After a successful and varied career, Strictly Come Dancing ex-pro ROBIN WINDSOR will bring his farewell tour to a close with a one-night-only performance at the Novello Theatre on Sunday 25 November 2018 with all proceeds go to the Make a Difference Trust.
Robin will be joined by some special guests from his career both on and off Strictly including performances from Rachel John (Hamilton), Harriette Mullen (Cilla), Lisa Marie Holmes (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert), Ricky Rojas (Moulin Rouge Broadway) and Kerry Ellis (Wicked).
Having started dancing at the age of three, Robin went on to create a hugely successful career, spending five years as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing and performing around the world including stints on Broadway and in the West End in Burn the Floor, Keep Dancing and Dance to the Music with his professional partner, Kristina Rihanoff.
Here he is in conversation with Musical Theatre Review’s Tal Fox.
Can you remember the first time you fell in love with dancing?
I was about three years old and my parents used to teach at the local dance school, they caught me wiggling my hips and they gave me a dance lesson and obviously since then they never stopped.
What is it about dance that speaks to you?
Dance takes you almost to another universe, it releases endorphins in your body that you don’t get from things like going to the gym and it makes people happy. There’s no better feeling than being able to dance with another person in perfect unison across a ballroom floor.
Why have you decided to hang up your dance shoes?
I’ll still be dancing in some form, I move back to St Lucia in February to take up a new role in fitness and wellbeing. Dance is part of people’s wellbeing so I’ll be teaching dance classes out there and mainly doing personal training and dance training.
Why did you choose the Make a Difference Trust?
About eight years ago the MAD Trust invited me to an event that they put on called West End Bares and it was one of the best events I’d ever been to and so much fun. I just struck up a friendship with the people there and I thought it would be a great way to go out and do one final show for a very worthy cause at the same time.
What should audiences expect when they see the show?
The show will be the one that I’ve just been touring at the which is the story of my life. In London, I’ve got some very special guests who are coming to perform with me, stars of the West End from Dreamgirls, Hamilton, Sister Act, The Lion King, you name it. Kerry Ellis and some of my ex Strictly partners, and I’ve got the lovely Gaby Roslin and Alison Hammond presenting.
Will you be dancing with your guests or chatting with them?
Bit of both, so Debra Meaden will be dancing with me again and I’ve got a couple of Strictly pros, Pasha Kovalev and Vincent Simone are going to be there and of course a lot of my old Strictly buddies will be coming to give me a farewell.
Robin Windsor and Kristina Rihanoff in Burn the Floor at the Shaftesbury Theatre. Picture: Beytan Erkman
Why did you ask these people specifically to be part of your show?
Everybody I’ve chosen I’ve worked with at some point in my life. There’s Alison Hammond who I did the Christmas special with or people who have resonated with me like Rachel John from Hamilton – we’ve never worked together but I first fell in love with her when I went to watch We Will Rock You way, way back and every time I go to see her I’m mesmerised. There are so few performers that make me feel like that. I asked if she’d be kind enough to sing for me and she jumped at the chance.
Do your singing guests decide what songs they’ll be singing?
I’ve had some special requests because obviously with the show I’ve got running at the moment, we bring in the vocalists to sing the songs I’m dancing to, but some of them have had their own choices. I cannot wait to hear Kerry Ellis perform!
Do you know what they’ve chosen?
I know what it’s going to be but I can’t tell you, it will be a surprise for everybody else.
Why did you decide to make it a one-night-only show?
Just because it’s the end of the tour and I wouldn’t be able to get all of those guests to do it more than the one night and they’ve all given up their time for free just for that final performance.
What has been the ultimate highlight of your career?
There are three nights: the opening night on Broadway with Burn the Floor, my very first dance on Strictly, and opening night when I headed to the West End with Burn the Floor. I couldn’t pick between them, they’re just as important as each other.
Was it different performing on Broadway than here?
Broadway was tough, very tough. The relentless rehearsals, the eight-show weeks. But it doesn’t really matter where you are in the world, it’s just as strenuous on the body! I’d always dreamt of seeing my name in lights in the West End as a child and I never thought that dream would be possible, but then all of a sudden it was happening and I couldn’t believe it. The most poignant moment was when I turned a street corner and saw a billboard of myself and that was just amazing.
Are there any differences in the audiences?
Not really, it’s a pretty international cast and half of them were the same in London as Broadway and audiences are just the same. More and more people are starting to appreciate ballroom dance as an art form.
What was your favourite moment during your time on Strictly?
Every year my first dance with my partner was always the most memorable and the most memorable for everyone was Lisa Riley. She came on the show and proved you don’t have to be a certain size to be able to dance and she’d come out and nail it every single week. We were able to strike up an incredible friendship together as well. I think that’s one that everybody will remember because of course Lisa was the first ever female contestant to lift the male and that lift will go down in Strictly history.
What you think it is about the show that makes people want to spend their Saturday nights in front of the television?
It’s good quality wholesome family entertainment to sit down and watch whether you’re eight or 80. You want to be with those partners in those beautiful dresses and get swept away by those beautiful moments. I think they’ve just got the formula right. They could have chosen anything to be part of the show, they had a format and they just happened to pick ballroom dancing, and as a result it’s started a worldwide interest. It was becoming less and less popular, so it’s thanks to the BBC really for taking a chance on the art form that we all love.
Have you seen more interest from people signing up for dance lessons?
Social dance schools all over the country are thriving and beginners’ classes are starting up everywhere. The hardest thing is getting men to go but men get dragged there and they’re the ones who love it the most in the end and want to come back. You see it on the show you see these stars on TV get into the Foxtrot and Salsa and it makes it a bit cooler for everyone else to give it a go.
It looks like the Strictly family is for life, how much was it being back on It Takes Two?
It was fantastic, it was like I’d never left. It’s in a different building now which was a bit strange, but it was great to be back on the sofa with Zoe and I wanted to see everyone before I left.
If you were still on the show, which of the Couple’s Choice styles would you go for?
Theatre Jazz. I am a ballroom dancer, I don’t quite have the hip-hop swagger, so definitely Theatre Jazz for me.
What do you make of this year’s group?
Absolutely fantastic! The standard is probably the highest they’ve ever had and Blackpool was a fantastic show, probably the best Blackpool they’ve ever had. Charles Venn has really left his mark on me after that weekend but biggest improvement definitely goes to Joe Sugg.
Is it true that people thought you were a backing dancer in Blackpool?
Yeah, there’s a guy one of the backing dancers who I actually used to work with in Burn the Floor, his name is Robbie Kmetoni, and everybody started thinking I’ve got a doppelganger. People were messaging me to say I did a great job on the show which was news to me!
Would you ever go back to Strictly?
Not now, I had a great time, it opened so many doors for me. It was brilliant, but it’s time to let the younger ones come through and I’m going to start on a new career path.
What would you say to someone debating whether to take up dancing?
Don’t be unsure, get yourself down to a local dance school and give it a go and trust me, it’s like a pack of Pringles, once you pop you can’t stop.
Will you continue to teach over here at all?
I have no plans to return to the UK, so everything is going to be brand new and starting something fresh.
What made you decide to make this move?
I’ve been going out for the past three years every month as a guest. They invited me over because they wanted someone from Strictly to teach a class and they saw I was doing a farewell tour. They asked what my plans were next and I said: “I don’t really know to be honest,” and they said: “Would you like to live and work out here?” I jumped at the chance.
Is it a completely new role?
I’ve only ever been out there as a guest presenter which means I was treated as a guest so could drink and stay out late. But when I move out there I will be going back to doing a 40-hour week and we have four weeks holiday a year. That’s going to be very different. Instead of having a stage I’ll have a beach, which isn’t so bad really. I’ve been on the road all my life since I was a little boy. I’ve never stopped, so this is the first time I get to settle down somewhere and I can’t think of anywhere better.
www.madtrust.org.uk/event/robin-windsor-the-last-dance/
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