RTL viewers have known Ekaterina Leonova for many years as a professional dancer on "Let's Dance". But even if "Ekat" is one of the audience's favourites, the Russian only has a limited right of residence in Germany. Until now.
Ekaterina Leonova brought good news to her followers on Instagram. "After 15 long years, I hold the permanent residence permit (a settlement permit) in my hands. You probably can't imagine how happy I am right now," writes the Russian "Let's Dance" professional dancer about several pictures in which she is beaming poses with her identity document.
Sentences like "Ekat is about to be deported" or "Ekat is urgently looking for a job so as not to be deported" will no longer be part of her life, the 35-year-old explains. With a laughing emoji, she also adds a sentence that will hopefully not be used from now on: "Ekat will get married soon because she wants to stay in Germany."
From now on, according to Leonova, the only thing that applies to her is: "If Ekat works, it's because she enjoys the job. If Ekat gets married, it's because she loves her spouse. And if Ekat flies to Russia, it's because she wants to visit her family ."
The dancer announces that she will celebrate the personal milestone in her life. She would like to thank everyone "who has always accompanied and supported me on this long journey," she writes, adding that her settlement permit does not mean a change of citizenship.
Many followers are happy for Leonova. Among other things, congratulate her "Let's Dance" colleagues such as presenter Victoria Swarovski, juror Motsi Mabuse or dancer Isabel Edvardsson in the comment column of the post.
Ekaterina Leonova, nicknamed "Ekat", was born in 1987 in Volgograd, Russia. In 2008 she moved to Cologne. Between 2013 and 2019 she was part of the regular cast of "Let's Dance" and was always one of the audience's favorites there. With her dance partners Gil Ofarim, Ingolf Lück and Pascal Hens, she took first place on the show three times in a row between 2017 and 2019. Then she took a "Let's Dance" break before celebrating her comeback on the RTL show in 2022. With Bastian Bielendorfer she danced up to sixth place this year.
