Anton du Beke: Anybody can dance

Jun 13 2008 by Emma Pinch, Liverpool Daily Post

Emma Pinch talks to ballroom star Anton du Beke ahead of his show at the Liverpool Empire

ESTHER RANTZEN was once credited with saying that every woman deserved half an hour with Anton du Beke.

Well, I had that half hour 18 months ago, dear reader, and pressed up very firmly against him and square in the face of his charm offensive, I, too, struggled to keep my mind on what my feet were doing. What they did bore no resemblance to a foxtrot at any point during our meeting, but Anton’s courtesy and smile was unflagging, and it was that, along with the imprint of his suit buttons, which I took away with me, rather than a fancy new skill.

I imagine his last Strictly partner, the unco-ordinated but sparky Kate Garraway, had the same feeling of gratitude.

“I just try when dancing on Strictly to give the contestants something to take away,” he explains. “I don’t want them not to enjoy it, just learn something and come away with something. As long as they are trying their hardest, that’s the best you can ask for.”

Given the romance of ballroom dancing, rumours of romance between the dance experts and their high-profile partners have been rife. Anton himself hasn’t emerged unscathed.

He’s “not allowed” to say anything about his experiences of the media regarding the aforementioned Kate, but comments: “It’s all about what is and what isn’t the truth, really. If it isn’t the truth, then you don’t worry about it. If it is, you deal with it.”

Anton started ballroom dancing at just 14 at a local dance school in Kent.

“I probably did get a bit of stick when I started, but I don’t really remember,” he says. “I went along and there were all these girls there, which was fabulous. I was hooked.

“It was something I realised I wanted to do pretty soon after I first did it.”

HIS mantelpiece is now buckling under the weight of championship awards. He and his competition partner, Erin Boag, are rated in the world’s top 24 ballroom couples.

At the moment, he’s hitting the motorway every day doing shows. On the day we speak, he’s off to Hereford and groans slightly at the thought.

“I’m up and down the country doing the shows all the time at the moment and doing bits and bobs on the TV.

“Erin and I are doing shows all the time. I’m always jumping in the car and going somewhere.

“When you’ve sometimes got a drive ahead of you, you think, ‘Oh my God’, and the drive home is even worse.

“But I’ve never been much of a one for early mornings. I’m much more of an evening person, actually.”

He shudders at the idea of swapping what he’s doing for one of the more salacious reality TV shows “... Love Island or anything like that”, but luckily for him the Strictly fever shows no signs of slowing, despite the slew of other talent shows trotted out on the box whenever his show takes a break. “I don’t see the craze in ballroom dancing abating at all,” asserts Anton.

“It’s a great thing to do, and that’s the key.

“You can do it with your partner, or you can dance with someone else.

“That’s the joy of dancing. You can flit between lots of people. I love it and I’m just lucky I do it as a job.”

Anton and Erin’s sell-out appearance at St George’s Hall earlier this year for the city’s Viennese Balls – “lovely, in a fab building, and all those keen people” – is proof that we still can’t get enough of ballroom.

Now the duo are returning to choreograph a Simply Ballroom UK tour starring Huyton-born Sam Kane and ex-EastEnder Sophie Lawrence.

Erin keeps him organised, he says.

They never get bored together although, he admits she’s “probably wanted to trade me in a couple of times because I get on her nerves”.

The lavish show at the Empire will feature ensemble Riverdance-style productions of the best loved ballroom dancing, from the graceful foxtrot – Anton’s favourite for its class and romance – to the fiery tango.

Its aim is to delight and inspire armchair enthusiasts to have a go.

Chivalrously, he murmurs that he was sure I was very good during our lesson. The mangled metatarsals have obviously healed well.

“Anybody can dance, you just have to make sure you know how quickly to go that’s all.

“Don’t be frightened and worried about it. Don’t think about it too much, just do it.”

* SIMPLY Ballroom is at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool, on Monday, June 23 at 7.45pm. Tickets, which start at £20.50, can be booked on 0844 847 2525.

emma.pinch@dailypost.co.uk