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Hospice talks to Camilla Dallerup ahead of Forget me not Ball performance

16 July 2010

Wedding fever has set in with Camilla Dallerup, as she is fast approaching her wedding to Kevin Sacre, aka Jake from Hollyoaks, so we delve in with a chat about the big day..
 

How are you? Is everything in place for next week?
I have to say I’m kind of bursting with excitement about the wedding. It’s seemed so long away but suddenly I keep getting texts from friends and family saying: “Ooh it’s not long now!”. We’ve been planning for a year and it’s finally here!

Where is the wedding?
I can’t say exactly, but it’s a beach wedding. I can’t wait.

Are you jetting off on a honeymoon afterwards?
Yes, we’re going to go away. I‘ve never had a two week holiday in my entire working life, we’re going to treat ourselves - although I don’t quite know what to do with myself for two weeks! It’ll be nice to go away and relax, I’m so excited.

Is the wedding dress anything like what you’d wear on Strictly?
No! It’s nothing like what I wear on Strictly, and funnily enough, it’s nothing like what I thought I’d choose. Apparently a lot of girls say that, when they actually go to buy a dress they have this fantasy about what it’ll be like, but when they try it on they want something different. I can’t wait to wear it.

Recently you were at the launch of the Dance Champions website. What’s it all about?
Oh it’s brilliant, honestly! People always come up to me and say: “Oh I live in Chester, do you know if there are any dance classes there?”, but I never do know. Now we have the Dance Champions website, where you can log on and find so many different classes in your region – whether it’s jive, cha cha, tango, it’ll all be there. It’s free because they’ve been lucky enough to get funding from the Department of Health. Dancing is a great way to keep fit, it’s good for your mind as well as your body. I feel like I’m a walking advert for dancing!

What did Strictly do for dancing?
I think Strictly Come Dancing made dancing cool again. It was just the right time for dancing to be brought back into the limelight, because it’s been around for so many years but it wasn’t cool. Strictly appealed to so many people – you could watch it with your granddad who is 80, or your child of eight, and they’d all have an opinion. It’s educating people, and I love hearing how passionate they get about the performances.

It'll be two years this summer since you left Strictly Come Dancing. Do you miss it?
I miss Saturday night live - nothing beats it. But I don’t miss the gruelling schedule. I feel I’ve done my time and I like doing different projects now.  I wouldn’t change a thing - I had the most amazing time, and we did some of the most magical things, such as when Cliff Richard was singing and we were dancing. They were special moments.
But I feel that I was ready to move on, I needed to be challenged and grow, and that’s what I’m trying to do. We’ve only got one life – it’s good to try as much as you can.

You started dancing when you were two, did you always know it was what you wanted to do?
I like to perform - all I ever wanted to do was be on the stage. I wasn’t quite sure whether I wanted to do dancing or theatre, but I definitely knew from a very early age that I wanted to perform. However theatre shows only came round every six months, and I couldn’t quite wait that long. So, I asked my parents if I could do my first competition when I was six, because then I could perform every Saturday.

Who would be your ultimate dance partner – dead or alive?
Fred Astaire. Although I’ve been told he’d be a hard task master because he’s a perfectionist – although I am myself as well. That would just be amazing. Fred or Michael Jackson as well actually, they were both my inspiration.

What are the main benefits to dancing?
It’s social, it’s good fun - these days we spend so much time in the office so to go out and keep fit is brilliant.
I think it’s also about helping people find confidence. One of my partners on Strictly was James Martin. He is a chef, so it was all about finding the confidence that he had in his cooking and bringing that into dancing - giving him the boost to be able to perform in front of 11 million people.
I’ve found with young people all over the world that dancing really helps them to develop confidence in themselves. If you find suddenly you’re good at something you didn’t know you could do, you feel good about yourself. Then, because you’ve created confidence in one area, you’ll carry it with you into other areas. For example, if young people hold themselves well because of the posture they learn from dancing, they’ll be more confident in front of an audience or in a job interview.
A lot of people use dancing as a stress release. I’ve heard it so many times, when people arrive for a class and they’re in a bad mood, they say they don’t feel like dancing today, But when they get into it they feel a lot better, at the end of the hour they think: “what was it that bothered me?”. You relax - you don’t focus on the stress but the music, the timing, the rhythm, the person you’re dancing with. It’s very good for you.
Finally, it’s simply great exercise. That’s important with the increase in obesity in this country, because it’s more fun than say a running machine.

At our Forget me not Ball, you will be dancing with World Champion swimmer, Mark Foster. When did you two pair up?
We paired up around March this year.

He got a fair bit of stick from the judges when he was on Strictly, has he improved since those days?
Yes, he is so much better! It’s been really lovely to watch him grow with experience. Sometimes after we perform he’s like: “I really enjoyed that,” which is so nice to hear, because obviously swimming is what he’s famous for, so for him to go out and perform the waltz, I think is extremely brave.  I don’t think I’d be that brave doing his sport. He’s an absolute joy, I adore him. When you look at how much he’s done in his career, it’s pretty impressive.  Dancing is completely different, but we’re getting there - I’m a hard task master you know.

You fund raise for a number of charities, including The Dogs Trust, and children’s medical charity Sparks. Is this something you enjoy?
If you told me ten years ago that I would be able to help charities and give a lesson or have lunch with someone to raise money, I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s amazing. We do a lot of charity work, wherever we help we can do – every charity is so important.

Have you had any personal experience of hospices?
No I haven’t, but it is just amazing what hospice staff do. They’re extraordinary people who work in places like that, they have big hearts. I have friends who’ve lost children and who have had experience of hospices, and I know the work they do, is very, very important.

What can we expect from you and Mark at the Forget me not Ball?
Well hopefully we’ll have a lot of fun! The best part of the evening for me is audience participation. We’ll get everyone involved, teach them some basic moves – simple moves you can learn in 20 minutes. It’s just hilarious, normally we get a room full of laughing people who are having the best time thinking, “God, I’ve just learned the cha cha!” – I love that part.
We will also do some routines - when you watch them you will be surprised about Marks improvement as well. He’s a great inspiration to anyone who wants to learn. He thought: “I’m going to do this, I’m going to improve” and he has. Anyone can look at him and think: “if he can do that in a year then I can”. That’s what I think Strictly has done, people who weren’t particularly good when they arrived, left as dancers. They think: “I’ve got too left feet” so I can’t do it.
 

Do you think people who think “I’ve got two left feet” can do it then?
I do. You can make a dancer out of everyone. Some people take longer than others; there are some things in life you feel more natural at yes, but everyone can do it.
 

Come and join Camilla Dallerup, along with Mark Foster and Eurovision Song Contest singer Josh Dubovie at the Forget me not Ball on September 18th. Tickets cost £65, or £60 per person if booked as part of a table of 10 or more. The price includes a drinks reception, a three course meal, dancing until 1am, and there will be a diamond raffle and auction featuring some fabulous prizes.

 

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