and parts that weren't."

12 dancers now remain in the competition, with £100,000 and a chance to dance in the US version of the show at stake

Cheeky chappie and life and soul of the party.

Born in October 1983 in Birmingham, Chris grew up in Dorset before finally moving to London to realise his dream to be a dancer.

At an early age Chris trained as a Latin and ballroom dancer but at 14 joined a theatre school, which made him realise he wanted to do more than dance. He received scholarships to various colleges, but chose to study at Bodywork Company Dance Studio in Cambridge between the ages of 18 and 21.

Chris was in the original cast of Celtic Tiger with Michael Flatley, and has appeared in musicals such as Fame, We Will Rock You, Desperately Seeking Susan and Flashdance.

He has also appeared in the film Sylvia starring Gwyneth Paltrow, as well as The Dame Edna Show and various TV commercials.

Favourite song to dance to?

"Hmmm... I like a bit of Lady GaGa."

Greatest dancing fear?

"To break my leg on stage in front of an audience!"

Best physical feature?

"My hair – I grew it myself!"

Worst habit in dance?

"Definitely clicking as I dance. I always do it. And when I'm partnering sometimes I mark time with my mouth – it's very annoying for whoever's dancing with me."

Most embarrassing moment on stage?

"When I was doing Fame in the West End I did partner work and my partner fell on top of me. We were rolling about and she couldn't get off me. She knocked me straight on my back and every time we rolled to get up we both rolled the same way – we were stuck on the floor for what seemed like an eternity."

How did you get into dance?

My babysitter used to do a dance class when she looked after me and I went with her and sat in the corner. So it was natural that I decided to have a go myself. I was 10 at the time."

Where did you train?

"At Big Little Theatre School in Bournemouth, then at Bodywork Company Dance Studios in Cambridge."

What's your favourite type of dance?

"I like lyrical jazz dancing."

What is it like working on a TV show?

"Amazing. It's nice to do something different because normally I work on stage, which is much more instant, but it's exciting to work with cameras."

Are the judges as scary as they seem?

"No. They know what they're talking about and you take any tough critique with a pinch of salt because they're trying to help you out. They're big softies, really."

What are your future plans?

"I'd like to maybe choreograph my own show or create my own company but in the short term I'd really like to do a big dance film like Step Up or Fame. That would be my ultimate dream, as I act a little bit too."

Why did you enter the competition?

"Because it's a brilliant opportunity to push dancers to the forefront instead of being behind somebody and I was looking forward to working with lots of different choreographers, to really push myself."