by What does it take to make it to the top in the world of competitive ballroom and Latin dance? In her recent Desert Island Discs interview with Lauren Laverne, Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas reiterated her need to be resilient and “bulletproof” as she described the grueling schedules, restrictive diets, the bullying and bullying she suffered at school. dance world.
Since the release of Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom in 1992, the competitive dance industry has been known – and often mocked – for its hot tempers, high egos and tiny twinkly dresses. It strictly adheres to some of the stereotypes with its celebration of big characters, buckets of fake tan and plenty of sequins. But it is also a world with a darker side where men and women – traditionally, at least – continue, however, with the growth of same-sex dance, that, thank God, is changing.
Many dancers will recognize the kinds of sacrifices Walls made in her formative years: early mornings, late nights, hours spent traveling to and from lessons and little time for the outside world of dancing. That said, her story is also exceptional: she is the only woman to have won the British Open Professional Latin – the most famous and prestigious championship, held every year at Blackpool Dance Festival – with two different partners , her first husband, Sammy. Stopford, in 1983, and her second, Corky Ballas, in 1995-1996.
Of the thousands who could take their first steps in dance schools, very few go to that high level. The exact figure for how many people do ballroom and Latin dance in the UK today is difficult to confirm as there are different teaching societies. The British Dance Council is the umbrella organisation, which oversees the rules of competitive dance in Britain; the World Dance Council is the equivalent of international competitions. In recent years, however, partly due to political schisms, other organizations such as the British DanceSport Association and the World Dance Organization have been established to offer their own competitions.
“One of the biggest problems we face in this country is judging ballroom competitions,” says Robin Windsor, a former contestant and professional dancer on Strictly. “It’s not a case of who crosses the finish line first. It is opinion based and highly political.” At a major ballroom dance competition, such as the British Open in Linndubh, the judges, standing on the edges of the dance floor with their clip, may have to whittle down 200 dancers to the final six, round by round. And, on the whole, there are not many turnovers in the finals of the highest championships.
“He doesn’t leave things open,” says Windsor. “You usually know who the next world champion is going to be.” And he shares a rare example. “I know one famous dancer who was told that if he paid a certain amount of money he could become a world champion in three or four years,” he continues. “It can be a very polluted world.”
It can also be tough on the referees – many of whom are reasonable and hard-working, as Ballas points out. They might have a 90 second song to decide who goes through, leaving two or three seconds of attention for each dancing pair on the floor – if they’re lucky. In this system, well-known dancers are rewarded because of previous success. Competitive couples who can book lessons with the best coaches who, at some point, will also be judging and are likely to look more favorably on familiar faces.
On Desert Island Discs, Ballas recalls “huge bullying in the industry from men at the top … I was teaching the best couples in the world and then some couples were getting threats saying, ‘There are nine of us and one of us – if you train with her, we’re going to make sure you don’t make it in the industry.”
Ballas hesitates to “name and shame” but there are arguably a hint or two in her memoir, Behind the Sequins. “If you have an opinion, as a woman, it’s never really listened to,” she told Dancing Times in 2020. “Although now we have a new council called the World Dance Organization [WDO] as well as the World Dance Council. Let me say, I think the WDO is much more open and listens to opinions, and they are able to make everything fair.”
The presidents of the British Dance Council, the World Dance Council and the British DanceSport Association, and the chairman of the WDO are former champions – and all men. An industry insider, who wished to remain anonymous, suggests that “these former competitors bring their competitive spirit into the political world”. A great dancer may not necessarily make a skilled coach, for example, or a strong association president.
As well as the challenges of paying for the best coaches and dealing with politics, there is the cost of grooming and costumes. Apart from the make-up, hair, tanning and teeth cleaning, “the biggest cost is dresses, as they can cost between £2,000 and £5,000,” says Viktoriya Wilton, who competes in American Smooth and is the director of Inspiration 2 Dance. school in Piccadilly. “A dress is expected to be designed by a professional for their body, character and style.”
And so his physique. “A certain standard is expected of a professional or elite performer,” says Wilton. “I’m lucky because I’m naturally thin, so I didn’t have to stick to a strict diet, although I still did. I heard teachers commenting on other girls [weight] but, to be honest, on boys too.”
Ballas described how her second husband, Corky, hid a cockroach in her donuts while she was pregnant and, on another occasion, how a coach told her that “her post-natal body” made people feel sick physically”. While dancers report that, overall, today’s coaches speak more respectfully to their students, the pressure to keep weight down is even higher. In addition, nowadays Instagram has to contend with, too. “If you go back 20 years when I was competing, there was no social media,” recalls Windsor. “There was no YouTube, in fact there was very little internet. Everyone had their own treasure. As time went on, everyone became carbon copies of each other.
“I went to the International Competition recently and all the dancers are four or six… Teenage girls who look up to their idols might think that’s what they have to look like to be able to dance , when that is not the case. When I was on Strictly, my partner Lisa Riley proved that. You can be a size 12, 14 or 16 and still dance great. But I think if you were a little bit on the heavier side, that might work against you as a dancer in competition.”
Despite the challenges in the industry, there is still a strong sense of camaraderie in the dance world and a high regard for the competitors, who are dedicated to their art. “It’s like football,” says Gerald Schwanzer, managing director of DSI London, the company that makes the dresses on Strictly. “At the end of the day, all followers are in the same religion, but they are also very competitive.”
Passion runs high, says Wilton. “You make friends, of course, because of what you have in common… On the other hand, there can be backlash. I’ve fallen out with people in the dance world, and I’ve made great friends. It’s just a really passionate job – and dancers are emotional.”
She would like to see more respect for the way couples communicate. “The stuff I’ve seen men do to women in practice is really disgusting,” agrees Windsor. “People screaming and shouting at each other. But, then again, I have also seen a girl slap her partner across the face and storm out. I think it’s because there’s that competitiveness – everyone wants to be the best. But I think there is a problem with toxic masculinity.”
It is an industry that needs to think about protection. Last month, former ballroom and Latin dance champion Richard Still pleaded guilty at Reading Crown Court to three counts of sexual activity with a child. Also admitted, who owns a dance school and is a former protection officer for the British Dance Council, that he asked a girl to send him sexual or erotic images, in exchange for money paid into her bank account.
While these types of abuses of power are clearly unacceptable, there are specific challenges in teaching ballroom and Latin. As we all see on Strictly, if you are a teacher, you have to connect with the student. “There are ways and ways to do that without crossing a line,” says Windsor. “I feel that a lot needs to be observed,” he continues, citing a bad personal experience as a youth dancer. “I don’t really know how it’s going to be done. But, to me, it’s an industry where people think they can get away with a lot more than they can – or should.”
