A backup dancer touring with iconic Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli says he suffered “catastrophic injuries” during a performance last year that derailed his career, including a lost opportunity to appear on a spinoff of Dancing with the Stars, due to unsafe – but entirely preventable – conditions onstage, according to a federal lawsuit reviewed by The Independent.

In his complaint, Uros Markovic accuses Gelb Productions, Bocelli’s North American promoter, of providing an “excessively bouncy and unstable” stage surface, as well as a disorienting light show that affected his spatial awareness and balance.

Markovic claims he notified producers of the issues, and was assured it would be fixed before the next show.

However, Markovic’s complaint contends, nothing was ever done to correct the problematic conditions, and amid an October 11, 2025, show before 20,000 people, he “slipped and sustained catastrophic injuries to his right hamstring.”

“The fall occurred at the conclusion of a four-minute dance number that [Markovic] had performed successfully countless times throughout his decades-long professional career without incident,” the complaint states. “Video footage of the incident clearly shows [Markovic’s] right foot losing traction against the stage floor and sliding through, causing him to land in an uncontrolled split position.”

Following surgery to mend the devastating rupture, Markovic developed an infection, requiring two additional operations that necessitated a 17-day hospital stay and six weeks of antibiotic treatment, according to the complaint.

Before his fall, Markovic had been booked to participate in a new spinoff of the wildly successful reality show, Dancing with the Stars.

“This opportunity represented a potentially career-transforming event that would have provided substantial earnings and national media exposure, potentially elevating [Markovic’s] career to an entirely new level,” the complaint goes on.

Markovic, who had also been featured in a national ad campaign for Chevrolet, was forced to decline numerous callbacks for other commercials for “major… brands including Levi’s,” according to the complaint, which says the injury has “permanently affected” the 38-year-old’s health and career.

An attorney representing Gelb Productions did not respond to requests for comment.

A Serbian native now living in Los Angeles, Markovic is “an established ballroom and Latin dancer” who has “practiced his profession with diligence and integrity,” his complaint opens.

In July 2025, Markovic signed a contract with Gelb Productions to dance for Bocelli in three concerts that October: the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida, the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia, and the First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, according to the complaint, which was first filed in California state court before being removed to Los Angeles federal court on Monday.

He would be paid $1,000 per show, plus $80 per diem, coach-class airline flights, and hotel accommodations, the complaint states.

After a successful Orlando performance, Bocelli's international team asked Markovic to stay with the tour for three additional shows in Brazil and Argentina scheduled for November 2025.

Markovic “accepted this offer, demonstrating the high regard in which his professional abilities were held and the significant career opportunity these performances represented,” the complaint continues.

Prior to each performance, the dancers first rehearsed at each venue, the complaint says. When they began practice at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Markovic and his dance partner “observed that the stage floor was not properly sealed and felt excessively bouncy and unstable,” thus creating a “dangerous and unsafe performance environment,” according to the complaint.

It says Markovic “immediately brought these hazardous conditions to the attention of… production personnel. [Gelb] acknowledged the problem and assured [Markovic] that the issue would be corrected before the performance.”

In addition to the allegedly inadequate stage conditions, Markovic claims Gelb failed to provide proper rehearsal lighting.

“Stage lighting during… rehearsals was not consistent with the lighting used during actual performances,” the complaint states. “Stage lights create intense heat and visually disorienting effects that significantly affect a performer's spatial awareness and balance. The failure to rehearse under performance lighting conditions deprived [Markovic] of the opportunity to properly acclimate to the visual environment he would face during the actual show, substantially increasing the risk of injury.”

At the end of a number during the October 11, 2025, show in Duluth, Markovic slipped and found himself in excruciating pain, unable to bear any weight on his right leg, according to the complaint. It says an onsite EMT determined Markovic had not broken any bones, and diagnosed the injury as a sprain, after which Markovic “was required to board the tour bus and travel to the next performance location in North Carolina.”

The next morning, Markovic – unable to walk – was checked out by a doctor, who also dismissed the injury as a sprain, the complaint alleges. But Markovic was in no shape to dance, and returned to Los Angeles. He never heard from Gelb Productions again, according to the complaint.

Once back home, in severe pain and worried for his professional future, Markovic saw his primary care physician, who ordered an urgent MRI exam, the complaint states. The MRI, it says, “revealed catastrophic findings: a complete hamstring tear with a 4-centimeter retraction of the muscle from the ischial tuberosity (the portion of the pelvic bone to which the hamstring muscles attach). This represented a total rupture of all three proximal hamstring tendons.”

An orthopedist told Markovic that surgery was the only way to repair the damage, and that he would be unable to work for up to a full year, according to the complaint. He had the operation a few days later, was fitted with a knee immobilizer, and began twice-weekly physical therapy sessions to help his recovery.

However, Markovic’s recuperation was thwarted by a post-surgical infection at the operative site, necessitating a pair of additional surgeries, the complaint states.

He subsequently missed out on the South American performances with Bocelli, which the complaint describes as “a major international engagement that would have provided substantial compensation, international exposure, and career advancement,” could not work as an actor, model, or dance instructor, and had to back out of his confirmed engagement on a Dancing with the Stars spinoff the complaint does not name, but appears to have been Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro.

“As of the date of this filing, [Markovic] continues to recover and remains unable to work,” according to the complaint.

“While he has historically maintained an extremely health-conscious and physically active lifestyle, he now experiences significant difficulty performing basic activities of daily living, including using restroom facilities, bathing, grocery shopping, and meal preparation,” it says.

The situation has caused Markovic “not only severe physical pain and disability but also intense emotional distress, anxiety, depression, and loss of enjoyment of life,” according to the complaint.

Markovic is now suing Gelb Productions for negligence, breach of oral contract, and premises liability. He is seeking general damages and special damages for, among other things, past and future medical expenses, past and future lost income, loss of earning capacity, physical pain, mental suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and damage to his professional career and reputation, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs.

Gelb Productions has not yet filed a formal response to Markovic’s allegations.